Economic development is strong in Cumberland County as industry continues to expand here. That’s according to the Fayetteville Cumberland Economic Development Corporation, a public-private partnership that works on behalf of the local government to attract high-value companies to Cumberland County.
Robert Van Geons, the president of FCEDC, gave updates on economic development efforts to Fayetteville and Cumberland County elected officials at a joint committee meeting on Monday. He praised recent economic development successes, such as attracting Yeadon Domes, an international manufacturer of air domes, to build its factory and headquarters in Fayetteville.
“Looking back, last year we had one of our most active years in total of announcements and projects generated, with Project Aero … the opening of Amazon and many others,” Van Geons said.
Project Aero was the former code name for a 500,000-square-foot titanium factory that is set to be built in Fayetteville in the near future. The aerospace manufacturing company American Titanium Metal LLC selected Cumberland County for its site last summer, following incentive packages from the city and county. The facility promises an $867 million investment in the local economy and about 300 jobs. Van Geons said the project is steadily “moving forward,” with company officials focused now on preparing the property for development.
“We have met with them multiple times,” he said. “They’re coming back into town in a few weeks here.”
Van Geons said FCEDC is also working on developing a center for innovation to house startup defense and technology companies, in the former location of the Homemakers Furniture and Interiors. The 35,800-square-foot warehouse will offer training spaces, secured technology labs, advanced computing infrastructure and offices, according to FCEDC.
“We’ve had an unprecedented interest from private sector companies and research institutions,” Van Geons said of the facility.
In addition, FCEDC is continuing to make improvements to a county-owned, 159-acre property, known as the Sand Hill Road site, for industrial development, Van Geons said.
“Now we have interest from multiple data centers to the tune of billion dollars worth of taxable investment looking to come to our community,” he said.
Data centers are facilities that store computer systems that process large amounts of data, such as artificial intelligence servers. Mayor Mitch Colvin has previously expressed strong interest in attracting such facilities, which are often valued at more than $1 billion. In June, Amazon selected nearby Richmond County to build a $10 billion data center.
Government accountability reporter Evey Weisblat can be reached at eweisblat@cityviewnc.com or 216-527-3608.
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