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Harnett County economic development office details industrial sites, water constraints and retail interest
Summary
Economic development staff described five active prospect projects, progress on county-owned Harnett 95 property and other site-readiness work, and said water/sewer capacity limits and lack of smaller ready buildings remain constraints.
Steven Marrington, Harnett County economic development lead, briefed the Board of Commissioners on site‑readiness activity, active project prospects, and constraints the county faces when pursuing industrial and retail development.
Marrington said the county currently has five projects it considers active prospects and that the economic development team is submitting a larger share of inquiries than a year ago. “Now we’re submitting about 4 out of 10 project inquiries we received. A year ago, we were at 2,” Marrington said, characterizing that as a substantial increase in submittals.
He outlined several market-ready or near-ready sites the county and private partners are promoting: Harnett 95 Industrial Center (county acquisition of 51 acres plus 14 acres acquired by a private partner, 65 acres total); a planned 175,000-square-foot first building at Harnett 95 (Marrington said dirt work is expected to start after Labor Day with building 1 projected to come on line in 2026); Edgerton Industrial Park (engineer‑led grading and a green area expected cleared by November for 50,000–100,000-square-foot buildings); Midport 95 (private owner; Edgewater Ventures purchased 135 acres and is marketing for large build‑to‑suit projects); Central Carolina Industrial Park (the old Burlington Mills site) and the Brightwater Business Park.
Marrington highlighted a 67-acre rail site marketed with RJ Corman rail access near Lillington and said the county wants to protect rail-front acreage for future larger projects. He said some parcels remain underdeveloped and will require additional road or utility work before they are market-ready.
On constraints, Marrington said the county lacks both large, fully ready 200‑acre+ parcels and the smaller 10,000–35,000-square‑foot buildings that many prospects seek. He also emphasized infrastructure limits at the Robin Hood site and other east‑of‑I‑95 parcels: owners have not completed due diligence or set prices, and water and sewer capacities are insufficient for industrial-scale projects in some areas. “There’s water in some of that area, but it’s small lines, 2‑inch lines, nothing that can really support,” Marrington said, adding county staff (including Mr. Burns) are identifying capacity needs and planning potential extensions.
Marrington also said retail developers are actively evaluating several shopping-center sites across the county; he described three distinct shopping-center developers showing market interest in different parts of Harnett County. He said the county is working with partners — including private owners, the Harnett Economic Development Corporation, retail consultants (Retail Strategies) and municipal officials — to advance infrastructure and site-readiness.
Ending
Commissioners praised the report as more substantive than previous updates. Several asked follow-up questions about specific parcels, infrastructure timing and private‑sector partners. The transcript records discussion and clarifying answers; no recorded final vote was taken on actions in the work session excerpt.
