$5M NC Rural Building Reuse Grants boost jobs, cut costs, and revitalize communities

North Carolina Governor Josh Stein released stats on Dec. 4 for the $5,042,113 in Rural Infrastructure Authority (RIA) grant awards in the Rural Building Reuse Program. The grants require a cash match equal to the grant request amount.

The reuse segment of these RIA grants is the bright side of the rural grant programs, which have a separate division to push industry into rural communities. Read an example here.

The reuse grants fall into three categories: vacant buildings, existing business buildings, and rural health buildings, and each must be owned by an existing North Carolina company.

The purpose is to create new full-time jobs in the private sector.

To qualify, applicants must be a local government in a Tier 1 or Tier 2 county or in a rural census tract in a Tier 3 county, which means less than 500 people in a square mile.

The North Carolina Department of Commerce (NCDC) identifies the first 40 most distressed counties as a Tier 1, the next 40 counties as a Tier 2, and the remaining 20 least distressed as Tier 3.

According to the Nov. 26 NCDC statistics, Moore is a Tier 3, Lee and Harnett are Tier 2.

For example, this industrial property in West End meets the grant requirements, and its 11,600 square foot space was renovated in 2005. View here. With an additional 4,000 square foot add-on, this space may be suitable for a county animal shelter and would save taxpayers millions over the suggested new build. Alternatively, this building could be an accessory to the county’s existing animal shelter. To meet the grant’s employment requirements, the shelter could hire new animal professionals to work with existing employees, solving the debate over best management practices. Read the debate here.

Reusing a former industrial building, old school or church saves money and time because existing structures have infrastructure in place.

Derrell W. Mullins, a retired Sanford architect who moved to the area in the 1970s to design Seven Lakes, reused former schools to make condominiums. His colleagues often said he was ahead of his time with an eye for seeing good bones in old structures.

Older structures typically have large, flexible spaces for warehouses, offices, community services or light manufacturing, making for faster and cost-effective renovations.

Reuse reduces blight, strengthens the tax base and provides employment in underserved areas. It is sustainable because it cuts demolition waste.

RIA meets six times each year to award projects. Meeting dates and application deadlines can be found here.

For application materials, click here.

Hazel Edmond, Director
Rural Engagement & Investment
Rural Economic Development Division
984-297-5082 (Mobile)
hazel.edmond@commerce.nc.gov

Dec. 5, 2025

Stephanie M. Sellers

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