Jobs
Cumberland County unemployment rate on the decline, and more business and jobs are on the way
Unemployment in Cumberland County is decreasing, while efforts to bring business and jobs to the area grow, officials said this week.
The unemployment outlook for the area was outlined in a presentation by the Fayetteville Cumberland County Economic Development Corp. at the Fayetteville City Council meeting Monday.
According to the presentation by EDC director Robert Van Geons, there have been 112 new projects in Cumberland County this year, and 27 visits from companies considering coming here.
“Things have been improving,” Van Geons said. “Our unemployment rate is going down.”
About a year ago, he said, Cumberland County ranked ninth in the state for the highest unemployment rate.
The county now ranks 20th out of 100 North Carolina counties, Van Geons said.
According to the North Carolina Department of Commerce, Cumberland County’s unemployment rate was 4.4% during the last reporting period in October, compared to 4.6% last year.
Jobs and projects
According to the presentation, projects announced for Cumberland County in the past year will produce more than 1,400 jobs.
Those projects include:
• Project Aero — an aerospace-grade titanium mill being built by American Titanium Metals near the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Plant off Ramsey Street. The $867 million investment is projected to create more than 300 jobs.
“That project is moving forward in the fastest timeline it is allowed by the law governing the financing vehicles they’re using,” Van Geons said.
The first round of government bonds for the project was approved by the state Local Government Commission last month, and financing closed Dec. 6, he said.
The Local Government Commission monitors the finances of 1,100 local governments and agencies in North Carolina. All government agencies are required to seek the commission’s permission before borrowing money, according to its website.
• Strategic Transload Services opened a facility in July to provide direct rail connectivity, through CSX Class 1 Rail, from ethanol plants in the Midwest to the fuel depot located off Murchison Road. The facility is a $2 million investment in the Murchison Road corridor, according to the EDC presentation.
Van Geons said the site used to be a former landfill that was converted back to active use.
• The Amazon fulfillment center, in the Military Business Park at 6309 Bragg Blvd., opened in July and is a $125 million investment, projected to create 1,000 jobs.
• D-BAT Baseball and Softball Academies — a baseball and softball training facility at 3725 Ramsey St. is expected to create 10 jobs and had a ribbon cutting Monday.
• Phillip’s Towing Service was awarded a $120,000 Building Reuse Grant from the North Carolina Rural Infrastructure Authority through the city of Fayetteville to expand operations and create 10 new jobs.
Looking to the future
During Monday night’s presentation, Councilwoman Courtney Banks-McLaughlin said she would like to see more biotech companies come to Fayetteville.
Van Geons said the EDC will attend a state medical device manufacturing show at the beginning of the year, where local representatives will network with companies.
Responding to Mayor Mitch Colvin’s remarks about the need to have sites ready with infrastructure like gas, water and power to attract potential business and industry, Van Geons said that a few years ago, a company looked at the area when there were talks about the development of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.
The company, which Van Geons did not name, “loved” the community and potential partnerships but was not able to come here because the amount of gas it would need exceeded what was available at the time.
Van Geons said Piedmont Natural Gas has since made upgrades that provide the same level of service that the Atlantic Coast Pipeline would have needed.
He said childcare access and educational opportunities for residents are also important when attracting future businesses to the area.
Interstate project?
Van Geons’ presentation also referenced needed council support on a future Interstate-685 project and a future passenger rail that could connect the Raleigh area to Washington, D.C.
The proposed Interstate 685 corridor, which is not yet funded, would stretch from Greensboro, follow U.S. 421 into Harnett County and could go into the Dunn area to connect with Interstate 95, Andrew Barksdale, a North Carolina Department of Transportation spokesman, said in an email Tuesday.
Barksdale said that current plans don’t call for the corridor to continue into Cumberland County, “but that could change in the future one day.”
There are segments of U.S. 421 that bisect towns and currently do not meet interstate standards and would need to be “developed along with future studies to determine the ultimate path of the Interstate facility along these segments,” he said.
Van Geons’ presentation Monday showed a map of a route of the interstate that he said would benefit the Cumberland County, Fort Liberty and Fayetteville area.
He said there is an “urban legend” that plans for Interstate 40 once showed it going through Fayetteville, and the area would not want to miss a similar interstate opportunity again.
Staff writer Rachael Riley can be reached at rriley@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3528.
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