The Burke County Development Authority sealed the deal on a land purchase to expand the industrial park.

Chairman William H. “Dub” Harper Jr. signed closing papers last Friday, giving the authority 494 acres of farmland they plan to market to industrial prospects.

The authority paid the seller, MCC, Inc., $2.47 million, or $5,000 per acre, for the tract which is located along Highway 80 West just beyond AgGeorgia Farm Credit. SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) revenue was used to make the purchase. The authority already had about $1 million in SPLOST II revenue and voters approved another $2.5 million in SPLOST III for expansion of the industrial park.

Development Authority Executive Director Jerry Long said plans are to immediately begin marketing the property through the Georgia Department of Economic Development.

Long and the authority members hope the property will help the county attract an industry that may need more land than the current industrial park can offer. The county’s industrial park along Burke Veterans Parkway has about 225 acres available, but Long said the largest continuous tract is only about 160 acres.

Authority members hope to continue leasing out the newly acquired property out as farmland until it can be developed but must first work out an agreement regarding the fate of the farmer’s crop should that development occur during growing season.

The land is under irrigation, and the authority plans to allow the farmers leasing the property to take the irrigation equipment with them should an industry locate there.