LELAND — The Town of Leland plans to submit an offer to purchase a 17-acre tract of land off Highway 74 to serve as an operations hub for various municipal services.
Council unanimously approved the offer to purchase and financing request at their regular meeting last Thursday.
Related: After free debris site closed in Leland, residents push back on town’s decision
The 17-acre industrial site is located outside of town limits across the highway from the Leland Industrial Park, an area the town has made efforts to help rebrand as the Leland Innovation Park. It currently hosts the community Seaglass Salvage Market, a monthly indoor and outdoor artisan market.
Featuring five buildings, four built in the late 70s and one in 1990, the total building area totals nearly 49,000 square feet. The town has reached a tentative agreement with the site’s property owner, Clayton Williams, to purchase the property for $2.8 million.
Assistant Town Manager Niel Brooks said staff estimates the cost to build similar buildings already on-site would exceed the total purchase price. Brooks told Council the town has an “immediate need” for space to allow its municipal services to expand.
According to Brunswick County property tax records, the land and buildings are currently valued at $1.55 million.
New municipal operations campus
The town intends to either build or upfit an existing building on the property into its new fire department headquarters, as its existing department on Village Road is aging, Brooks said.
The property will also serve as the town’s public services operations center, featuring offices and garages for utilities and operations staff. It could also feature a new animal control and police impound area, and storage for regular and emergency town operations. After the town closed its free vegetative debris drop-off site in January, residents spoke out against the decision, urging the town to reopen the service.
If the town and owner close on the property, the new site could be used as its new vegetative debris drop-off site. Though the property is currently only accessible from Highway 74, the town will likely seek a secondary roadway connection, possibly requesting Fletcher Road to stretch across Brunswick County’s Northwest District Park to reach the site.
To finance the property, the town will seek permission from the Local Government Commission for a financing agreement. Council passed a budget amendment of $3.3 million in loan proceeds to cover the cost of the contract and the initial phase of improving the property.
Staff will likely request additional funding for improvements beyond the $500,000 budgeted once the town has undertaken due diligence to determine exactly what and how much must be done to enhance the property.
