CCCC transforms workforce training: From Howard-James sale to $104M Moore Center

Central Carolina Community College (CCCC) demonstrated its values by preparing to sell a former training center and constructing a new one, transforming campuses and lives one step at a time.

CCCC’s Board of Trustees met with a commercial realtor from Lee & Associates on Aug. 25 to discuss terms on the sale of the Howard-James Industry Training Center.

The industrial center on five acres at 5825 Clyde Rhyne Drive in Sanford served as a

customized industry skills training center with a welding lab, instrumentation lab and included classrooms.

Currently under construction with completion expected in early 2026, the E. Eugene Moore Manufacturing and Biotech Solutions Center connected to CCCC’s Lee Main Campus is being transformed to a unique world-class education center. It will be the largest facility in the state focused on addressing the workforce’s needs of advanced manufacturing and biotechnology.

Hunter Stewart of Lee & Associates reviewed comparable properties for the board of trustees and advised the board on real estate protocols, and the board confirmed a counteroffer for the sale of the Howard-James property. It is for sale at auction with open bids, and the board expects a reply from potential buyers before the next meeting in Sept.

The Howard-James property, which needs to be vacant by Thanksgiving, has yet to accept and offer for removing the welding lab as the bids came in high.

Proceeds from the Howard-James property’s sale will, as mandated by state law, be allocated to capital projects and named the Moore Center as the recipient.

Lee County acquired the former Magneti Marelli industrial facility on Nash Street for $7.4 million in 2021. This purchase included approximately 22 acres of land and the existing building, which was awarded to CCCC and is now being repurposed as the Moore Center to support advanced manufacturing education and workforce development.

The project costs $104.1 million, with $32.1 million invested and $72 million still required. The Moore Center focuses on workforce development, manufacturing innovation and economic growth.

View Hobbs Architects’ plans and updates on the Moore Center here.

Aug. 27, 2025

Stephanie M. Sellers