Lowndes County has approved issuing up to $25 million in bonds to acquire land that will make up the Cinco Megasite.

Supervisors voted unanimously to approve the bond issuance during the board’s Monday meeting, after Steve Pittman with Government Consultants and attorney Chris Pace with Jones-Walker presented an offer from Webster Bank out of Athens, Georgia at an interest rate of 5.77% over 15 years, through Mississippi Development Bank.

The bonds issued to fund the purchase are subject to repayments starting in five years, and they will mature on March 1, 2040, Pace said.

Board President Trip Hairston said the county plans to budget to pay back the bonds through its regular ad valorem taxes, with the expectation revenue will increase as economic development activities increase in the county – like when the Aluminum Dynamics mill comes online this summer. At the same time, other bonds will be coming off the books, he said, freeing up funds previously tied up in things like the Lowndes County Industrial Park.

Hairston called the bonds’ issuance the “first step” in purchasing the Megasite, which will encompass up to 1,500 acres of land north of Highway 82 near the airport exit. In addition to land acquisition, the bond purchase agreement says the funds can also be applied to site preparation, construction, legal and engineering fees and other start-up costs for the project during its development.

“When we close on this property in March, it is my belief, and my strong belief, that this will be one of the most marketable sites in the state of Mississippi,” Hairston said. “We’re proud to move forward with this and we look forward to the continuance of our economic development and the successes we’ve had.”

A Megasite is a large swath of land dedicated to industrial development for several companies to build and operate. The Megasite program is operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority.

The Golden Triangle already has four Megasites that are home to Steel Dynamics, Aluminum Dynamics and Paccar in Lowndes County and Yokohama Tire in Clay County.

Lowndes County will “sign the dotted line” to buy the first 1,000 acres of the site in the “second half of March,” Hairston said, with an option to buy another 500 acres at a later date.

Golden Triangle Development LINK CEO Joe Max Higgins said his team is looking forward to the deal’s completion, so the LINK can market the property to prospective tenants.

“We already have numerous inquiries from top notch companies, many of which we would love in the Golden Triangle,” Higgins said in a text message to The Dispatch.

State law caps the debt incurred by county governments to 15% of the county’s assessed value. The limit is intended to keep communities from taking on debt for public projects, like building schools or jails, that generate little to no revenue for the county. But last year, legislation passed allowing counties to issue bonds to build Megasites without counting against their debt limits.