Toyota to build $1.29 billion EV battery plant in North Carolina

[Chris Martin]

Toyota announced their intention to build a large plant in Liberty, NC. The location is called the Greensboro-Randolph Megasite. This site location, per the coordinates on the GRM website, is near Greensboro (central North Carolina) and expected to create 1,750 jobs in the state. Production is scheduled to begin in 2025, which is still a few years out.

What I don't get, and maybe someone from that area can explain, is why the GRM points to an undeveloped field a few miles NW of Liberty. From the drone footage on the GRM web page it looks like development has (at best) just started, and this appears to be consistent with the single page development activity status report from GRM. The land in the immediate vicinity (the GRM, all zoned Heavy Industrial) is held by Greensboro Randolph Megasite Foundation Inc., County of Randolph, and by far the largest parcel and land holder, Horth Carolina Railroad Holdings I LLC. The interesting thing is that outside the GRM parcels consist of larger parcels of primarily RA (Residential Agriculture) that I would think some of which would be prime areas for development. The GRM borders Guilford County to the north, and the parcels there are almost all AG (Agriculture) except for a few PUDs along 421/Old 421.

So, the question I have is if/when do investors who know the area anticipate residential development to start? Or are there enough residential properties available to the north in Guilford County? I would think planning is well underway even though production is still three years away.

I'm curious to hear if developers see this as an opportunity, or if the size of the plant (up to 1,750 jobs) doesn't compel people to consider action.