Officials review state-backed plan for 1,000‑acre Pitt County "mega site"; rezoning and sewer extension set as next steps

Pitt County and Greenville leaders reviewed a state‑sponsored site study and a local development concept for a roughly 1,000‑acre “mega site” located entirely on Weyerhaeuser property north of Greenville, and discussed the approvals, utility work and state grant applications that would be required before pursuing industrial recruitment.

The presentation at a joint meeting of the Pitt County Board of Commissioners and the Greenville City Council laid out why the site was included among seven in a statewide study, the infrastructure upgrades likely needed to make part of the land “pad‑ready,” and a proposed rezoning of about 3,000 acres around the core site to allow supporting industry and commercial development.

Why it matters: State and local presenters said a multi‑billion‑dollar industrial investment on a prepared site could bring thousands of jobs, millions of dollars in annual tax revenue and new supplier activity that would affect a broad two‑hour labor market across eastern North Carolina. The consultants and state economic development staff cautioned that the project would require years of work — and that local governments must first secure property control, zoning and sewer access to be eligible for state megasite funds.

Presenters from the North Carolina economic development partnership, consulting teams and the private landowner described the site selection process and constraints. Garrett Wyckoff, representing the state economic development program (EDPNC), said the General Assembly defined a megasite for this program as “at least a thousand contiguous acres.” Joe Hines, a principal with the Timmons Group engineering firm, summarized the consultant evaluation and the site’s strengths — a single landowner (Weyerhaeuser), proximity to transmission and water, and…