ROXBORO, N.C. (WNCN) — The 1,350-acre Person County Mega Park has been purchased by the Microsoft Corporation for $27 million, county officials announced Thursday.County officials told CBS 17 they’d worked with the property owners for years to develop the infrastructure necessary to attract large companies to the area.“We’re becoming part of the 21st century in a big way,” Person County Commission Chair Gordon Powell told CBS 17. “We’re so close to Durham, Raleigh, and the [other] big c...
ROXBORO, N.C. (WNCN) — The 1,350-acre Person County Mega Park has been purchased by the Microsoft Corporation for $27 million, county officials announced Thursday.
County officials told CBS 17 they’d worked with the property owners for years to develop the infrastructure necessary to attract large companies to the area.
“We’re becoming part of the 21st century in a big way,” Person County Commission Chair Gordon Powell told CBS 17. “We’re so close to Durham, Raleigh, and the [other] big cities, but we still want to maintain a little bit of that rural characteristic.”
In order to attain “mega park” status, county officials said there needs to be a certain level of infrastructure on the property, like electricity and water. Powell said the hope was to attract large companies, like Microsoft, to invest in the county.
“I think it has the potential of being probably the most investment from one company in Person in its history,” he said.
Powell said he hopes new technical programs coming to Piedmont Community College will help train a local work force that could take on the jobs coming from the Microsoft purchase. In Roxboro, the Person County seat, people who’ve lived in the area their entire lives said they’re excited for the possibility of growth.
“I think it’s a plus for Person County,” Arthur Winstead said. “We need something like that around this area. I think it’s really nice for them to do that.”
Closer to the Mega Park, residents told CBS 17 they were nervous about what this acquisition could mean for their rural community. Since the sale, one woman said roadblocks have made it more difficult for her to visit her mother, who only lives a few minutes away.
“The growth would be good, but not right here in the middle of the country,” she said. “Deer hunters used to come through here all the time, but no deer hunting this year, because the land’s been bought.”
Microsoft has not released details of their plans for the site yet. A spokesperson told CBS 17 in a statement:
“Microsoft has nearly 50 years of supporting local business growth, community development, and innovation. We don’t have anything to share at this time about the purchase of land in Person County, but we are committed to working with the community as we move forward.”