MONCURE — The anticipated September groundbreaking for VinFast’s manufacturing facility in Moncure appears on track after the new Vietnamese electric vehicle producer completed the acquisition of the land for its new production plant Tuesday.
According to the land deed, VinFast purchased 1,765 acres on the Triangle Innovation Point Site, located on Moncure Flatwood Road. VinFast Manufacturing LLC purchased the land for just under $44 million from the seller, Triangle Innovation Point (TIP) East Development Partners.
The land purchase also included the transaction included an excise tax payment of $87,955. Excise taxes are paid on all real estate transactions at a rate of $1 per every $500 sold, according to North Carolina law. This means the total purchase price for the TIP East site was $43,977,500.
Kirk Bradley, chairman of Lee-Moore Capital Company and one of the partners on TIP East, told the News + Record the manufacturer is now moving forward with its site development and working on permits to begin construction.
Bradley is also a partner in Chatham Media Group LLC, the owners of the News + Record.
Triangle Innovation Point was formerly known as the Moncure Megasite. It’s 2,158.5 acres in total with a prime location: just off U.S. 1 north of Sanford, six minutes from Sanford’s Raleigh Executive Jetport, 30 minutes from Raleigh-Durham International Airport and minutes from the I-540 loop in Wake County and two rail lines and access to utilities, the News + Record previously reported.
It is also possible VinFast will seek additional land outside of the TIP site for its project.
The land deed shows VinFast will occupy TIP East; the TIP site also includes 420 additional acres that make up TIP West, which are being developed separately. Bradley said FedEx and other users are expected to occupy the site, although it has not yet been sold.
VinFast has contacted Barnhill Contracting Company, a Rocky Mount-based contractor, to begin work on the site, Bradley said. Barnhill is the largest contractor in the Research Triangle region.
The purchase of the land is a step in the right direction toward VinFast’s ambitious construction timeline. Company officials previously told the News + Record the company was seeking to break ground in Chatham County by mid-September and get cars to consumers from the facility by July 2024, less than two years from now.
The $44 million is just a portion of the $4 billion in economic development the electric vehicle company has promised to North Carolina. The largest economic development project in state history is also slated to bring 7,500 jobs at the site.
If executed, the big job numbers would make VinFast the largest employer in Chatham County by far — larger than the current top 10 employers in the county combined, according to Access North Carolina.
The company is expected to produce two EVs, the five-seater VF-8 and seven-seater VF-9, along with electric buses at the Chatham County facility. VinFast has said the plant will manufacture and deliver 150,000 vehicles annually with the capacity to ramp up to more than 200,000 vehicles.
VinFast has announced it is hiring management positions for its North Carolina offices and Chatham County Economic Development Director Michael Smith told the News + Record that several VinFast executives are searching for homes in N.C. this month.
Reporter Ben Rappaport can be reached at brappaport@chathamnr.com or on Twitter @b_rappaport