Washington’s Planning Board, during its meeting Tuesday, will consider a request to change the zoning classification of the property at 418 N. Brown Street.

Metropolitan Housing & Community Development Corp. is asking for that classification be changed from I-2 (industrial) to O&I (office and institutional). The property contains about 2.53 acres. The board will make a recommendation about the property to the City Council.

The property is the defunct Samsons shirt factory.

In June 2017, the City Council endorsed a grant application seeking up to a $500,000 grant to help bring businesses — new ones and expanding ones — to the former shirt factory. The council gave is approval for Metropolitan Housing & Community Development Corp. to submit an application seeking the building re-use grant from the North Carolina Department of Commerce. Metropolitan proposed to “start a call center that would provide 40 full time jobs complete with employee major medical health insurance,” according to a memorandum from City Manager Bobby Roberson to the council and mayor. A section of the former factory would be renovated to house the call center, according to the memorandum.

During its March 28, 2017, meeting, the council tabled acting on the grant issue after hearing the Rev. David Moore, head of Metropolitan Housing & Community Development Corp., and Martyn Johnson, Beaufort County’s economic developer, discussed the plan to bring new businesses and expand existing businesses at the former shirt factory. Moore told the council that if the $500,000 grant (maximum) were awarded, it would help create full-time jobs. Johnson told the council the city’s “match,” if the grant is awarded and accepted, would be $25,000.

“We’ve got a building re-use grant that we’re hoping the city will sign off on and allow us to look at the creation of about 60 jobs in what was the old shirt factory,” Moore said then. “The (state) Department of Commerce is offering these grants, especially to cities, counties, municipalities that are in Tier 1 or Tier 2 (status) and have vacant buildings they can’t figure out what to do (with them).”

Moore did not specify what types of businesses could occupy the former shirt factory. Moore said there is a need for jobs in the area. “I think this would be a golden opportunity for us to put something together for the city that would allow our residents to be able to at least have a shot at employment,” he said.

Moore said then he needed the city’s endorsement to proceed to the next stage of the grant process.

Johnson explained the grant provides $12,500 for each job expected to be created. Those jobs, according to the grant conditions, must be full-time positions for at least six months, and employers would pay 50 percent of health insurance for their workers. Johnson also said the city’s $25,000 match could be provided by an outside source, such as one of the businesses that would locate in the former shirt factory.

The project, if the grant is awarded, must be completed within 18 months, Johnson said.

The Planning Board meets at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Council Chambers at City Hall.