Triangle Business Journal hosts Lee & Harnett counties Corridor of Opportunities event

The Triangle Business Journal (TBJ) hosted the July 23 Corridor of Opportunities with four panelists from Lee and Harnett counties.

Moderator Ben Tobin of the TBJ opened the discussion. He asked about the different approaches Lee and Harnett counties had in response to data centers.

Sanford Area Growth Alliance CEO Jimmy Randolph said they identify business sectors that align with the community needs, such as healthcare and manufacturing. “Data centers are not a target sector, but we all rely on data centers.” He said about the digital age, AI use for the point of sale, cloud storage and ChatGPT. “Negativity [about data centers] is misplaced and not very well founded. We play the role of helping communities understand the fit.”

Lee County created data center regulations for its Uniform Development Ordinances.

“We recognize that local government has little control over what businesses come to the county. But we must protect the community from potential negative impacts,” Randolph said.

Tobin asked how Randolph reconciled the data centers estimated 45 jobs.

Randolph replied that unemployment was under 4% and the impacts on the community will not be significant as far as pulling workforce from existing employers, plus they contribute to the tax base.

Harnett County Commissioner Barbara McKoy said the board approved the data center moratorium because they listened to the people. They now have the time to research the potential impacts on the environment and utilities.

“There is a place for data centers,” Harnett County Economic Development Director Stephen Barrington said. There are different types of data centers. He said data centers are a target business, and the moratorium allows them to “see if we are going after a data center 1.0…or 2.0.”

The 1.0 data center uses forced air-cooling systems and raised-floor designs. They top out at 5-10 kW per server rack and cannot cool dense modern hardware, rendering them less efficient.

The 2.0 data center uses liquid cooling to support 40-100+ kW-per-rack high-density computing, standard for modern AI and machine learning clusters. This makes them more sustainable.

Just as grocery stores, retail purchases and options for auto purchasing have changed with technology, so have data centers. They used to be small and out-of-sight but with the majority of people relying on AI for credit cards and accounting and researching, data storage and more, data centers grew more complex and larger.

“I’m glad I’m the only one with no say-so on data centers,” Sanford Contractors, Inc President Donnie Oldham said, and the audience of about 50 laughed with him. “We’ll be happy to build it.”

Barrington answered a question on infrastructure, exemplifying the creation of the Harnett 95 Industrial Center. Read details here. He said they’d take small and medium-sized “fish” as well and added they’d take 40 jobs with a data center because the pay was significantly higher.

McKoy said Harnett was desperate for jobs because in 2,000, Erwin Mills closed. “It was the denim capital of the world and had 2,000 jobs, the highest paying jobs in the county.” She said people were commuting for jobs in nearby counties. She complimented Lee County, saying, “Ya’ll got it going on.”

Tubin asked about environmental challenges.

Oldham said development had slowed but the challenges of workforce, material and equipment costs remained the same. He said partnering with Central Carolina Community College and the high schools strengthened the workforce. 

Tubin asked Randolph to toss his nondisclosure agreement (NDA) out the window to give him an exclusive on Project SOL. Read details in Sanford approves $11M incentive for $600M medical project, advances Tramway growth toward Bruce Coggins Road.

While Randolph did not violate the NDA, he revealed the company may announce its location, Lee County or Minnesota, within 60 days.

The discussion on retail led to Target. Harnett enjoys Fuquay Varina’s Target and Oldham said it took 45 years for his wife’s wish for a Target in Sanford to come to fruition.

The next Corridor of Opportunity event is Oct. 29 in Greenville.

July 23, 2026

Stephanie M. Sellers

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