‘Project X’: Buncombe County to seek public comment on project it won’t talk about

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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Mark Barrett of the Asheville Citizen-Times reports:

Buncombe County government is working to secure expansion of a manufacturing plant identified in official records only as “Project X.”

The effort would involve the county spending $15.7 million on land and buildings and paying $2.7 million in incentives to the unnamed company, according to legal advertisements paid for by the county. The building to house Project X would be 125,000 square feet.

The company in return would install machinery and equipment worth $126 million and create 52 jobs at a minimum, the ads say.

In a closed session Feb. 5, commissioners discussed a potential incentive “for an existing company that would make a $300 million investment and bring 270 jobs,” meeting minutes say. Officials would not say whether that company is the same one involved in Project X.

Commissioners have scheduled a special meeting for May 14 to hold a public hearing on the project. State law requires that local governments hold such hearings before buying land or selling or leasing it for economic development purposes and that they advertise the meetings at least 10 days in advance.

Click over to read the rest. There’s plenty more intrigue. For example, in a possibly related move, a Nashville, Tenn., company is soliciting bids from contractors to build a freight terminal for the county at an unspecified location on Hendersonville Road, Barrett writes.

Image link for top secret.