South Hill, Mecklenburg team on new industrial park

South Hill and Mecklenburg County officials want to ensure the region’s economic future doesn’t hinge entirely on data centers.

This spring, county supervisors and town council members agreed to form the Route 58 Activation Corridor Regional Industrial Facility Authority.

Regional authorities allow local governments to share costs and revenue from industrial commerce sites. Mecklenburg County already partners with Greensville County and Emporia on the Mid-Atlantic Advanced Manufacturing Center and with Brunswick County on the Roanoke River Regional Business Park.

The goal of launching the Route 58 Activation Corridor RIFA is to develop a new industrial park on the edge of South Hill, the largest of six towns located in Mecklenburg.

The facility will sit on 67 acres purchased April 1 by the Mecklenburg County Industrial Development Authority for $1,000 per acre, according to Angie Kellett, the county’s director of economic development.

It will take at least a couple of years before the park is ready for tenants, says Kellett. A five-year capital project plan adopted in April as part of South Hill’s budget process includes $12.4 million for extending water and sewer lines to the new industrial park, according to Town Manager Keli Reekes. The utilities will also serve redevelopment around the former Park View High School, which closed in 2022.

The town and county will share the utilities’ cost, though grants are expected to cover some of the expense, Reekes says.

After the state approves the RIFA’s creation, leaders of the member localities will have decisions to make, including whether to build a shell building on the site and how to market the new industrial park.

County and town officials hope the new industrial park will attract opportunities beyond data centers, which currently dominate the region’s business landscape, Reekes and Kellett say.

As of last fall, Mecklenburg County had a dozen data center sites either operating or under construction — including 11 owned by Microsoft, according to reporting by The Mecklenburg Sun.

Microsoft is Mecklenburg County’s second largest employer, according to a state community profile updated in 2025.

“Microsoft — we’re very glad to have them here,” Reekes stresses.

That said, the region’s leaders want to attract new industries to the industrial park. “We are looking to diversify,” she says.