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Alexander County rail site named to North Carolina's Select Site Readiness program
Summary
EDPNC representatives told the Alexander County Board of Commissioners that the county's north rail site has been admitted to the state's Select Site Readiness program, making it eligible for grant dollars to fund due diligence, infrastructure upgrades, grading and workforce studies to attract manufacturing investment.
The Alexander County Board of Commissioners heard that the county's north rail site has been selected for North Carolina's Select Site Readiness program, a designation that makes the property eligible for state grant funding to support site acquisition, due diligence, public infrastructure, on-site preparation and workforce analysis.
Garrett Wyoff of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina told commissioners that the program was created after the General Assembly asked state economic development officials to inventory and prepare competitively marketable sites. "What we're looking to do here is ... see if the site is worth pursuing," Wyoff said, describing necessary studies such as wetland delineation, Phase I/II environmental work, water and wastewater analysis, and grading plans.
Michael Worley, the county's economic development director, introduced the presentation and said Alexander County's rail site "was admitted into that program," qualifying the property alongside four other western North Carolina sites. Wyoff said eligible grant purposes include site acquisition (subject to local match), public infrastructure upgrades (water, sewer, power), on-site preparation, and comprehensive due diligence and workforce studies.
Wyoff outlined early recommended steps: begin due diligence and environmental work immediately, engage the U.S. Army Corps for wetlands permitting and mitigation, and plan water/wastewater and power upgrades so the site can meet prospective manufacturers' infrastructure timelines. He warned that infrastructure and workforce readiness are gatekeepers in site selection and stressed speed and executional certainty: "If that site cannot within a relative ... timeline get to a certain megawattage or water capacity, they're just going to cross it off."
Commissioners discussed next steps and expressed readiness to work with EDPNC and county staff to pursue grant funding and required studies. Wyoff said the program report provided each selected community with a comprehensive, roughly 50-page site analysis, and he pledged follow-up support to prepare grant applications and start low-hanging due-diligence tasks.
The presentation closes with an appeal to move quickly: beginning wetlands delineation and other studies now will improve the county's competitive position when companies evaluate site options.
