RALEIGH — The N.C. Rural Infrastructuure Authority has approved a $500,000 grant for Robeson County to extend wastewater infrastructure to serve Pepsi Bottling Ventures’ new $16.5 million distribution center.

The center will be located on N.C. 20, just west of St. Pauls.

The grant is just one of more than two dozen totally $8.7 million for economic development projects across the state that have recently been approved.

“Receiving this grant was critical for us to pursue this project,” said Greg Cummings, Robeson County’s economic developer and industrial recruiter. “The $500,000 is critical to get the necessary infrastructure on site for the Pepsi expansion and provide the wastewater service for other industries that might locate in the area.”

According to Cummings, Pepsi is investing $16.5 million in the first phase of the project, which will include construction of a 270,000-square-foot building. Building plans also call for an additional 61,000 square feet to be available for future expansion. It is expected that the center will employ 250 workers, 50 of those workers filling newly created jobs that pay an average salary of $39,500, Cummings said.

“We hope there will be a phase two with another $16.5 million investment by the company,” said Cummings.

J.R. Steigerwald, town administrator for St. Pauls, said that construction of the center will hopefully begin in February or March.

“They are going to use tilt-up concrete construction so it won’t take long to put the building up,” Steigerwald said. “It can go up in a remarkably short time.”

The grant will be used for pipeline, a pump station and sprinkler system.

Robeson County Manager Ricky Harris said the addition of the Pepsi distribution center, along with the nearby Sanderson Farms chicken processing plant, are tremendous economic boosts to the county.

“Now all we have to do is get people to drink more Pepsi and eat more Sanderson Farms chicken,” he said.

Since the state-funded Rural Infrastructure Authority was created in 2013, the 15 members of the authority have approved grants totaling about $128 million to develop infrastructure, renovate and expand buildings and improve sites statewide.

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By Bob Shiles

bshiles@civitasmedia.com

Bob Shiles can be reached at 910-416-5165.

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