By Gordon Anderson | gordon@rantnc.com

The Lee County Board of Commissioners approved on Monday up to $2 million for a proposed redevelopment of the Riverbirch Corner shopping center in west Sanford that would include a Target location, an unnamed new to market grocery store, and other new commercial tenants.

The vote, which came with no discussion, was 4-3. Democratic Commissioners Mark Lovick, Robert Reives Sr. and Cameron Sharpe, and Republican Commissioner Taylor Vorbeck voted yes; Republicans Andre Knecht, Samantha Martin and Chairman Kirk Smith voted no.

Whitney Parrish, attorney to the Board of Commissioners, said before the vote that the spending will be part of an interlocal agreement with the city of Sanford, which is set to consider an incentive of up to $4.4 million for the project. The county’s participation in the agreement would reimburse Ohio-based developer CASTO for water and sewer infrastructure upgrades the proposed project requires. The reimbursement wouldn’t happen until Target and the new grocery store are open to the public, Parrish said.

CASTO purchased Riverbirch in 2022 and proposed the redevelopment at the start of September. The Sanford City Council will hold a public hearing 5 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 225 E. Weatherspoon St., for its part in the deal with CASTO. If this city approves the agreement, the public price tag for the project will be up to $6.4 million.

The Sanford Area Growth Alliance, which helped negotiate the deal with CASTO, called it “one of the most significant projects ever undertaken in our community” in a social media post, and estimates a return on the investment far in excess of the up to $6.4 million in public funding.

“The potential economic impacts are considerable,” the post reads, listing $60 million-plus in new capital investment, $100 million in annual retail sales, and more than $3 million in new property and local sales tax revenue each year as potential benefits.