kristen fox
At the Jackson County Board’s final working meeting for 2022, Economic Development Director Tiffany Henry briefed the board on “the latest good news” on the expansion of two Jackson County businesses, American Sewing Corporation and Innovation Brewing.
In December, Henry got official word that American Sewing Corporation had received a grant to expand its existing manufacturing facility. The North Carolina Department of Commerce awarded the textile manufacturer a $60,000 grant to expand its Harold Street factory by 12,000 square feet.
The grant will help businesses create a total of 36 jobs for local employees. Due to wage and benefit requirements, 12 of these positions will be full-time permanent jobs directly related to the grant. The average hourly wage for the new job is $18, plus benefits.
American Sewing Corporation is a full-service manufacturer that “offers best-in-class manufacturing services, including initial in-house design and engineering review capabilities to transform ideas and concepts into tangible prototypes and final products.” The company has capabilities in Assemble and complete projects at any stage. American Sewing Corporation is proud to be an American company that cuts and sews exclusively for American-made textiles.
“We are very excited about this opportunity with Sewing of America and Jackson County,” Henry said. “The expansion of the company’s facilities will involve a $2 million investment in Jackson County.”
“This is the first construction mega grant we’ve received in Jackson County; the grant required $3,000 in matching funds from the county,” Henry said. “We worked closely with the North Carolina Economic Development Partnership during the grant application process.”
In December, the county closed the sale of the Tuskasegee Mills building to Innovation Brewing, enabling the brewery’s production expansion. The former manufacturing building on Scotts Creek Road, just past the health department, will provide an additional 100,000 square feet for the brewery. Innovation Brewing will move its production to this space, adding 22 jobs in Jackson County.
Innovation Brewery has been in business in Jackson County for over nine years. Currently, the company has three locations—the original bar and production facility in downtown Sylva, Innovation Station in downtown Dillsboro, and InnoWhee, a bar on the Western Carolina University campus.
“The expansion of Innovative Brewery will be a $3 million investment in Jackson County,” Henry said. “The property is owned by the county, so now it’s going back on the tax records.”
In other Jackson County economic news, Henry reported that Jackson County has been approved to provide the Create Outdoor Recreation Economic Grant (CORE) through the North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Center for Main Street and Rural Planning.
The grant provides a technical assistance program that provides outdoor recreation economic strategic planning and asset development services to enhance local economic vitality by leveraging North Carolina’s abundant outdoor recreation resources. The plan will focus on activities the community can undertake to: increase tourism; encourage small business growth; position the community to attract outdoor equipment manufacturing; outdoor recreation asset and infrastructure development programs; and improve quality of life for residents.
The outdoor recreation economy is a broad economic sector that includes consumer spending on things like guides, outdoor supplies and equipment. Outdoor recreation can also boost employment and consumer spending in manufacturing, retail, transportation, food service, tourism, and other industries.
The visioning process will identify proposals and activities to build an ecosystem that engages people in outdoor recreation, small business support, outdoor recreation infrastructure that improves quality of life for residents, tourism, creative placemaking, and more. These elements work together to increase economic opportunity and community vitality.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) approved by the local governing board is required to involve the North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Main Street and Rural Planning Center in the planning process. According to Henry, a memorandum of understanding will be presented at the commissioners’ January meeting.
“This program will allow us to understand our outdoor economy and what we can do to support it,” Henry said. “It will provide an asset map listing all available outdoor recreation and related industry assets in the community. It will help us identify gaps that may exist and what we can do to support and encourage entrepreneurship in the outdoor recreation economy.
“We know we have natural assets, but this plan will help us assess whether we are using them, what we have and what we can do better,” she added.