The City of Fayetteville is trying to attract an air dome manufacturing company that would bring 72 jobs to the area.
The City of Fayetteville pledged to give the company almost $64,000, paid in annual installments over five years, to move its operations here. The Fayetteville City Council unanimously voted to approve the incentive grant at Monday’s meeting.
Referred to in city documents as “Project Crossfit,” the proposed development includes the company’s headquarters, manufacturing plant and distribution center for its air dome structures. Air domes are large inflatable structures used for covering various spaces like sports arenas, warehouses and swimming pools.
The proposed site for Project Crossfit is located on more than 14 acres off Aviation Parkway, near the Fayetteville Regional Airport. Three acres are within city limits, while the remaining 11 acres would be voluntarily annexed into the City of Fayetteville, city meeting documents state.
The land is already zoned for heavy industrial use, according to Rob Patton, vice president of the Fayetteville Cumberland Economic Development Corporation.
Patton said the air dome company is one of only three manufacturers of the product in the world, and it makes air domes for high-profile customers like the NFL and NCAA in the U.S. and across the globe.
“This is not just national,” Patton said, “this is global for what these folks make.”
Patton said the company’s operations plant would bring 72 jobs to Fayetteville with an average salary of $47,734, equating to $3.4 million in annual payroll. He said the factory’s establishment in Fayetteville would also generate:
- $4.1 million in capital investment in phase one of the development.
- An estimated $229,192 in city tax revenue over a 10-year period.
- About $165,000 in net tax revenue, after cash incentives are paid.
Patton said the company is currently based elsewhere, but it is looking at Fayetteville and two other sites in Minnesota and Georgia as possible locations for a new headquarters, factory and distribution center. Mayor Mitch Colvin expressed enthusiasm and optimism for Fayetteville’s selection.
“We appreciate you choosing our community,” Colvin told company executives at Monday’s meeting. “We hope that everything goes well. We’re gonna beat Minnesota anyway because we don’t get that much snow, so we just gotta compete with Georgia a little bit. But we’re ready.”
North Carolina is considering approval of a One North Carolina Fund cash grant of about $200,000 to bring the company to the state, Patton said. The One North Carolina Fund is a state grant program that the governor can use to offer money to companies that promise to create jobs in North Carolina. Cumberland County also plans to offer an $88,170 grant incentive, which Patton said the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners will consider approving on March 17.
Patton and a company executive emphasized speed as a crucial factor in elevating Fayetteville above the competition.
“He is closing but opening a manufacturing facility,” Patton said, referring to the executive and the company’s relocation plans. “So speed to market is very critical for this project. So the faster we can move and when we go into the permitting process and rezoning, really helping with the speed is going to be the number one thing in my opinion, besides the incentives that we can do to help this out.”
The company executive said he had enjoyed working with Patton and the city and was “pretty excited” if it worked out for Fayetteville.
“Certainly, the welcome here has been outstanding,” he said.
Update: This story has been updated to reflect that a One North Carolina Fund grant is being considered by the state but has not been approved yet.
Contact Evey Weisblat at eweisblat@cityviewnc.com or 216-527-3608. This story was made possible by donations from readers like you to CityView News Fund, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization committed to an informed democracy in Fayetteville and Cumberland County.
