Already, the Town Council has rezoned 250 acres on the north side of N.C. 42 East for industrial use. Caterpillar’s assembly plant is on the south side of the highway. The next step is a special-use permit. But before the Town Council issues that, it wants to see detailed site plans from O’Brien/Atkins, an architectural firm based in Research Triangle Park.

An early site plan from the architects shows a 48,970-square-foot “Caterpillar Product Development Center,” where the company would test products before putting them on the market.

Town planning director Skip Browder said the center would employ about 300 people, most of them engineers, including some who already work for Caterpillar.

Town Manager Steve Biggs welcomed the news. “I think what is important about this is the statement it makes that Caterpillar is committed to the Clayton facility and the Clayton community,” he said. “We think this is going to be really one of the most beneficial projects occurring in our local economy.”