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3/3/2022
The North Carolina Railroad Co. (NCRR) announced yesterday it has awarded $2.92 million to rail-served sites in six counties across North Carolina through the company’s new economic development initiative known as Build Ready Sites.
The funds will enable Alexander, Burke, Johnston, Montgomery, Moore and Pitt counties to make improvements to available rail-served sites to prepare for future industrial development with the goal of spurring growth in their local communities, NCRR officials said in a press release.
Build Ready Sites is the beginning of an ongoing initiative to partner with communities and railroads across the state to combine resources and leverage funds for site readiness, they said. Through the program, NCRR acts as a catalyst to increase the number of rail-served sites that are ready for use by a manufacturer or similar employer.
Each recipient underwent a rigorous application and site-review process overseen by Global Location Strategies, a consultant based in Greenville, South Carolina, said NCRR President and CEO Carl Warren.
"We’re honored to launch an innovative program that not only fosters growth in our local communities, but also creates opportunities for meaningful partnerships that expand our state’s competitive advantage," Warren said.
North Carolina needs construction-ready rail sites, but there are few existing resources for development without significant interest from a client in a specific land site, officials said.
"Our goal is for communities to use these funds to remove development barriers and improve time-to-construction predictability around rail sites that can be developed in 18 months or less," said Emily Cox, NCRR’s economic development and strategic projects manager.
Build Ready Sites funds can be used for land preparation, clearing and grading; critical water/sewer extension; and speculative buildings.
The 2021 Build Ready Sites Award recipients are: Alexander County EDC site in Taylorsville; Butler Hill site in Drexel, Burke County; Eastfield Business Park in Selma, Johnston County; Candor property in Montgomery County; Iron Horse Industrial Park in Aberdeen, Moore County; and Ayden rail site in Pitt County.