ALBEMARLE COUNTY, Va. (CBS19 NEWS) -- Albemarle County is going to buy hundreds of acres along Route 29 North next to Rivanna Station.

According to a release, the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors voted on Wednesday in a Special assignment to accept an assignment of a contract to acquire 462 acres of property for $58 million.

The property will be a sub-installation of Fort Belvoir and home to several federal defense intelligence agencies, including the National Ground Intelligence Center, the Defense Intelligence Center, and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

“The vision for this purchase is to solidify the long-term vibrancy of Rivanna Station in Albemarle. This project, Rivanna Station Futures, allows us to remain attractive to the Station, the anchor for the defense sector in our community, and provides opportunities for private sector and academic partners to take part in shaping the future vibrancy of the sector,” Chair Donna Price said. “A key piece of Rivanna Station Futures is the establishment of an Intelligence Community Innovation Acceleration Campus, a place for public sector organizations, private sector businesses, and academic institutions to work together to co-create solutions to the biggest challenges facing our nation and the world.” 

Back in 2017, the Virginia Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs and other leaders started to plan for the future of Rivanna Station, including expanding beyond the U.S. Department of Defense’s existing holdings.

The release says the county identified an opportunity to provide business retention and more services as well as align with its economic development strategic plan, called Project ENABLE.

“We know this project is a generational investment in our community’s vibrancy – and we believe that our success in public-private partnerships will continue – that we’ll leverage our public investment to bring returns in the form of private investment to build out this site,” Interim Economic Development Director J.T. Newberry said.

The University of Virginia Weldon Cooper Center recently released a report on the Defense Sector’s Economic Impact, which found that it generates $1.2 billion of activity in the Albemarle-Charlottesville-Greene region annually.

That makes the defense sector the second largest sector in the local economy, behind the university.

The release says the funding source for this will be bond proceeds, with the supervisors getting a staff presentation detailing the financing and site due diligence process at their upcoming meeting on June 7.

This process will be taking place over the next several months, including a public hearing that will be held on June 21.