Governor Stein Announces $43 Million of Investment and 206 New Jobs for Rural North Carolina

Governor Josh Stein today announced that North Carolina's Rural Infrastructure Authority (RIA) has approved 12 grant requests for local governments totaling $5,876,853. The grants include commitments to creating a total of 277 jobs, 71 of which were previously announced. As a result of these grants, the additional investment in these projects, from private and public sources, is expected to reach more than $43 million.

"When rural North Carolina wins, all of North Carolina wins," said Governor Josh Stein. "These grants are strengthening infrastructure, increasing rural economic competitiveness, and giving more people the opportunity to have a great job close to home."

The RIA is supported by the rural economic development team at the North Carolina Department of Commerce. RIA members review and approve funding requests from local communities. Funding comes from a variety of specialized grant and loan programs offered and managed by the North Carolina Department of Commerce's Rural Economic Division, which is led by Assistant Secretary for Rural Development Reginald Speight. Grants support a variety of activities, including infrastructure development, building renovation, building expansion, building demolition, and site improvements.

"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 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 Industrial Development Fund - Utility Account provides grants to local governments located in the 80 most economically distressed counties of the state, which are classified as either Tier 1 or Tier 2. Funds may be used for publicly owned infrastructure projects that are reasonably expected to result in new job creation. The IDF - Utility Account is funded through a process tied to the state's signature Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG) program. When JDIG-awarded companies choose to locate or expand in a Tier 2 or Tier 3 county, a portion of that JDIG award is channeled into the Utility Account.

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.

The Rural Downtown Economic Development Grants program provides grants to local governments to support downtown revitalization and economic development initiatives. These grants are intended to help local governments grow and leverage downtown districts as assets for economic growth, economic development, and prosperity by providing public improvements to help retain businesses and leverage main street assets for community-wide use.

In addition to reviewing and approving funding requests, the N.C. Rural Infrastructure Authority formulates policies and priorities for grant and loan programs administered by the Commerce Department's Rural Economic Development team. Its 17 voting members are appointed by the Governor, Speaker of the House, and Senate President Pro Tem. The North Carolina Secretary of Commerce serves as an ex officio member of the authority.

Visit the Rural Economic Development Division webpage for more information.

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