A local company’s purchase of 25 acres along U.S. 421 North could allow for the expansion of a business center along an industrial corridor that's considered the road to economic growth.

Seamist Properties LLC bought the land for $740,500 on April 17, according to a deed filed in New Hanover County, from a limited liability corporation associated with Invista, a synthetic polymer and fiber manufacturer that used to make more of its products in a plant on U.S. 421. The property is a portion of what was a much larger tract owned by Invista, more than 1,000 acres, at 4301 U.S. 421 North, according to county tax records. Will Leonard, a broker with Cape Fear Commercial, handled the transaction.

A spokesman for the I-140 Business Center, located in the 3800 block of U.S. 421 North, said the purchase of the 25 acres was made in anticipation of future expansion at the center, which offers industrial flex space and where land will be cleared in the next two weeks to add 60,000 square feet of space to the center's current offerings.

Currently, wells and septic tanks serve the land, but spurred by the recommendation of an economic analysis called the Garner report, local elected officials have embarked upon an effort to extend water and sewer along U.S. 421 in New Hanover County all the way to the Pender County line. Their intent is to make some of the last developable land in the county in an industrial zone more attractive to companies that could bring jobs to the area.

At a meeting Thursday between city and county officials to talk about the economic development priorities they chose to tackle first, based on Garner report recommendations, members of the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners and Wilmington City Council discussed the latest U.S. 421 infrastructure update. They based their observations on research presented to them Thursday by Beth Schrader, the county's strategy and policy manager, and Lisa Wurtzbacher, county finance director.

A cooperative U.S. 421 effort between the city, county and the Cape Fear Public Utility is already under way. The utility authority's board announced April 8 that it had approved a contract for two projects that will first connect Flemington-area residents to CFPUA's central drinking water system and then eventually allow the entire U.S. 421 corridor to connect to water and sewer. The utility authority decided that constructing two 8-inch water lines underneath the Cape Fear River at the same time as the water line is extended to Flemington would be more cost-effective, and the authority is splitting the sewer project's $1.2 million cost with New Hanover County. The city's contribution consists of providing the use of city land for construction and maintenance of the lines, according to a CFPUA news release.

Duke Energy contributed more than $3 million for the Flemington work. But the remaining construction necessary to meet economic development goals will cost about $12 million, the county estimates.

During the session Thursday, held in a conference room at the Wilmington Police Department, county staff members said the county can incorporate paying for the $12 million, borrowed through limited obligation bonds, in the next fiscal year's budget recommendation, expected to be delivered to county commissioners next week. That document will include, for the first time, a capital improvement plan (CIP), said county manager Chris Coudriet.

“We have structured the budget that we're going to present to you, the CIP we're going to present to you, to make this investment and not allow it to affect the property tax,” Coudriet said.

The natural growth of the county's tax base, outside of the taxes that could be collected if companies choose to invest in properties on U.S. 421, coupled with the fact that the county pays off about twice what the total debt service would be for the project, $15.9 million, each year will help offset the cost, county officials said.

But City Councilman Kevin O'Grady challenged that assertion, saying he believes taxpayers would eventually foot the bill in a growing area where school needs, for example, along with other services are expected to continue to increase.

“It's all debt. It all cost money,” O'Grady said. “Some time in the future, the tax rate has to go up. This contributes to it. It's not free.”

During the discussion, O'Grady said he agrees that the project is critical but that officials should go into the process with their “eyes wide open” about the debt's impact.

County commissioner Woody White said he still wants the county to look at other alternatives to pay for the work, such as better planning, cutting expenses and studying the potential of selling the county's inventory of surplus real estate.

“There are alternatives. I expressed a few months ago disappointment in solely talking about this in terms of borrowing money,” White said, adding that he also recognizes the importance of the project and that the council and board seem to be in agreement that it needs to be done.

Few grant or loan opportunities that meet the needs of the U.S. 421 infrastructure extension, or for which the project meets the requirements, exist according to a review of those options conducted over the past several months, county staff members said.

Responding to White's statements, O'Grady said, “For big capital projects, I don't know of any other way to do it except borrow money, just like if you're building a house. You borrow the money because you're not going to do it out of income.”

The county staff's research showed that if nothing were done to connect that portion of U.S. 421 to water and sewer, projected job growth through 2040 would come only in the form of lower skill industrial positions, while a conservative estimate stemming from making an an investment shows a 70 percent growth in higher skill industrial jobs, with higher average earnings.