Brunswick County leaders held a public hearing on investing in new infrastructure and approved the addition of more land to the 1,100-acre Mid-Atlantic Industrial Rail Park.

In October, the Brunswick County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved spending nearly $19 million to buy 539 acres in the industrial park. The board considered adding another 30 acres along with making improvements to the park’s water and sewer infrastructure.

A public hearing on both items was held during the board’s Monday meeting. The board voted unanimously to move forward with the land acquisition. 

Following last year’s land buy, India-based manufacturer Epsilon Advanced Materials announced plans last fall to invest $650 million in a 1.5 million-square-foot facility inside the Mid-Atlantic Industrial Rail Park. The company, which makes components for electric vehicles, plans to employ 500 workers to make graphite for lithium-ion batteries.

The additional 30 acres will be used by Epsilon, according to Bill Early, the executive director of Brunswick Business and Industry Development. Brunswick BID played a key role in helping recruit Epsilon to the area last year. There are still roughly 950 acres available for development in the industrial park, Early wrote in an email to the Business Journal.

To keep up with the growth, Brunswick County is currently in the “planning stages of ensuring the park has adequate utility infrastructure,” according to Monday’s meeting agenda. 

That could include an array of infrastructure improvements, including the expansion of the industrial park’s water tower, the addition of a water line under nearby Highway 74/76 into the park, and the extension of water and sewer service to county-owned property in the park.

The updated infrastructure is expected to cost approximately $11.1 million, which will be paid for with utility enterprise funds from the county along with about $7 million in potential grant money, according to agenda documents. 

The industrial park secured a $3 million grant from the Golden LEAF Foundation last fall. The money will be used to construct a 1-million-gallon elevated water tank to serve the area’s growth. 

County leaders are also looking to buy 30 additional acres to add to the park for approximately $1 million. A proposed budget amendment would allocate an additional $500,000 from the county’s general fund toward the land buy.

The land being eyed for purchase is located at 5068 Andrew Jackson Highway in Northwest township. The land is currently owned by William Grainger of Savannah, Georgia, according to Brunswick County property records. Grainger also owned the 539 acres county leaders bought last fall.