BURKE COUNTY, N.C. — Developers in Burke County are proposing a project so big leaders are calling it a “megasite.”
Just below Lake James, developers hope to turn nearly 1,400 acres of land into an industrial campus. Burke Development Incorporated called the massive property near Morganton a rare and transformative opportunity for the entire region.
However, hundreds of neighbors have signed a petition against it.
"Knowing how few sites there are that have all these attributes left not only in North Carolina but the southeast, that makes this site really valuable," BDI President Alan Wood told WCNC Charlotte.
Wood said the site could turn into a manufacturing facility or a data center.
"It really is possible you could get both on a site this large," Wood added.
The plan, called the Great Meadows Megasite, is already getting public and private funding, including more than $35 million from North Carolina's state budget.
"I'm concerned about the pollution, especially for the water and it's destroying the environment around here," Burke County resident Dudley Greene said.
The project encompasses wetlands and crosses over Muddy Creek. Nearly 600 people, including Greene, have signed a petition opposing it.
"We moved from west Charlotte up here in 1960 to get away from the growth and now they're trying to turn this place into a parking lot," Greene said. "It's ridiculous, I mean it's crazy."
Wood said at least 95 acres of wetlands will be preserved on the property, but Greene is still concerned.
"Burke County is sold as nature's playground," Greene said. "You don’t put a factory in the middle of nature’s playground."
The developers have not decided on what type of business will occupy the site if it's approved by county leaders.
"You have to have that tax base, you have to have the jobs so our people can continue to prosper," Wood said.
The Burke County Planning Board is set to consider the project’s rezoning petition at the end of March.
Contact Julia Kauffman at jkauffman@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.