The Forsyth County Board of Commissioners on Oct. 9 voted unanimously to back an application to the North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Rural Economic Development Division that would allow WH Farms (presented as “Project Flower”) to apply for a rural building reuse grant and have the county serve as the local government unit administering the grant.

County staff described WH Farms as a botanical production and manufacturing company seeking to establish a headquarters and production lines in a currently vacant Forsyth County building. Helena Foray Fiore, Forsyth County community and economic development program administrator, said the company plans a $3,000,000 capital investment and that the project would “bring roughly $120,000 new dollars in tax revenue over the course of 10 years” and create 41 jobs.

Supporters from the local entrepreneurial ecosystem spoke during the public hearing. Ellis Kiefer of Greater Winston-Salem Inc. said the company has roots in the local startup community and that “supporting this expansion with building reuse not only enables a local entrepreneur to scale in place, but it also strengthens our region’s position as a destination for growth-stage startups.” Catherine Ross, incoming president of Winston Starts, and Robert Bass of the Center for Creative Economy also urged approval and described the founder as an established local entrepreneur with domestic and international sales pipelines.

One public commenter raised concerns about how the county reports wage figures. Alan Daniel used a hypothetical to argue that reporting average wages can be misleading: “The average wage on this project is $78,000. That can be accomplished with 41 employees by paying 40 of those employees $40,000 a year and 1 of those employees $1,600,000 a year.” Commissioners responded that county and Department of Commerce records include the detailed wage ranges for all 41 positions and discussed using median wage as a supplementary data point.

After the hearing, Commissioner McDaniel moved to approve the resolution and Commissioner Wilson seconded. The commission voted in favor and the motion carried unanimously.

What happens next: with county support the company may proceed with the grant application to the North Carolina Department of Commerce. The county will act as the local government unit if the grant is awarded; no grant award or final contract terms were reported at the meeting.

Audience-level details and caveats: the county’s statements about projected tax revenue and wages were based on current tax rates and the applicant's submitted payroll projections. The company’s founder and additional company representatives were present at the hearing and answered commissioners’ questions about regulatory compliance and wage structure.