During Golden LEAF’s strategic planning process, the Golden LEAF Board identified gaps in available funding to support site development necessary to attract businesses, especially in rural and economically distressed areas. In response to these findings, the SITE Program was designed to support the identification, preparation, and development of sites to attract quality jobs to these areas.
The SITE Program supports communities in identifying potential sites for economic development and provides funds to enable completion of due diligence on sites already identified or to extend public utilities to or conduct rough grading and clearing of sites for which due diligence has been completed. The three phases of the SITE Program are Identification, Due Diligence, and Development.
Organizations can begin the process at any of the three phases, and a site may progress from identification through to development over time.
SITE Program – Identification provides support to identify potential industrial sites in communities that do not currently have quality industrial sites to market.
SITE Program – Due Diligence provides funding to complete eligible due diligence activities such as environmental assessments, archaeological analyses, and mapping for identified industrial sites.
SITE Program – Development provides funding for public infrastructure and, for publicly owned sites, clearing and grading, to benefit sites that have completed the due diligence necessary to demonstrate that the site is suitable for industrial development.
To date, the Golden LEAF Board of Directors has awarded SITE Program funding for the following projects:
| December 2021 | ||||
| County | Project Title | Organization | Amount | Description |
| Alexander | Alexander EDC Rail Shell Site | Alexander County Economic Development Corporation | $632,412 | Development |
| Cumberland | Fayetteville Regional Airport Sewer Improvement | City of Fayetteville, Department of Economic and Community Development | $965,830 | Development |
| Duplin | Duplin County AirPark | Foundation for Duplin County Industrial and Business Development | $17,500 | Due Diligence |
| Franklin | Louisburg Commerce Park | Town of Louisburg | $252,720 | Development |
| Halifax | Enfield Industrial Site Readiness Project | County of Halifax | $18,500 | Due Diligence |
| Macon | Macon County Site ID | Macon County (Macon County EDC) | $15,000 | Identification |
| McDowell | Universal Technology Park | County of McDowell | $952,000 | Development |
| Montgomery | Montgomery County Identification | County of Montgomery | $15,000 | Identification |
| Nash | Middlesex Corporate Centre Due Diligence | County of Nash | $50,000 | Due Diligence |
| Rockingham | Development SITE Grant for Lot 11 Reidsville Industrial Park | County of Rockingham | $992,000 | Development |
| June 2022 | ||||
| Columbus | Tabor City Industrial Park Site Development | Town of Tabor City | $375,000 | Development |
| Cumberland | Sand Hill Road Site | County of Cumberland | $937,600 | Development |
| Duplin | Duplin County AirPark Development | Foundation for Duplin County Industrial and Business Development | $423,500 | Development |
| Martin | NC Rail & Commerce Park – Due Diligence | Martin County Economic Development Corporation | $29,500 | Due Diligence |
| Moore | Town of Robbins Site Identification | Moore County Partners in Progress | $15,000 | Identification |
| Nash | Nashville Business Center Grubbing & Clearing Project | Town of Nashville | $188,513 | Due Diligence |
| Person | Person County North Park Site | County of Person | $973,750 | Development |
| Robeson | Comtech Reinvestment | County of Robeson | $35,500 | Due Diligence |
| Rutherford | RiverStone Business Park | Rutherford County Economic Development Corporation | $998,512.50 | Development |
| Stokes | Stokes County Site Identification Search | County of Stokes | $15,000 | Identification |
| Surry | Westwood Industrial Park Due Diligence | City of Mount Airy | $39,650 | Due Diligence |
| Wilkes | Wilkes County Site Identification Search | Wilkes Economic Development Corporation | $15,000 | Identification |
| Onslow | Frontier | City of Jacksonville | $1,000,000 | Development |
| December 2022 | ||||
| Duplin | Duplin County 2022 Golden LEAF Water Supply Well Project | County of Duplin | $999,150 | Development |
| Forsyth | Tanglewood Business Park | Greater Winston-Salem Development Corp. | $25,500 | Due Diligence |
| Nash | Betts Parkway/Peele Road Water/Sewer Extension | City of Rocky Mount | $1,500,000 | Development |
| Randolph | I-74 Industrial Center Development | County of Randolph | $1,000,000 | Development |
| Rockingham | Development SITE Grant for Eden New Street Site | County of Rockingham | $1,000,000 | Development |
| Sampson | Sampson Southeast Business Center SITE Development | County of Sampson | $265,112.38 | Development |
| Stanly | ABC Site Prep | City of Albemarle | $763,100 | Development |
| Stanly | Riverstone Industrial Park Clearing & Grading | County of Stanly | $248,440 | Development |
| Warren | Warren County Site Identification | County of Warren | $15,000 | Identification |
| June 2023 | ||||
| Ashe | Grading at Ashe County Business Park Site | County of Ashe | $920,034.50 | Development |
| Catawba | Claremont International Rail Park | City of Claremont | $50,000 | Due Diligence |
| Columbus | Southeast Regional Park Site Development | County of Columbus | $50,000 | Due Diligence |
| Jackson | Jackson Site ID | Jackson County Economic Development | $15,000 | Identification |
| Lenoir | La Grange Economic Development Site #1 | Town of La Grange, North Carolina | $1,500,000 | Development |
| Madison | Madison County Industrial Park | Madison County Economic Development | $24,550 | Due Diligence |
| McDowell | Universal Technology Park Phase II | County of McDowell | $1,378,550 | Development |
| Nash | Nashville Business Center Rough Grading | Town of Nashville | $407,550 | Development |
| Onslow | Camp Davis Industrial Park, Phase III | Jacksonville-Onslow Economic Development Partnership | $50,000 | Due Diligence |
| Wilkes | Wilkes Industrial Park | Wilkes Economic Development Corporation | $50,000 | Due Diligence |
| Pitt | Ayden Water System Improvements | County of Pitt | $1,500,000 | Development |
| December 2023 | ||||
| Burke | Great Meadows Site | Burke Partnership for Economic Development, Inc. | $50,000 | Due Diligence |
| Greene | Greene County SITE Identification | County of Greene | $15,000 | Identification |
| Madison | Madison County Industrial Site | Madison County Economic Development | $1,500,000 | Development |
| Surry | Westwood Industrial Park Site Development | City of Mount Airy | $1,500,000 | Development |
| Washington | SITE Program Identification | Washington, County of | $15,000 | Identification |
The next round of SITE Program awards will be made at the June 2024 meeting. Learn more about the SITE Program.