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An industrial park planned for the Town of Aurora received a $500,000 grant from the Gold Leaf Foundation which will be used to pay for infrastructure needs. 

The infrastructure is needed to support an Industrial Facility Training Center. This space will be used by Beaufort County Community College to offer customized training to Nutrien employees as well as classes and opportunities to obtain relevant third-party certifications to approximately 60 students from Beaufort, Hyde, Tyrell and Washington counties. 

Joy Dunn, president of the Aurora Richland Township Chamber of Commerce says a goal of the organization is to “rally behind the objectives spelled out in the Town’s Strategic Plan for revitalization of Aurora and surrounding area. This is an exciting step forward.  Now that the money has been procured, we, hopefully soon, will begin to witness a long awaited dream come to life.”

The $500,000 grant is part of a total $2,359,000 Gold Leaf is investing in seven projects through their Open Grants Program. The program supports projects focused on economic development, job creation, workforce preparedness, and agriculture in order to meet the needs of current and future businesses in North Carolina. This program is specifically designed for projects in rural, economically disadvantaged and tobacco-dependent communities in the state. A goal of the program is to create more competitive jobs in these communities. In turn, the hope is that economic development would advance and community members’ overall quality of life would improve. 

Other counties receiving grants are: Davidson, Randolph, Rockingham, Surry, Wayne and Wilson.