VALLEY — The City of Valley grew by approximately 315 acres Monday evening. The city council formally approved the annexation of the Burney property, which sits on the north side of Fob James Drive not far from Exit 77 on I-85.

On Sept. 27th, the sale became final between the city and S.L. Barney IV, Sandra Burney, Burney Farm LLC and Burney Acres LLC. “We’ve started cleaning up the site,” said Mayor Leonard Riley, explaining that the Public Works Department has taken down some of the fencing.

Bids have been sent out on cutting timber on the site.

The Burney property was the third major land purchase made by the city in recent years. Altogether, approximately 1,100 acres has been purchased near Exit 77 on the city’s west side. This includes a 400-acre site formerly owned by WestPoint Home entities and includes the site where the 375,000-square-foot WestRock distribution center is being built. That 30-acre site was sold to Scannell Properties for the purpose of developing the WestRock site.

The land purchases include the Combs property, which is contiguous with the WestPoint Home site and located behind the transportation center.

The Burney property borders Fob James Drive on the south, Valley Collision on the west and King Road on the east. The property is bordered by I-85 on its northwest corner and is bisected by 55th Street. Approximately two-thirds of the site is between 55th Street and the Interstate.

At Monday’s meeting, the council suspended the rules and adopted upon a first reading an ordinance to annex the property into the city. The land is officially in the city once its legal description is published in the local paper.

With the former WestPoint Home land, the Combs property and the Burney site, the city now controls a massive area that be developed for industrial or commercial use. The I-85 corridor between Atlanta and Montgomery is a fast-growing area, but there’s very few places along it where there’s 1,100 acres within short driving distance that has one owner.