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Greensboro secures federal grant for land use study near megasite

In May of this year, dozens of state and local government representatives, company leaders and other officials gathered outdoors at the Greensboro-Randolph Megasite for the unveiling of the Toyota Battery Manufacturing North Carolina Plant. David Ford/WFDD

The city of Greensboro is looking to build off momentum from Toyota's electric vehicle battery plant that's under construction at the nearby megasite. The city was notified this week that it will receive a federal grant to help study possibilities.

Greensboro has been awarded an Economic Adjustment Assistance grant of $100,000.

The money will be used to conduct a land-use study along the U.S. Highway 421 Corridor. It's a matching grant, so the city will also chip in funds.

The city is already installing water and sewer infrastructure for the Greensboro-Randolph Megasite.

The study will look at what other resources are needed to spur more economic development in this area. That could include roads and other support like fire service.

Marshall Yandle, the economic development manager for the city of Greensboro, says the land use study will help local officials make more informed decisions.

“We plan to identify potential other industrial sites for development, not megasite size of course, but just other industrial sites that could be for suppliers or other auxiliary companies to these major projects that have landed here,” says Yandle.

Last December, Governor Roy Cooper announced plans for the arrival of Toyota's lithium battery plant at the Greensboro-Randolph Megasite.

The $1.3 billion facility is expected to begin production in 2025 and create around 1,700 jobs. 

Follow WFDD's Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news

Keri Brown is a multi-award winning reporter and host at 88.5 WFDD. She has been honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her stories about coal ash, and was named the 2015 radio reporter of the year by the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC).Although she covers a variety of topics, her beats are environmental and education reporting.Keri comes to the Triad from West Virginia Public Broadcasting, where she served as the Chief Bureau Reporter for the Northern Panhandle. She produced stories for the state's Public Television and Radio programs and was honored by the West Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association for her feature and enterprise reporting.She also served as an adjunct instructor at Wheeling Jesuit University and Bethany College in West Virginia. She worked with the Center for Educational Technologies in Wheeling, WV, and other NASA centers across the country to develop several stories about the use of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts in the classroom.Keri's journalism career began at WTRF-TV 7 in Wheeling. She worked in several roles at the station, including the head assignment editor. She also was a field producer and assignment manager at WPGH-TV Fox 53 in Pittsburgh.Keri is a graduate of Ohio University. When she's not in the studio or working on a story, she enjoys watching college football with her family, cooking, and traveling.Keri is always looking for another great story idea, so please share them with her. You can follow her on Twitter @kerib_news.

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