Large parcels of land in the southern portion of the City of Burlington had remained underutilized for years, despite their close proximity to both the regional airport and major interstate highways. This was in large part due to the lack of utilities available in this more rural area of the jurisdiction.
In 2012, the city successfully applied for a $695,000 Golden LEAF Foundation grant to extend water and wastewater to the vacant, industrially zoned land. With the help of this grant, the city was able to attract its first major investor, Sheetz Inc. Sheetz located a distribution center on 43 acres of an undeveloped industrial park, primarily due to the availability of water and sewer made available by the city with this grant.
The Sheetz distribution center was a capital investment of more than $30 million and serves Sheetz facilities throughout the southeast. Sheetz, Inc. has already added over 220 new full-time jobs to Burlington’s economy and the project is expected to yield over 253 total jobs by the end of 2018.
