Halifax County commissioners today approved three matters related to economic development.
The projects include an economic development incentive grant for Heaton Construction, appropriation and expenditure of grant funds for preliminary design and environmental site due diligence for a shell industrial building and appropriation of a building reuse grant on behalf of Five Goods Incorporated, a company which is locating in the former WestPoint Stevens building.
There were no speakers during public hearings regarding the projects.
Heaton
For Heaton, the board approved an economic development incentive grant of $42,690 to be paid over a five-year period.
Economic Development Director Cathy Scott told the board Heaton is expanding its operations and is constructing a new building in the Halifax Industrial Center off Highway 903.
She said the company will create a total of $1,604,900 in taxable investment in the form of land, buildings, and machinery. It will create 35 new jobs.
The county proposes to appropriate and expend the $42,690 over the next five years.
Scott said the actual amount of each year’s grant payment will be based on the taxable investment made by the company and the actual number of jobs created in any given year. “The location of this project in Halifax County will stimulate diversity and stabilize the local economy, promote business in Halifax County, increase the population and taxable property in Halifax County and result in the creation of a substantial number of well-paying jobs.”
Shell building
The board then approved two motions related to a shell industrial building for which the county received $27,000 from the Golden LEAF Foundation and $9,700 from Roanoke Electric.
The first motion was to use the funds to develop a preliminary design package and conduct due diligence for a proposed 40,000 square-foot shell building on lot 1 of the Halifax Corporate Park located at 16504 Highway 561 near Halifax.
Scott said the cost of developing the design package will not exceed $36,700 and no county fund will be used for this phase of the work.
The second part concerning the shell building project was to approve a grant project ordinance for its preliminary design.
WestPoint property
The board approved the appropriation and expenditure of $500,000 from the North Carolina Department of Commerce Rural Economic Development Division, which will be disbursed to Five Goods in the form of a loan.
The money will be used for renovations to the property at 1200 Henry Street in Roanoke Rapids which is owned by 1200 NC LLC and will be occupied by Five Goods for food importation and wholesaling.
The resolution notes that the funds will be in support of the company’s reuse of the 700,000 square-foot building and that it will require a cash match commitment from the owner equal to the amount of the loan, and the creation of new jobs over a certain period of time.
