The Daily Southerner, Tarboro, NC

Local News

July 1, 2009

N. J. apparel manufacturer may expand

Edgecombe seeking grants

T.J. ROYAL

Edgecombe County will have a public hearing Monday on its application for $400,000 in loans from the state Department of Commerce to help bring hundreds of jobs to the county.

County Manager Lorenzo Carmon said the hearing will be for public comment on the county applying for the $400,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) loan. The money would be used to help Jade Apparel, an apparel manufacturer based near Newark, N.J., renovate the former Glenoit Fabrics building on North Main Street in Tarboro.

Separate from the Department of Commerce loan, Carmon said Edgecombe County will also apply for $479,652 in N.C. Rural Center grant money to assist the apparel manufacturer in its venture.

Carolinas Gateway Partnership Vice President Oppie Jordan added, however, that "it's not a done deal yet" for Jade Apparel to expand into Tarboro.

Carmon said that when the company moves into the area, its goal is to create 250 jobs for the area.

"In order to apply (for the loan), the public hearing pretty much spells out what the company has committed to do," the county manager added.

Jade Apparel has so far committed to invest $2 million in its operation, for work inside the building and for equipment to run its operation. Of the 250 jobs that are set to be created, 60 percent of them would go to people "of low and moderate income in the first two years," the county said in its public hearing statement.

Phil Azzollini, operations manager with Jade Apparel, said the company was interested in Tarboro because of their previous relationship with Glenoit Fabrics. "We thought it was going to be a good fit" to come to the Tarboro facility where Glenoit was based, Azzollini added.

Carmon said Tuesday the Glenoit building project is estimated to cost around $1.76 million, up from an initial $1.39 million estimate.

Edgecombe County and Carolinas Gateway Partnership, the economic development recruiter that serves Edgecombe and Nash counties, have also committed to a $41,750 match for the project, Carmon added.

The public hearing originally called the county to apply for a $680,000 CDBG loan.

Edgecombe County Board of Commissioners Chairman Leonard Wiggins and Vice Chairman Charlie Harrell said they were both "excited" Tuesday about the prospect of adding hundreds of jobs through the Jade Apparel venture.

"It's a boost for the people in the county and in the surrounding community," Wiggins said. "Two hundred and fifty (jobs) is really a plus for us."

Harrell added that his hopes are "that the company will be successful and grow and add jobs" for the area.

The public hearing for the CDBG loan will take place 2 p.m. on the second floor of the Edgecombe County Administration Building on Saint Andrew Street in Tarboro, during the monthly Board of Commissioners meeting. "The purpose of the hearing is to obtain citizens' input into the identification of economic needs and desired economic development activities," the county said in its public hearing statement.

Written comments must be received by 10 a.m. Monday to be considered. They can be mailed to Lorenzo Carmon, County Manager, Box 10, Tarboro NC 27886.

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