Cumberland County and Fayetteville are offering large tax rebates and other incentives to persuade a titanium company to open a plant here. Public hearings on the incentives are scheduled for May 20 at the county and May 28 with the city. (CityView photo by Anthony Wooten) Credit: Tony Wooten / CityView

A titanium reclamation plant proposed for Fayetteville and Cumberland County would represent an investment of at least $1 billion and employ 450 people, and the workers’ average pay would be $120,000 a year, according to legal notices published ahead of two public hearings about the project.

To persuade American Titanium LLC to build the plant in Fayetteville, instead of one of several other states the company is considering, the Fayetteville City Council and Cumberland County Board of Commissioners want to purchase 120 acres of land to give to the company for the plant. This would be at 557 Bethune Drive, which is off Ramsey Street near the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. factory.

The site is outside the city limit; the city would annex it, Mayor Mitch Colvin told CityView on Friday.

The city and county governments would also give the company cash — tens of millions of dollars to be paid over 20 years as rebates on its property taxes, the legal notices show.

The city and county have scheduled the public hearings to seek public input on the incentives. The county’s hearing is at 6:45 p.m. Monday at the Cumberland County Courthouse, 117 Dick St. The city’s is set for 6:30 p.m. May 28 at City Hall, 433 Hay St.

This titanium plant proposal is called “Project Aero,” the legal notices say.

The county commissioners on May 6 approved another aspect of Project Aero. They voted to have the Cumberland County Industrial Facility and Pollution Control Financing Authority issue up to $1.3 billion in bonds for the plant. The loans would pass through the authority to American Titanium Metal. Should the company default, the county would not be liable for the debt, Commissioners Chairperson Glenn Adams told CityView after the commissioners approved the plan.

More details:

  • The American Titanium Metal would invest $895 million and employ 300 people by 2028, with an average wage of $120,000.
  • The investment and employment are projected to grow to $1 billion and 450 people. No timeline is specified for that projection.
  • It would be built on 120 acres at 557 Bethune Drive, a small road off Ramsey Street by the Goodyear tire factory. This land belongs to Cape Fear River Holdings LLC, which is managed by Fayetteville developer Franklin Clark.
  • The legal notice says the city and county would buy the 120 acres and give it to American Titanium Metal.
  • Over a period of 20 years, the city and county would give cash to the company, a rebate on the property taxes it pays. This would add up to tens of millions of dollars.

The value of the 20 years of cash incentives paid to the company would rise based on the value of the company’s investment:

  • When the property’s tax value passes $350 million, with at least 200 full-time equivalent employees paid $120,000, the city and county would rebate the company 65% of the taxes it paid. At $350 million and with current city and county property tax rates, the plant’s tax bill would be about $4.7 million. The company would be refunded about $3 million of that tax bill.
  • When the tax value exceeds $500 million, and the company has at least 300 employees, the rebate rises to 75% of the plant’s property tax bill. The annual tax bill would be $6.7 million. The company would get back about $5 million.
  • Above the $1 billion mark, and with 400 employees paid on average at least $120,000, the company would have an 85% rebate on its property taxes. The bill would be almost $13.4 million; the rebate would be $11.4 million.

In addition, the city and county would each spend $535,000 to provide water and sewer infrastructure to the project, the legal notices say.

How to give your opinion on the project

To participate in the county’s public hearing on Monday, members of the public may call ahead to sign up, at 910-678-7771, they can email County Clerk Andrea Tebbe or staff member Iva Clark at atebbe@cumberlandcountync.gov and iclark@cumberlandountync.gov to ask to be put on the list of speakers, and they can sign up at the meeting, prior to 6:40 p.m., Tebbe said.

To participate in the city’s hearing on May 28, sign up with the Clerk’s office by 5 p.m. that day, spokesman Loren Bymer said. Call 910-433-1312, or email City Clerk Pamela Megill at pamelamegill@fayettevillenc.gov.

Senior reporter Paul Woolverton can be reached at 910-261-4710 and pwoolverton@cityviewnc.com.

This story was made possible by contributions to CityView News Fund, a 501c3 charitable organization committed to an informed democracy.

Paul Woolverton is CityView's senior reporter, covering courts, local politics, and Cumberland County affairs. He joined CityView from The Fayetteville Observer, where he worked for more than 30 years.