CCCC sells Howard-James property, boosting Moore Center momentum

Central Carolina Community College has sold its Howard-James Industry Training Center property in Lee County for $2.7 million to Womack Road Properties, LLC. 

The proceeds will help pay for renovations at the E. Eugene Moore Manufacturing and Biotech Solutions Center on CCCC’s Lee Main Campus in Sanford. 

The sale closed Friday, Dec. 5. Employees and programs at Howard-James have transitioned to new spaces in the Moore Center. Industry training and other offerings will continue at the new location. 

“This transaction is one of the largest, if not the largest, the college has ever completed,” said Drew Goodson, CCCC’s Associate Vice President for Financial Services and Chief Financial Officer. The sale, he said, adds to the continued momentum to renovate the Moore Center, turning it into a state-of-the-art workforce hub and educational facility. 

At the Howard-James building, CCCC has offered customized training for local industry, continuing education courses, and programs such as HVAC, welding, and industrial systems. 

Howard-James was a strategic location for those offerings, given the building’s attributes as a former industrial facility and its location in the Central Carolina Enterprise Park alongside industry partners.

Now, the college sees even greater potential in the Moore Center, a former manufacturing site that has been part of the college since 2021. It is a much larger facility, with higher ceilings and additional loading docks, capable of serving a greater variety of industries.

The Moore Center sits next to the Dennis A. Wicker Civic & Conference Center, further expanding opportunities for industry partners to combine hands-on training with large gatherings and breakout sessions.

Students and staff can walk between the Moore Center and the campus’ other academic buildings and amenities. 

CCCC also expects to see operational savings from consolidating the sites. 

“That makes us more efficient with our local government dollars and more efficient at educating and training our students,” Goodson said. 

Proceeds from the sale will help pay for the next stage of renovations at the Moore Center, expected to begin in late 2026. CCCC is conducting a capital campaign seeking donations to help fund later phases. Visit www.moorecenternc.com to learn more.

Dec. 15, 2025

Contributed.

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