Golden LEAF Grant Programs - Site Program - Development

The Golden LEAF Grant Programs - Site Program - Development aims to support rural and economically distressed communities by providing funding for the identification, due diligence, and development of industrial sites. With a focus on areas that have been persistently economically distressed, the program helps communities attract new businesses and facilitate the expansion of existing ones. By enabling the necessary infrastructure development, this program helps ensure these communities are prepared for industrial growth.

Golden LEAF recognizes that rural and economically distressed communities must have sites available for development to attract new businesses and create opportunities for existing businesses to expand. To address this need, Golden LEAF created the SITE Program. Through this program, Golden LEAF provides support to communities to identify potential industrial sites for economic development, enable completion of due diligence on industrial sites already identified, or extend public utilities to or conduct grading and clearing of industrial sites for which due diligence has been completed. Golden LEAF accepts applications from organizations in all counties, but prioritizes awards within counties that have been persistently economically distressed (as demonstrated by County Tier status determined by the N.C. Department of Commerce) and in economically distressed, rural, and tobacco-dependent communities.
The SITE Program consists of the three phases described below.
SITE Program – Identification provides support to identify potential industrial sites in communities that do not currently have quality industrial sites to market.SITE Program – Due diligence provides funding to complete eligible due diligence activities such as environmental assessments, archaeological analyses, and mapping for identified industrial sites.SITE Program – Development provides funding for public infrastructure and, for publicly owned sites, clearing and grading, to develop sites that have completed the due diligence necessary to demonstrate that the site is suitable for industrial development.
Each phase of the SITE Program uses a unique application. See the SITE Program Resources page for information on other site readiness programs.