A New Hanover County-owned property was one of five sites in the state selected by Duke Energy to be included in the company's Site Readiness Program.

Duke Energy announced the selection of the 120-acre property into the 2019 program in a news release Tuesday. The property was identified by Duke Energy as one of several "high-potential sites" through the program. 

The utility partners with local county and economic development officials in the program to develop a strategy to get the selected site ready to market to industrial projects, stated the release. Four other sites were also selected in Carteret, Cumberland, Rockingham and Rutherford counties.

The New Hanover County property selected is located at 4301 Blue Clay Road. The property has been part of an ongoing economic development project that aims to attract future private investment and jobs to the site, county officials have previously said.

The county has contracted with Wilmington Business Development (WBD) for the ongoing project to study the site and conduct due diligence on the property. WBD has received funding from the county for the Blue Clay Road project the past three fiscal years. In this fiscal year, New Hanover County budgeted $60,000 to WBD for the project.

To qualify for the Site Readiness Program, a site must be a legitimate industrial site and Duke Energy must be able to compete for service to the site, according to Duke Energy's program webpage. 

Duke Energy has worked with major site selection firms to evaluate the selected sites.

Based on consultant recommendations, Duke Energy will collaborate with county leaders and local economic development professionals to develop an improved strategy for marketing these sites, stated the release.

The program includes an initial assessment of industrial sites from the perspective of a site selection consultant and a more detailed buildability assessment, as well as development of conceptual plans for the sites by expert land use and site planners, stated the program website.

Each selected site is also eligible for a $10,000 matching grant from Duke Energy to help prepare it to attract projects, officials said in the release.

Meredith Archie, a spokeswoman with Duke Energy, said this year the application period to participate in the program was in February. Local agencies can apply to be included in the program.

"Going through Duke Energy's Site Readiness Program helps make this land more marketable. Once certified under this program, Duke Energy, a key economic development partner of ours, will use their national reach to raise awareness of the value of this site," Scott Satterfield, CEO of WBD, an economic development group that serves Wilmington, New Hanover and Pender counties, said Tuesday in an email.

The county's Blue Clay Road property is close to Interstate 40 and the Wilmington International Airport. It also has rail access. 

"We continue to study the site and develop a master plan with our key partners. The initial studies show that this parcel can support +/- 800,000 square feet of industrial build-out. Before we can even effectively market to an end-user, we believe full infrastructure must serve the site," Satterfield said. 

The Pender Commerce Park, an industrial site off U.S. 421 in Pender County, was also certified under this program, Satterfield said, adding it has achieved "significant results."

"Following that model, we hope to see similar success in New Hanover County," Satterfield said.
 
WBD paid an application fee to participate in the Duke Energy's Site Readiness Program, he added. There was no investment from the county for the program.

Since the program started in 2005, it has helped prepare properties that have won 18 major projects in the state, resulting in more than 5,100 new jobs and nearly $6.1 billion in capital investment, stated the release.

“We have a specific focus on site readiness, industrial recruitment and working together with our state and local partners. The Site Readiness Program is a great tool for communities across the Carolinas to help close deals," Stu Heishman, Duke Energy’s vice president of economic development, said in the release.