BELMONT, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — A manufacturing company could bring nearly 350 new jobs and $35 million to Belmont.
The city is a finalist to land a finalist to land a Chinese company’s facility. Monday night City Council unanimously approved matching Gaston County’s Level 3 Incentive Grant (out of four), worth a total of $1.5 million; the state also is offering incentives.
Donny Hicks, director of the Gaston County Economic Development Commission, told City Council that Belmont is one of approximately six cities attempting to land the company. He said there are two or three more in North Carolina and two in South Carolina, plus others in Alabama and Texas.
Hicks said the anonymous company was supposed to decide on their location last month but has yet to do so. Proposals like this don’t reveal the company’s name to keep their confidentiality.
“Both for people who work and for competitors,” he explained. “They don’t want someone to know what they’re planning to do, especially foreign companies”
The Belmont location would be in a 470,000-square-foot warehouse site off Hickory Grove Road just north of Interstate 85. He said it’s not a distribution center.
The average salary would be in the $51,000 range.
City Manager Miles Braswell said the grant was established by the city for the assistance of historic mills and redevelopment and adaptive reuse.
Gaston County approved its portion of the grant on Dec. 10.
