January 24, 2025

Council OKs bringing in company to develop land off Betts Parkway

Rocky Mount Mayor Sandy Roberson is upbeat about a recent unanimous City Council vote to transfer 55 acres of city-owned land to a developer.

The company, GVW Ruddell Management, plans to develop the land off the intersection of Thomas A. Betts Parkway and Peele Road into a light industrial park with sets of buildings.

This is not just about bringing in a major economic development engine, Roberson said in a phone interview Tuesday afternoon.

“It’s also about all the ancillary businesses that follow that, that supply them,” Roberson said.

“They create opportunities — and just help bolster the local economy in a really great way,” Roberson added.

City documents state that on the 55 acres of land, GVW Ruddell Management is going to construct at least 100,000 square feet of leasable building space by January 2030 and at least 280,000 square feet of leasable building space by January 2035.

The documents state that the terms are going to include GVW Ruddell Management constructing the necessary site improvements, parking areas, common areas and on-site utility infrastructure.

Upon completion of the full build-out, the project is slated to generate 289 jobs with a total economic impact of about $43.4 million, Assistant to the City Manager for Budget and Evaluation Kenneth Hunter told the council at its Jan. 13 meeting.

The land, which is just southwest of the N.C. Wesleyan University campus, is near the Interstate 95 and U.S. 64 corridors and in proximity to the CSX intermodal, also known as the Carolina Connector.

The intermodal, which was dedicated in 2021, is a place for freight trains to arrive, with the freight to be off-loaded onto other trains or trucks for distribution.

“We knew that the intermodal was going to bring all kinds of opportunity,” Roberson said Tuesday.

“We know that logistics from where we sit will be a primary business for us,” the mayor added. “And we also know that, with the growth of the Triangle, we are nicely positioned.”

Roberson also noted that U.S. 64 from the Knightdale area to Williamston and U.S. 17 from Williamston to Virginia’s Hampton Roads area will eventually be transformed into a new additional segment of Interstate 87.

“So, as I see it, we are sitting really in a great place and great position for the next 20 to 40 years going forward,” he said. “And as things play out, I believe that we are going to be in a superior place.”