During its July 26 meeting, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners:
• Voted unanimously to lease and then sell the county’s 65-acre Skyland property, which includes a 405,108 square-foot building, to Canadian-based auto-parts manufacturer Linamar. The county purchased the property for $7 million in June; Linamar has agreed to pay the county $8 million for the lease and subsequent purchase.
• Voted unanimously to offer Linamar $10 million in economic incentive grants on the condition that the company invests $125 million in to its Skyland facility and creates at least 400 full-time jobs, with the average wage totaling $39,000 per year – about $5,000 more than the county’s current annual average. Those grants would be subject to recapture, however, if the company doesn’t fulfill its employment and investment obligations by December 31, 2020.
We’ll have a more detailed report in the August 3 issue of Xpress.
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