SILER CITY — The Siler City Board of Commissioners approved an economic incentive agreement with Innovative Construction Group, a building materials manufacturer, at its May 20 meeting.
“This company is based in Jacksonville, Florida,” said Chatham Economic Development Corporation President Michael Smith. “They also looked in two major metro areas, so it was exciting for us to win this project versus a site in Arizona and a site in Texas. It was competitive, as most projects are, and one of the things about this project is that since they’re a national firm, they had lots of choices, so we’re certainly grateful that this is the location they chose.”
The proposed facility, located northeast of the Wolfspeed facility in the CAM site, will be approximately 150,000 square feet.
According to Smith, the project is anticipated to create 157 full-time jobs with more than $8 million annual payroll. The total investment from ICG would be just under $40 million.
“This will bring a lot of benefits here in Siler City in terms of job creation, increasing the tax base and certainly with economic diversification and stimulus,” Smith said. “I think certainly with the opportunity to build new houses here, this is a perfect company and perfect fit and a great time to have it here. They’re going to employ local folks here and make investments, and we will certainly be working closely with Central Carolina Community College for training these new employees.”
Smith noted that there are still 1,350 acres “available for future development and future business and investment.”
The board set a June 17 public hearing for a property annexation related to the Chatham-Siler City Advanced Manufacturing (CAM) site.
“For us to move forward with the incentive agreement, the land has to be incorporated into the city limits by annexation,” said Town Clerk Kimberly Pickard. “So this is already part of the CAM site, but these particular parcels have not been annexed yet.”
According to Pickard, the property’s tax revenue will be $2,965.25, based on the undeveloped land value. The land must be annexed to officially approve the economic incentive agreement.
“This area is growing at a rapid speed,” said Mayor Donald Matthews. “I mean, it’s almost lightning fast how much is going on.”