STANLY CO., N.C. — One 15-acre business pad is ready for a company to start building today at the new Albemarle Business Center. 

What You Need To Know

  • The city's 282-acre park aims to bring more career options to locals 
  • The project is a direct response to a community survey requesting more professional development options

Economic Development Director Lindsey Almond says the completed site sits in the middle of what will be a 282-acre business park, aiming to bring high-level manufacturing companies and jobs to Albemarle.

“To be able to have a site that demonstrates that they do not have to do any of the grading themselves, any of the site development costs, all of that has been done for them," Almond explained, "It puts our community at a very high-ranking level with these companies.”

The road for the business center runs between U.S. Highway 52 Business and N.C. Highway 24-27. The city is installing 10 megawatts of power to the area and a combined 1.1 million gallons of water and wastewater per day to the property. 

Almond says the land can accommodate anything from a 20,000 square-foot facility, to a million square-feet facility, with parcels from 5 acres to 121 acres. 

“We have site control of the Albemarle Business Center, so that means that the city has a strong say in the businesses that come here, the caliber of the industry that is put here on this site. Our focus is advanced manufacturing, professional and technology,” said Almond.

According to Almond, almost 80% of Albemarle residents emphasized the demand for career opportunities, rather than just jobs, in the area after a community survey.

The creation of the Albemarle Business Center is a direct response to that specific request. 

“To have careers, to have places for their children to go to work when they graduate from the community college, when they graduate from college and come back home. We want to have the competitive jobs for them to support their family,” said Almond.

The site received a $7.5 million investment from the city, along with grants from NC Commerce, the Golden LEAF Foundation and NC Rural Center.

The park is expected to be fully finished in the next two quarters. Almond's priority for the year is to bring in new businesses to the area.