The Cape Fear Economic Development Council is hosting a discussion on the U.S. 421 industrial corridor Thursday, according to officials with the local economic development group.

The industrial corridor, which spans down U.S. 421 to the New Hanover County-Pender County line, has been eyed by local leaders and economic developers as an area that could bring private investment and jobs to the region.

The Cape Fear Public Utility Authority is working on a project to bring water and sewer infrastructure to the corridor. The addition of the infrastructure to the corridor has been touted as a catalyst for its future development.

With that in mind, the Cape Fear Economic Development Council’s (CFEDC) discussion this week aims to talk about the CFPUA’s investments, as well as existing conditions and plans for the area, officials said.

CFEDC officials have focused conversations on sustainable industry development for the event, which is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at The Loft on Front, 27 N. Front St.

Early this year, CFPUA approved a $12.8 million construction contract for the water and sewer project. As of Wednesday, officials had not broken ground on the infrastructure, which includes 35,000 feet of water main to the area. But the work is expected to begin sometime this spring, according to Peg Hall Williams, a spokeswoman with CFPUA.

The project is expected to make available land along the industrial corridor shovel-ready, and more marketable to businesses. According to CFPUA documents about the project, there are nearly 1,000 acres of developable land available for future industries in the project area.

The goal of the session Thursday is to learn from a variety of stakeholder groups and individuals about what their visions are for the future of the industrial corridor, said Clark Henry, board member of the CFEDC and owner of CIII Associates, an urban planning and development firm.

CFEDC has invited members of economic development, government and environmental groups to participate in the conversation, he said. The event is also free and open to the public.

“We want to hear what sustainable industrial development means to you and what it doesn’t. Clean tech, advanced manufacturing, sustainable industry, you name it, we want to explore it,” officials with the CFEDC stated on the event website.

The meeting will highlight the recent infrastructure investments “meant to leverage investment and job creation,” officials said. The meeting will also cover what local land use and economic development plans say about land use, economic development and environmental goals.

In the second part of the event, attendees will be broken up into three different groups to begin discussing general questions about the corridor to gain public input, Henry said. 

"The purpose here is not to educate people, but rather solicit input from what their priorities are for [the industrial corridor's] future," he said.

The CFEDC will be taking the input they receive from the meeting and developing either a position statement or paper about “what we hope to see in the future,” Henry said. The goal is for the CFEDC’s position to serve as an inspiration to leadership, the community and economic developers on potential business in the corridor.

The event is the first in a series of four public events hosted by the CFEDC, according to Ann Revell-Pechar, chair of the CFEDC. The next event will be held sometime in June.