UNCP wins $1M grant for economic development

PEMBROKE — The University of North Carolina at Pembroke has received a grant of almost $1 million to fund a project that will support new businesses, promote economic development in Robeson County and inject life into downtown Pembroke.

UNCP Chancellor Kyle R. Carter said the 16,000-square-foot UNCP Entrepreneurship Incubator, which is projected to open in January 2015, will provide office space, supplies and services to start-up businesses.

Carter said a $932,000 Economic Development Administration federal grant, as well as $200,000 the school received last year from the Golden LEAF Foundation, will go toward refurbishing two buildings on Main Street in Pembroke that will house the incubator.

“This will make the block look very nice,” he said. “It will provide some motivation for others to come downtown and [start businesses].”

Carter said the incubator will also receive support from the Thomas Family Center for Entrepreneurship and the Small Business Technology Development Center, both UNCP-affiliated facilities that will move to the incubator when it opens.

Carter said the project will inspire interaction between the university and the community.

“Students and faculty will be coming down there all the time,” he said. “They’re going to want to eat, they may begin to go into shops. There’s real value in having faculty and students come downtown and interact with merchants … and develop real relationships.”

Scott Bigelow, Public Communications specialist for UNCP, said private donors have pledged $200,000 to buy the buildings, and that the project will begin quickly now that the grant has been secured.

“We have 45 days to purchase the building, a year to design [the incubator] and two years to build it,” he said.

Rep. Richard Hudson, who serves the 8th District, which includes most of Robeson County, said the grant will help with his “top priority.”

“This is a huge win for our community,” he said in a statement announcing the grant. “Job creation is my top priority and I am committed to bringing jobs and opportunity to our communities. I will continue to do everything I can to make sure North Carolina has access to opportunities that will foster economic growth.”

Matt Erskine, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development, also said the grant will put people to work.

“The Economic Development Administration is committed to helping rural communities create high-skill, high-wage job opportunities,” Erskine said. “The EDA grant … will support the region’s efforts to spur job creation by fostering the growth of innovative, new businesses.”