MOCKSVILLE — It didn’t take long Monday evening for Davie County commissioners and Mocksville Town Board members to approve $3.4 million in economic incentives that could bring a $112 million Gildan Yarns facility to Mocksville.
Both votes were unanimous: $2.37 million from the county and $1.04 million from the town. The money would come from general revenues or interest-free loans.
Town Attorney Hank Van Hoy said the town and county should recoup the money within five years. After that, they will benefit from the $112 million addition to the tax base, and provide jobs for 290 people.
“That tax base helps preserve the general welfare of this community,” Van Hoy said. “It lessens the burden on all of us.”
Because the incentives are performance-based — meaning they won’t be paid unless the company delivers on the investment and jobs — there is minimal risk.
“But if you don’t take some risk, you’re going backwards, and going backwards is not responsible,” Van Hoy said.
Davie County Manager Beth Dirks said there is plenty of capacity at the Cooleemee wastewater treatment facility, and Mocksville’s water system is more than capable of handling the additions.
Gildan is looking at property off US 601 North near I-40.
Chuck Ward, Gildan president, said the company looked at three requirements: easy access to an interstate, low-cost energy and a capable workforce. They found all with the Mocksville site, he said.
The average salary will be $32,000. Davie County’s average is $30,000, said Terry Bralley, president of the Davie County Economic Development Commission.
Bralley pointed out that while Gildan is hoping to expand in Rowan County, it is not a competition. The two sites are competing with sites in South Carolina.
Rowan commissioners voted 4-1 to give the company land and tax incentives for the proposed Salisbury expansion, with Chairman Jim Sides voting no.
Bralley was contacted in April, and began finding sites for the company to consider. The site chosen is “green,” meaning there is no development. It is expected the company would construct its own entrance off US 601 North.
Ward said a decision will be made soon. It will take a year to construct the plant and 12-18 months after that to “ramp up” the workforce. The project should be complete in two to three years.