Communities worldwide are celebrating Economic Development Week May 9-15, 2021, and FCEDC is kicking off #EDW2021 with some of our announced projects over the last year!

The pandemic didn’t slow industry interest in moving to Fayetteville and Cumberland County. 2020 brought us some of our busiest quarters yet at FCEDC. Our community has witnessed immense growth in economic, community, and workforce development projects, and we wanted to give a special shout-out to our newest additions and expansions: Amazon, Dansons, We Pack Logistics, MetroNet, and Cargill.

An Amazon delivery station was welcomed to Fayetteville, Cumberland County on May 6 at 1005 Dunn Rd., near the MJ Soffe Headquarters. The facility will power Amazon’s last-mile delivery capabilities to speed up deliveries for customers in the region. It is expected to launch sometime next year and will create hundreds of new jobs, paying a starting wage of $15 per hour and offering a variety of benefits on the first day of employment. Read more about Amazon’s presence in Cumberland County here.

Dansons, a leading manufacturer of BBQ pellet grills and products, selected Cumberland County as the location of a new distribution and customer service facility. Located at 800 Technology Drive in Fayetteville, this project resulted in the creation of 118 full-time jobs and an investment of $27.7M. To secure this important project, the State of North Carolina awarded a $400,000 “One NC Grant” and Cumberland County approved a $175,000 job creation grant. Read more about Dansons arrival here.

We Pack Logistics moved into a 208,000 SF space within a multitenant building at 107 Tom Starling Rd. They share the property with home textile distributor Keeco and logistics and transportation company Landair Logistics. The addition of We Pack brought 25 new jobs and a capital investment of $2M to Fayetteville and Cumberland County. Read more about We Pack’s move to their new industrial space here.

MetroNet’s 100% fiber-optic internet, television, and phone services came to Fayetteville and Cumberland County residents in January 2021 with a $70M capital investment. As their first North Carolina deployment, their impact will provide affordable and accessible services to those in Fayetteville, the towns of Hope Mills, Linden, Wade, Stedman, Godwin, Eastover, Falcon, Spring Lake, and much of unincorporated Cumberland County, as well as portions of Hoke County, such as the communities of Raeford and Rockfish. Amid COVID-19, the community’s need for increased broadband access has become even more apparent, with virtual learning and remote work at the forefront. So far, they have deployed 30.5 miles of underground conduit and pulled 7.6 miles of fiber. Additionally, MetroNet plans to hire local market management positions, sales and customer service professionals, and service technicians to support the Fayetteville area. Read more about the addition of MetroNet here.

Cargill has had its Cumberland County location since 1970 and last month, the soybean oil manufacturer announced their $25M industry expansion here. With plans to increase production capacity at its facility, the company has reinforced its position in the community as a long-standing employer. The $5M investment in real estate and $20M in new personal property will help maintain the 70 jobs currently at the site, which have average salaries of $70,000 a year—well above Cumberland County’s average wage.

FCEDC is proud to help strengthen our economy, diversify our tax base, prepare sites for new business, and support our existing industry. We would not be successful without the backing of our elected officials, community partners, private sector businesses, and enthusiastic residents, and we look forward to new project announcements in the future. Don’t forget to follow our latest news and successes on our Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn pages.