Anson Economic Development Corporation

Elected officials and community and civic leaders gathered today for the dedication of the Anson 74 Rail Park, the Charlotte region’s newest rail-served industrial development. Situated on 140 acres of prime land between two U.S. highways and featuring a spur off the CSX “Queen City Express” line, the park recently completed Duke Energy’s Site Readiness program and is attracting interest from companies for its outstanding location and existing rail infrastructure. Based on the Duke study, the park could one day support nearly one million square feet of light industrial and warehouse space and provide jobs for more than 400 employees. The park’s proximity to existing retail development also creates opportunities for future mixed-use residential and commercial growth along the nearby U.S. Highway 74 corridor. “The completion of the site readiness plan is a major step forward for the park and for industrial development in Anson County in general,” commented AnsonEDP executive direct...

For many years, Anson County was known primarily to North Carolinians as, "that place you drive through on the way to the coast," or, "that place with the good peach ice cream." Fairly or unfairly, it was often perceived as a long stretch of open highway with a few sleepy towns, fast food restaurants and gas stations catering to beach traffic. But that perception is rapidly changing, as a series of circumstances have converged to position Anson County as the new hot growth corridor in the Charlotte region. Here are five things you need to know: 1. Anson County is closer than you think. The distance from the town hall in Peachland to Center City Charlotte is just 40 miles. Numerous traffic lights and slow truck traffic on US Highway 74 in Union County currently make it an hour and 15 minute drive, but when the Monroe Expressway opens in late 2018, the drive from western Anson County to Charlotte will clock in at around 45 minutes, similar to that of other exur...

If you have followed my blog at all over the past year, you know that I expect the Monroe Expressway to be a “game changer” for the economy of Anson County, but until now few practical details about the road have been made public. Today, Megan, Shelby and I attended a briefing by NC Turnpike Authority Director of Outreach and Community Affairs Warren Cooksey that filled in many of the blank spaces, and I wanted to share that information with you. When will the Monroe Expressway open? Cooksey indicated that the Expressway is on schedule to open in “late fall” of 2018, but noted that “fall” technically extends to December 20th. Based on these comments, I think we can reasonably infer that the road will open sometime in December of this year. How much time will the Expressway save the average driver? Assuming that a driver takes the entire 18 mile trip from Exit 255 in Stallings to Exit 273 in Marshville, the minimum time savings will be 15 minutes. However, the Ex...