Wilkes Journal Patriot – The Golden LEAF Board of Directors on June 2 announced that Wilkes County was chosen for participation in a program that helps identify potential industrial sites. The Wilkes Economic Development Corp. submitted the application for Wilkes County’s participation.
Wilkes EDC President LeeAnn Nixon said a company hired by Golden LEAF will review sites submitted by the EDC and others to determine which have the greatest potential for economic development.
Nixon said the sites submitted by the EDC were already listed with information about each on its website.
“The EDC is grateful for the opportunity to be a recipient of Golden LEAF’s site identification program,” she said. “We will receive consulting services that will complement our internal efforts to identify and evaluate known and unknown sites for future industrial growth opportunities. We encourage Realtors, developers and property owners to contact us to discuss all properties that are available, especially those greater than 30 acres near infrastructure,” including water and sewer lines.
“They will tell us he sites we really should focus on,” she said. Nixon also expects to receive recommendations on what is needed to made some sites more marketable. Moore and Stokes counties were chosen for the same program.
“We’ve done what we can locally to figure this out” and look forward to receiving additional input in the company’s report, she said.
Nixon explained that site identification is the first in three stages offered by Golden LEAF, so Wilkes is now positioned to advance to the next two.
In the second stage, Golden LEAF provides funds to enable completion of due diligence on sites already identified, extend public utilities, or conduct rough grading and clearing of sites for which due diligence has been completed. Surry was among counties recently chosen for this. Surry was awarded $39,650 for the Westwood Industrial Park.
In the third stage, Golden LEAF provides funds for extension of water or sewer lines or other public infrastructure work to sites with diligence completed.
“Our goal, after completing this (first) step, is to return to Golden LEAF for assistance with the next phases of their program,” she said.
“A key element to move Wilkes forward is being able to identify where an existing or new company can locate. Land needs to identified that can be acquired and developed at a price point that allows growth to be feasible,” said Nixon