The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved $3.5 million in tax incentives for a potential solar factory Monday, marking the first step in enticing an unnamed international company to bring over $159 million to the local economy.
Known as “Project Smartie,” CityView previously reported the plant would create 815 jobs paying $53,000 on average and could be opened in an existing building on Corporation Drive.
Robert Van Geons, the president and CEO of the Fayetteville Cumberland County Economic Development Corporation, told commissioners Monday the anonymous company is headquartered in a country that belongs to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). NATO has 32 members, according to its website.
“This company would take an existing vacant building along Corporation Drive and they would utilize it to manufacture products for the solar industry,” Van Geons said. “If we are selected, the company would hire more than 400 employees in the first year of operations, which would be 2025, growing eventually to 815 [jobs] by the end of 2027.”
Ninety percent of the plant’s jobs would pay between $22 and $38 an hour, he said.
“Over the life of the agreement, Cumberland County would collect $5.7 million in new tax revenue over the seven years from today to the last payment, and you’d pay out $3.5 million in incentives,” Van Geons said. “In order to qualify for all of this, the company will add more than $265 million worth of wages to our local economy.”
Other states are being considered by the company, he noted.
No one spoke at the public hearing held Monday on the project.
In other business:
- Assistant County Manager Brian Haney introduced Robin Deaver, who began as the county’s new finance director and chief financial officer Monday. Deaver previously served as chief finance officer and deputy treasurer at the State Treasurer’s Office and worked at Fayetteville Technical Community College from 2008 to 2023, Haney said.
- Cumberland County Board of Elections Director Angie Amaro announced Kyariaha Maxwell, a sophomore at Cumberland Virtual Academy, as the winner of the “I Voted” sticker design competition. Maxwell’s design will be handed out to voters in November across Cumberland County.
- The board made the following nominations: Chris Bullock to the ABC Board; Lee Ward and Sandra Reeves to the Cumberland County Animal Services Board; Beth Maynard and Roni Winston to the Joint Fort Liberty & Cumberland County Food Policy Council.
The board went into closed session for 29 minutes, citing attorney-client privilege. No action was taken upon the board’s return.
The board will next meet at 9 a.m. Aug. 5 in Room 118 of the Cumberland County Courthouse at 117 Dick St.
Reporter Lexi Solomon can be reached at lsolomon@cityviewnc.com or 910-423-6500.
This story was made possible by contributions to CityView News Fund, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization committed to an informed democracy.