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The City of Albemarle has received $763,100 in funding from the Golden LEAF Foundation to assist with the construction of the Albemarle Business Center. The funds will be used to support clearing and grading within the property to create a business-ready site.

The Albemarle Business Center is a 282-acre business park at the crossroads of U.S. Highway 52 and N.C. Highway 24-27.

As Albemarle developed its strategic plan to shape the city’s future, a community survey found 79% percent of respondents ranked the development of the Albemarle Business Center as a top priority.

“We’re grateful to the Golden LEAF Foundation for their support as we take this exciting step forward for our City,” said Albemarle Mayor Ronnie Michael. “The city has taken an active role in developing our economic future and the Golden LEAF funding, combined with the city’s investment, creates an opportunity to be competitive for business investment and job creation.”

Albemarle received funding from the Golden LEAF’s SITE Program. The SITE Program offers resources to help communities identify potential sites for economic development, provides funding to complete due diligence on publicly controlled sites, and provides funding to extend public utilities to publicly controlled sites or to conduct clearing and rough grading of publicly owned sites.

“This project will help the City of Albemarle be prepared for future industry recruitment or expansion opportunities at the Albemarle Business Center,” said Scott T. Hamilton, Golden LEAF president and chief executive officer. “The Golden LEAF Board of Directors established the SITE Program to help rural communities make sites available for development to attract new businesses and create opportunities for existing businesses to expand.”

The Golden LEAF Foundation Board of Directors recently awarded $5.8 million in funding for 10 projects through the Golden LEAF SITE Program.

City of Albemarle staff recently participated in a Grants Management Workshop which covered the grantee agreement, initial requirements, reporting requirements and other details of the award.