Burlington’s municipal leaders have agreed to seek funds from the state’s commerce department to subsidize the potential upgrade of a food processing plant near Burington’s municipal border with Graham.
In a 4-to-0 decision on Tuesday, Burlington’s city council voted to sponsor this application on behalf of Alamance Foods, which plans to use the proceeds to expand the production capacity of its existing facilities at 1040 Cedar Crest Drive.
“This new investment will expand and upfit space to add a drinkable yogurt line with associated production and cold storage facilities. Expanding production at this local facility will help ramp up the company’s output, retain and grow its North Carolina workforce, and increase local investment without relocating operations outside of the state.”
– Adam Shull, Burlington’s director of economic development
Adam Shull, the city’s director of economic development, informed the council that Alamance Foods intends to plow about $35 million into this venture, which it has codenamed “Project Culture” for reasons that became clear as Shull dug into his presentation.
“This new investment will expand and upfit space to add a drinkable yogurt line with associated production and cold storage facilities,” he told the council. “Expanding production at this local facility will help ramp up the company’s output, retain and grow its North Carolina workforce, and increase local investment without relocating operations outside of the state.”
In order to defray the cost of this project, the city is seeking a building reuse grant from the state worth up to $500,000. As part of the terms of this grant, the city would have to chip in 5 percent of the subsidy – or a maximum of $25,000 if the full award is approved.
Shull went on to assure the council that the city would get its money’s worth out of this grant once Alamance Foods proceeds with its upgrade. He added that, when all is said and done, this project will add $35 million to Burlington’s tax base as well as 144 new full-time positions to the company’s workforce. These new hires would, moreover, boast an average salary of $55,852, which Shull contrasted with the county’s prevailing wage of $52,486 a year.
Shull also recalled that the city had sponsored a similar grant in 2022 to help bankroll another project that Alamance Foods had promised would add 135 new employees to its operations along Cedar Crest Drive. In addition to this building-reuse grant for $500,000, this same $42 million endeavor attracted $611,100 in state funds for its contribution to the local workforce.
About a month after the governor’s office announced the company’s commitment to this project in December of 2022, the city of Burlington offered Alamance Foods an “incentives” package of its own worth an additional $730,000.
The council voted 4-to-0 to sponsor the company’s latest application for a building-reuse grant from the state. Absent from the vote was councilman Ian Baltutis, who was out of town when the council met Tuesday.
According to Hannah Kovarick, an executive with Alamance Foods, if everything goes as expected, the company will begin production of the new drinkable yogurt by the middle of 2027.
Burlington’s municipal leaders have agreed to seek funds from the state’s commerce department to subsidize the potential upgrade of a food processing plant near Burington’s municipal border with Graham.
In a 4-to-0 decision on Tuesday, Burlington’s city council voted to sponsor this application on behalf of Alamance Foods, which plans to use the proceeds to expand the production capacity of its existing facilities at 1040 Cedar Crest Drive.
Adam Shull, the city’s director of economic development, informed the council that Alamance Foods intends to plow about $35 million into this venture, which it has codenamed “Project Culture” for reasons that became clear as Shull dug into his presentation.
“This new investment will expand and upfit space to add a drinkable yogurt line with associated production and cold storage facilities,” he told the council. “Expanding production at this local facility will help ramp up the company’s output, retain and grow its North Carolina workforce, and increase local investment without relocating operations outside of the state.”
In order to defray the cost of this project, the city is seeking a building reuse grant from the state worth up to $500,000. As part of the terms of this grant, the city would have to chip in 5 percent of the subsidy – or a maximum of $25,000 if the full award is approved.
Shull went on to assure the council that the city would get its money’s worth out of this grant once Alamance Foods proceeds with its upgrade. He added that, when all is said and done, this project will add $35 million to Burlington’s tax base as well as 144 new full-time positions to the company’s workforce. These new hires would, moreover, boast an average salary of $55,852, which Shull contrasted with the county’s prevailing wage of $52,486 a year.
Shull also recalled that the city had sponsored a similar grant in 2022 to help bankroll another project that Alamance Foods had promised would add 135 new employees to its operations along Cedar Crest Drive. In addition to this building-reuse grant for $500,000, this same $42 million endeavor attracted $611,100 in state funds for its contribution to the local workforce.
About a month after the governor’s office announced the company’s commitment to this project in December of 2022, the city of Burlington offered Alamance Foods an “incentives” package of its own worth an additional $730,000.
The council voted 4-to-0 to sponsor the company’s latest application for a building-reuse grant from the state. Absent from the vote was councilman Ian Baltutis, who was out of town when the council met Tuesday.
According to Hannah Kovarick, an executive with Alamance Foods, if everything goes as expected, the company will begin production of the new drinkable yogurt by the middle of 2027.
