North Carolina Announces $43 Million For Rural Job Development
This week the North Carolina Rural Infrastructure Authority (RIA) announced that it approved 12 grant requests for local government totaling $5,876,853. These grants support commitments for 277 jobs, 71 of which were previously announced. These grants are expected to help secure additional investment reaching up to $43 million.
“Investing in our rural communities is more than infrastructure; it's providing opportunity," said N.C. Commerce Secretary Lee Lilley. “Companies are looking for great places to work, live and play, and with commercial buildings and industrial sites that are ready to be activated, every corner of the state becomes the best place to do business.”
The RIA is supported by the rural economic development team of the N.C. Department of Commerce. The RIA members review and approval funding request from local communities, for a variety of specialized grants.
The RIA approved seven grant requests under the state's Building Reuse Program. The grants fall into two categories:
Vacant Building Category
Craven County: A $360,000 grant will support the renovation of a 100,000-square-foot building in New Bern. Chatsworth Products will expand its manufacturing footprint to produce hardware and equipment for the information and communications industries. The project will create 45 jobs overall, and an investment of $635,860 is tied to this grant.
City of Fayetteville (Cumberland County): An $80,000 grant will support the reuse of a 21,000-square-foot building in Fayetteville. Benjamin Stout Real Estate Services, a homebuilder and full-service real estate company, is expected to create 10 jobs, with an investment of $757,313.
Forsyth County: A $175,000 grant will support the reuse of a 144,000-square-foot building in Winston-Salem. The facility will be used by GMAX Industries, a manufacturer of medical products. Overall, the project will create 36 jobs, with an investment of $5,788,000 being tied to this grant.
Halifax County: A $174,000 grant will support the renovation of a 125,000-square-foot building in Weldon. The facility will be occupied by East Coast Solutions to blend animal proteins to create feed and pet food. The startup company will create 20 jobs and invest $175,880.
Existing Business Building Category
Buncombe County: A $100,000 grant will support the renovation of a 325,000-square-foot building that will be occupied by Southeastern Container, a manufacturer of plastic bottles and bottle closures. With this project, the company will create 12 jobs and invest $8,105,624.
Town of Tarboro (Edgecombe County): A $500,000 grant will support the renovation of a 480,000-square-foot building that is occupied by LS Cable and System USA. The company develops, produces, and provides power and telecommunications cables and systems. The manufacturer plans to create 85 jobs with a private investment of $10,882,000.
Surry County: A $500,000 grant will support the expansion of a building in Mount Airy that is occupied by Altec Industries. The company provides products and services for the electric utility, telecommunications, and related contractor markets. The project will create 79 jobs with an investment of $9,668,000.
The Building Reuse Program provides grants to local governments to renovate vacant buildings, renovate and/or expand buildings occupied by existing North Carolina companies, and renovate, expand, or construct health care facilities that will lead to the creation of new jobs in Tier 1 and Tier 2 counties, as well as in rural census tracts of Tier 3 counties.
The RIA approved two grant requests under the state’s Industrial Development Fund – Utility Account program:
Nash County: A $236,453 grant will support the extension of sewer infrastructure in the county’s industrial corridor for future growth. This project will include a private investment of $6.5 million.
Town of North Wilkesboro (Wilkes County): A $1,201,400 grant will support the town’s extension of road, sewer, water lines into Wilkes Industrial Park to support the park growth. The town is also seeking NC Certified Sites certification.
The RIA approved three grant requests under the state’s Rural Downtown Economic Development program in the Public Infrastructure category:
City of Washington (Beaufort County): An $850,000 grant will support the second phase of the city’s streetscape improvement project, which includes new brick paver sidewalks, ADA accessibility, pedestrian lighting, curbs and gutters, and tree pits. The project is expected to leverage public and private investments totaling $629,523.
Town of Longview (Catawba County): An $850,000 grant will assist the town with sidewalk improvements including the construction and rehabilitation of 1.2 miles of sidewalks and ADA-compliant ramps to improve downtown connectivity. The project is expected to leverage public and private investments totaling $142,823.
Town of Edenton (Chowan County): An $850,000 grant will support lighting improvements for historic downtown Edenton. The project will replace outdated lighting and add new lighting in current gaps. The project is expected to leverage public and private investments totaling $458,331.
