LUMBERTON — A $1.375 million grant from the Golden LEAF Foundation is earmarked for Robeson County to develop a preliminary design plan for a 80,000-square-foot shell building at the COMtech Business Park.

The empty building, that would be expandable to 142,000 square-feet, is expected to bring a business that would invest $9,152 million in private capital and the creation of 75 jobs with an average salary of $45,000, according to the Golden LEAF Foundation, which announced its Shell Building Pilot Program funds Thursday.

According to a prepared statement, the Golden LEAF Foundation Board of Directors awarded $9.6 million in funding for seven projects through the Shell Building Pilot Program in Robeson, Bladen, Scotland, Ashe, Columbus, Franklin and Halifax counties. The North Carolina General Assembly provided $10 million to the Golden LEAF Foundation to implement the Golden LEAF Shell Building Pilot Program. Under the authorizing legislation, governmental and charitable nonprofit entities in Ashe, Bladen, Columbus, Franklin, Halifax, Robeson, and Scotland counties are eligible to apply for funding. The program is intended to provide grants to increase the number of available publicly-owned industrial buildings suitable for new or expanding businesses, other than retail, entertainment, or sports projects.

“Today, the Golden LEAF Board made awards to projects that will support the long-term economic advancement of rural, tobacco-dependent, and economically distressed communities,” said Scott T. Hamilton, Golden LEAF President, Chief Executive Officer. “We look forward to the impact these job creation and economic advancement and workforce preparedness projects will make for years to come.”

This week, the Golden LEAF Board awarded a total of $18.9 million in funding across the two Golden LEAF Programs and $8 million for a special initiative. Beyond the $10 million for the Shell Building Pilot Program, the board awarded $1.3 million to support four projects through the Open Grants Program.

The Golden LEAF Board of Directors awarded $8,000,000 to Methodist University for instructional equipment and other costs related to the new Methodist University Cape Fear Valley Health School of Medicine, which will create 260 new jobs. At full enrollment, the school will graduate 120 doctors each year, many of whom are expected to enter residencies across seven Tier 1 counties and one Tier 2 county throughout Southeastern North Carolina and remain and practice in the region, creating additional jobs and addressing severe healthcare shortages. “Research has shown that resident doctors trained in rural areas are more likely to practice in rural areas,” said Golden LEAF Board Chair Ralph Strayhorn. “The funding to Methodist University will not only help build hundreds of jobs throughout southeastern North Carolina, but also increase the number of physicians serving the region. This project will substantially move the needle for rural healthcare in North Carolina.”

Since 1999, Golden LEAF has funded 2,292 projects totaling $1.3 billion supporting the mission of advancing economic opportunity in North Carolina’s rural, tobacco-dependent, and economically distressed communities.