Board votes 5‑0 to convey Lot 14 in Thomas E. Lee Industrial Park to Orange County EDA

The Orange County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to convey county‑owned property known as Lot 14 in the Thomas E. Lee Industrial Park to the Orange County Economic Development Authority by deed, a step county staff said is necessary to finalize pad‑readiness work and to secure loan financing.

Julie Perry, the county’s director of economic development and tourism, told the board the deed conveyance cleans up ownership records so the EDA can move forward with site work and financing. Perry said the EDA had recommended the conveyance at its March 19 meeting.

Supervisor motioned the conveyance by deed for Lot 14, identified in the meeting materials by tax map number 0570001000140, and the board approved the motion in a roll call vote of 5‑0: Marshall — Aye; Van Hoven — Aye; Cameron Johnson (Chair) — Aye; Nickel — Aye; Hale — Aye.

Why it matters: transferring title of the lot to the EDA is intended to allow the authority to hold and prepare the parcel for economic development — commonly called pad readiness — and to secure lender financing tied to those site improvements.

The board did not discuss swapping other parcels at the meeting; Perry said follow‑up paperwork on a second transaction would come separately. The conveyance was presented as a paperwork step required to align county records and EDA needs; Perry said the work on the site can continue and that the conveyance is necessary for the EDA to secure the loan associated with the pad‑readiness effort.

The vote followed a public hearing; no members of the public spoke during the hearing.