Jun 25, 2008
By MICKEY POWELL - Bulletin Staff Writer. A new industrial park that Henry County plans to develop near the North Carolina line will be bigger than originally planned.
The Henry County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted to spend about $523,000 to bur about 108 acres and a brick house off U.S. 220 south of Ridgeway. The site adjoins 602 acres that the county recently bought for $2.17 million to develop the industrial park.
Supervisors voted to buy the extra property following a closed session to discuss the possible acquisition of real estate.
County Administrator Benny Summerlin said the Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corp. had an option to buy the 108 acres, and the county took advantage of that option.
Jim Adams, the Blackberry District supervisor who is the board’s chairman, said the 108 acres could be developed for industry. But he and Summerlin indicated the county’s interest in the property stemmed from using it to provide better access to the other property.
Access to the other property is over railroad tracks could help the county attract firms needing railroad access.
But the 108 acres are “giving us, from a public safety standpoint, better access into” the other property, Adams said. He indicated that emergency vehicles may have trouble getting across the tracks.
Adams said the county already budgeted $523,000. Summerlin said the house, which is vacant, will remain on the property for the time being. A master plan for the industrial park is being prepared, and he did not know if the house will be recommended for keeping in the long run.
The master plan will be completed in about a year, he indicated.
