October 2024
By Katie Fisher, Golden LEAF Program Officer
Wilkes County in collaboration with Wilkes Economic Development Corporation, is the first county in North Carolina to receive funding for all three Golden LEAF SITE Program phases. Between the Identification, Due Diligence, and Development awards, Wilkes County has received $1,565,000 in support from the SITE Program.
The goal of the SITE Program is to support communities in North Carolina in identifying potential industrial sites for economic development, enabling the completion of due diligence on industrial sites already identified, extending public utilities to, and conducting grading and clearing of industrial sites for which due diligence has been completed.
The SITE Program has supported 56 projects in 41 counties.
In an interview with Wilkes EDC staff, President LeeAnn Nixon and Vice President Robin Hamby shared their experiences with the three phases of the SITE Program.
“The SITE Program allowed us to create momentum for the Wilkes Industrial Park,” said Nixon. “The funding we were awarded and staff support at Golden LEAF were phenomenal.”
Wilkes EDC’s first award was for SITE Identification in June 2022. The Identification award provided a county-wide evaluation of possible industrial development sites. Any recipient of a SITE Identification award will collaborate with Golden LEAF staff and site development consultants to evaluate the community’s industrial site development possibilities. The consultants identify exploration zones that Golden LEAF staff and consultants visit with the funding recipient.
“It was wonderful to have the guidance of the team that Golden LEAF put together for the SITE Identification project,” said Hamby. “We needed expert opinions, and we appreciated the “boots on the ground” approach in how they toured our county in person.”
After each visit, the SITE consultants produce a report in a presentation format. The report highlights recommendations regarding specific development strategies, identifying sites that merit future evaluations, and lists the strengths and weaknesses of each potential site along with a timeframe for development.
“One highlight for us with the SITE Program is how the site consultants looked at our assets completely differently than we would,” said Hamby. “They shared that our top priority should be the Wilkes Industrial Park. The Town of North Wilkesboro purchased that property in the 90s and had stalled due to a lack of infrastructure. The SITE Identification presentation described this area as a very promising opportunity for site development.”
Economic development is a team sport. Counties have multiple partners that must be on board for economic development to proceed.
“The SITE Identification presentation was instrumental in positively influencing local leadership,” said Nixon. “It was the tool we needed that gave local leadership the confidence in Wilkes EDC, to continue investing in the property that became the Wilkes Industrial Park.”
After completing the SITE Identification project, Wilkes EDC staff applied for and received a SITE Due Diligence award for $50,000 in June 2023. SITE Due Diligence provides up to $50,000 to conduct specific due diligence reports related to zoning, land use and property control, environmental considerations, site features, and utilities. These reports can cover an entire industrial park or just a potential site. The Due Diligence award is used to assist local leaders in hiring third-party professionals to provide detailed assessments of a particular area.
“The SITE Due Diligence award really helped us with the property,” said Nixon. “Our procured engineer’s analysis of the Buildable Area Map helped us create our master plan for industrial growth in the region. The map was a powerful visual, highlighting the opportunity for Wilkes Industrial Park.” The SITE program activity and buildable area map has created more interest from businesses and potential projects are being explored.
One year later, in June 2024, Wilkes EDC secured an additional $1,500,000 in SITE Development funding for a 22-acre parcel within the Wilkes Industrial Park to clear and grade the property. In addition to Golden LEAF funds, the Town of North Wilkesboro plans to contribute $286,300 for a sewer extension to the site.
SITE Development is focused on one industrial site and can extend public utilities to the site, clear and grade land, create a stubbed road for access, and/or remediate environmental conditions. Each SITE Development project can request up to $1,500,000.
Wilkes EDC staff shared how the SITE Program helped local leadership have confidence with the industrial site project.
“It was the collaboration with Golden LEAF that allowed us to generate a local match for our SITE Development project,” said Hamby.
Wilkes County in collaboration with Wilkes EDC expects to break ground in February 2025 and complete construction in January 2026. Upon the completion of the SITE Development project, Wilkes EDC intends to construct a shell building on the site upon identifying and securing additional sources of funding.
We are grateful for Golden LEAF’s confidence in us,” said Nixon. “We will deliver what we commit to, and together, we are growing the workforce, the job opportunities, and the economy in our community.”
For more information on the SITE Program, visit GoldenLEAF.org/site.