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An Albemarle business site has cleared the first round of selection for a portion of a million-dollar grant program.

At last month’s meeting of the Stanly County Economic Development Commission, director Candice Lowder announced she had received email notification of the Albemarle Business Center clearing the initial round of assessments for the grant.

The North Carolina General Assembly established the funding for the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina (EDPNC), which started with $1 million in 2022 but for next fiscal year will provide $10 million.

The SelectSites Readiness Program will identify up to 15 sites, nine of which must be less than 500 acres and two which must be less than 100 acres.

Albemarle Business Center, in the southern part of the city, is 282 acres, and was submitted along with the Badin Business Park and the Bradley Industrial Site in Norwood.

“We’re very excited. This is a big deal for communities that get put on that list,” Lowder said.

Albemarle EDC Director Lindsey Almond said the business center already “had a lot of the documents in place with it being a SmartSite through Electricities, so that was helpful.”

Almond said the center had a site visit in February with a prospective company.