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AB Tech pitches "Futures Factory"; commissioners approve $5M Article 46 match and authorize due diligence on co-application
Summary
AB Tech asked Buncombe County to pledge $5 million from Article 46 funds as a match for an EDA grant to build a 70,000-square-foot advanced manufacturing "Futures Factory." Commissioners approved a $5 million budget amendment, recorded a chair recusal, and empowered county staff to vet and proceed on co-application details.
AB Tech and regional partners presented the Western North Carolina "Futures Factory" proposal at the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners meeting on Aug. 19 and asked the county to pledge $5,000,000 from Article 46 sales-tax funds as half of the local match for a planned federal Economic Development Administration (EDA) grant application.
Doctor Gossett, representing AB Tech, described a proposed 70,000-square-foot advanced manufacturing center to be sited on donated land in Biltmore Park West and said the project would combine training, applied research, pilot production and leased space for manufacturers. "The expectation is 0 cost to the county upon maturity," Gossett said, describing a sustainability plan based on leases, grants and other…
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