January 25, 2024
Applications for the Spring 2024 Golden LEAF SITE Program are now available at GoldenLEAF.org/SITE. Information is available for each phase (Identification, Due Diligence, and Development) by clicking the photos on the main SITE Program page. To access the links to the guidelines, application documents, general resources, and the application portal, please visit the SITE Program Resources page at this link.
To kick off this round of the SITE Program, Golden LEAF staff will host an informational webinar on Monday, January 29th at 10:30 a.m. Click here to register.
The SITE Program provides support to communities to identify potential sites for economic development, enable completion of due diligence on sites already identified, or extend public utilities to or conduct grading and clearing of sites for which due diligence has been completed.
Golden LEAF has budgeted $12.5 million for the SITE Program this fiscal year which will be awarded in two rounds: Fall 2023 and Spring 2024. The Fall 2023 round of SITE Program projects were awarded in December 2023 and resulted in five projects receiving $3.08 million. Applications for the Spring 2024 round are due March 14 at noon for consideration by the Golden LEAF Foundation Board of Directors at their June 2024 meeting. Golden LEAF has approximately $9.4 million for funding the SITE Program in Spring 2024.
Golden LEAF created the SITE Program with a three-phased approach:
- SITE Program – Identification support to identify potential industrial sites in communities that do not currently have quality industrial sites to market.
- SITE Program – Due diligence funding to complete eligible due diligence activities such as items related to zoning, land use and property control, environmental considerations, site features, and utilities.
- SITE Program – Development funding for sites that have completed the due diligence necessary to demonstrate that the site is suitable for development that includes the extension of public utilities (typically water and sewer) to sites; clearing and grading and to stub access roads into the site (publicly owned sites only); and remediation of environmental conditions to enable industrial development (publicly owned sites only).
Golden LEAF intends for the SITE Program to complement other site readiness and site development programs existing in North Carolina and has coordinated its requirements with those other programs. Applicants will be able to begin the process at any of the three phases, and a site may progress from identification through to development over time.
All updates and details will be posted on our website under the SITE Program. For more information, visit GoldenLEAF.org/SITE.