Chatham County land adjacent to VinFast factory site hits market with $50M price tag

Chatham county is looking for a neighbor for the electric vehicle company VinFast. The electric SUV maker based in Vietnam has a $4 billion dollar commitment to build a factory near Moncure. Now the property next door is poised to fetch a premium price.

The 339-acre parcel of land is up for sale at $50 million plus – more than $150,000 an acre. While it seems like a steep price tag, the location and features of the land make it a desirable property according to Moss Withers of Lee & Associates Commercial Real Estate Services.

“There is a new interchange being installed to bring traffic directly off of US-1 and into the VinFast plant. Our site has the only access point off of that new finger,” says Withers.  “Additionally, we are adjacent to sewer and a majority of the land is usable, which is rare.”

Last year, VinFastbought 1,765 acres of land for approximately $44 million.

The proximity to the Triangle and its many perks is a big feature. Fr example, I-540 is only 12 miles away.

While the land is currently zoned for residential use, it could be rezoned for other use. Regardless, there are plenty of projects that might be interested in positioning adjacent to the new plant.

Image of Chatham County site from Lee & Associates Commercial Real Estate Services

CONSTRUCTION DELAYED

The VinFast plant was originally planned to open for production in July 2024 and recently announced production will now start sometime in 2025. But Michael Smith, president of the Chatham Economic Development Corporation is not concerned.

“The July 2024 time frame for production at VinFast was always extremely aggressive.  Pushing this back a year will be a positive step for all of the different parts of this massive project coming together  Our local VinFast executives have reminded us there is no change in the scope or vision of this transformational project in Chatham County.”

VinFast does seem to be making progress. According to Withers, most delays have been related to permitting, but progress has been made in developing the land. That said, continued delays would impact the land values around the plant. 

“If, for some reason, Vinfast is delayed, say over 2 years, yes this would have an impact on pricing.”

Original Article Source: WRAL TechWire