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Beaufort County economic development office details projects, site buys and housing gap
Summary
The Beaufort County Economic Development Corporation reviewed recent investments including site purchases, a planned 72,000-square-foot spec building, a $6.6 million letter-of-intent project, and warned about a growing workforce housing gap as many residents spend over half their income on housing.
The Beaufort County Economic Development Corporation executive director outlined a slate of recent and prospective projects at Converge 2026, including site purchases, incentives and a proposed speculative building intended to attract manufacturing and headquarters activity.
The director described a near-miss earlier in which a private investor would have lost an estimated $7 million if a certificate of occupancy for a Beaufort project had not been resolved before a deadline. He also said the EDC purchased a site in April and is conducting due diligence on a 117‑acre property intended for industrial use; a 72,000‑square‑foot speculative building received unanimous board approval to move forward and will be presented to local councils soon.
Regional development work cited by the EDC included a letter of intent on parcel D at Buford Commerce Park for an initial $6.6 million investment and several active recruitment efforts. The EDC also highlighted an application the region submitted in response to a U.S. Coast Guard request for information; the corporation estimated the Coast Guard training facility could generate roughly $300 million in annual economic impact and about 2,200 direct and indirect jobs if sited in the region.
On housing, the director presented local affordability data and said many households currently spend more than half of their income on housing. He recommended focusing on workforce housing as a county priority and noted that most incentives for recent projects have come from state and private partners rather than county funds.
Next steps: the EDC will continue project facilitation, present the spec building proposal to city and county councils in coming weeks, and pursue federal and state grants to support site development.
