Craven County accepts $360,000 building‑reuse grant for manufacturing expansion, authorizes local match and signatories

The Craven County Board of Commissioners on April 6 voted to accept a $360,000 building‑reuse grant from the North Carolina Department of Commerce to support a private manufacturing expansion identified in meeting materials as “Project Enterprise.” Jeff Wood presented the project and asked the board to authorize the chairman and county staff to execute any documents necessary to accept the award.

Wood said the project involves reuse and improvement of an existing industrial facility to support manufacturing related to information and communication technology, industrial automation, and information protection. He said the project anticipates capital investment of $9.5 million and the creation of 45 full‑time jobs over a two‑year period, with an average annual salary described as just under $50,000; he also said existing North Carolina positions tied to the operation would be retained.

Board discussion addressed the required local match. Meeting materials presented the grant program and the local match requirement of 5 percent; during discussion a county official referenced a local match amount stated as $18,000 while the grant amount and the 5 percent figure were read from the packet. Commissioners moved, seconded, and approved the request by roll‑call vote.

The board also opened a public hearing on the project before accepting the grant; no members of the public spoke during that hearing and the commissioners closed it before taking final action.

The board’s vote authorized county officials to execute grant documents and accept the award; commissioners did not attach additional conditions in the recorded discussion. The county will serve as grant administrator if the award is executed, according to the presentation.

Next steps: staff will finalize grant paperwork and provide any required local match funding at the time documents are executed.