July 11, 2024
At the June 2024 meeting, the Golden LEAF Board of Directors voted to change the SITE Program from accepting applications twice per year to accepting applications year-round. Golden LEAF has budgeted $12.5 million for the SITE Program this fiscal year.
“The need for industrial sites, especially in rural areas, is critically important to meet demand,” said Scott T. Hamilton, Golden LEAF President, Chief Executive Officer. “Expanding the SITE Program application period to year round will help prepare counties for new and expanding companies in North Carolina in a more effective and efficient manner.”
The Golden LEAF Board created the Golden LEAF SITE Program in 2021. Through this program, Golden LEAF provides support to communities to identify potential industrial sites for economic development, enable completion of due diligence on industrial sites already identified, or extend public utilities to or conduct grading and clearing of industrial sites for which due diligence has been completed.
Golden LEAF created the SITE Program with a three-phased approach:
- 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.
- 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 development.
Applicants can enter at any of the three phases and progress to the next phase through subsequent applications. Opening the program to accept applications will allow projects to progress more quickly through each phase.
The Golden LEAF Board will consider applications in the SITE Program at each of its six regular meetings during the year. The Golden LEAF Board meets in February, April, June, August, October, and December. The next deadline is September 12, 2024 by noon for review by the Golden LEAF Board of Directors at their December 5, 2024 meeting. For the SITE Program application/review timeline, click here.
Visit GoldenLEAF.org/site to learn more about the SITE Program.