Golden Leaf grants go toward three business-park projects in Randolph, Rockingham and Forsyth counties

December 6, 2022

Industrial-park sites being developed in Randolph and Rockingham counties and the Tanglewood Business Park project in Forsyth County have received funding help from the Golden Leaf Foundation, the organization that oversees part of the disbursement of funds received from tobacco companies in North Carolina.

The foundation’s board awarded more than $6 million in grants last week for various economic development projects. Projects receiving funding in the Triad included:

Randolph County is receiving $1 million toward extending sewer to facilitate the development of the proposed I-74 Industrial Center, 160 acres near Sophia next to the interstate.

Samet Corp. is developing the industrial center with capacity for more than 1 million square feet of space. Randolph County has an option on about 30 acres. According to the grant application, the county anticipates creation of 500 jobs paying $40,000 in annual wages could be created at the site.

Rockingham County is getting $1 million for grubbing, or vegetation removal, and rough grading at a roughly 14-acre site at the New Street industrial site in Eden.

The work is to clear and rough grade a pad to accommodate a building of 250,000 to 300,000 square feet so that the site can be more competitive in meeting the shrinking timelines of companies, according to county Director of Economic Development and Tourism Leigh Cockram.

“We are grateful to Golden Leaf for its continued support of Rockingham County's economic development efforts,” Cockram added.

The county believes will help it secure a manufacturing business that would invest $50 million and create more than 150 quality jobs, according to the grant application.

Both projects are receiving funds from the foundation’s site development funding stream for public infrastructure and clearing and rough grading on publicly owned sites that have been through a due diligence phase to show they are suitable for development.

Greater Winston-Salem Development Corp. is getting $25,500 for due diligence work for the Tanglewood Business Park that has been in the works since at least 2019. Such work can include environmental assessments, archaeological analyses, and mapping.

Source: Triad Business Journal