SANFORD, N.C. — Construction plans are taking shape for the $600 million STERIS campus in Lee County, one of the largest life sciences manufacturing investments announced in North Carolina this year.
A commercial building plan for the project, known locally as Project SOL, is set for review by the Sanford-area Technical Review Committee during a virtual staff meeting on Thursday, Oct. 29. It calls for two industrial buildings totaling more than 600,000 square feet on about 76 acres in Helix Innovation Park, plus parking, landscaping, interior drives and a rail spur. The site sits off North Kiln Drive, the nearly finished main road through the park off Hawkins Avenue, and public water and sewer are already available there.
Once the committee signs off, the next step is to file building and zoning permit applications.
Gov. Josh Stein announced the project in August. STERIS, a health care company focused on infection prevention that employs more than 18,000 people in more than 35 countries, will use the campus as a Chemistries Manufacturing Center of Excellence with manufacturing, research and development, lab, warehouse and distribution space.
The company expects to hire 335 workers at an average salary of $68,704, well over the $59,903 typical of Lee County wages. State officials put the potential payroll impact at more than $23 million a year.
The state backed the project with a Job Development Investment Grant worth up to $3,213,000 over 12 years, paid only after the Commerce and Revenue departments verify each year that hiring and investment targets were met. Because the state economic tier system ranks Lee County as Tier 2, the agreement also sends up to $357,000 to the Industrial Development Fund Utility Account, which helps rural communities pay for infrastructure to land new employers.
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