ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College has been awarded a $29.2 million federal grant to build the proposed Western North Carolina Futures Factory, a manufacturing education, workforce training and research center that leaders say will help drive the region’s economic recovery from Tropical Storm Helene.
The funding, announced Monday by the U.S. Department of Commerce, is the largest of $34.2 million in disaster recovery grants awarded across North Carolina through the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s Fiscal Year 2025 Disaster Supplemental Grant Program.
The EDA said the program is part of a $1.5 billion national effort to help communities recover from major disasters that occurred in 2023 and 2024, including hurricanes, flooding, wildfires and severe storms.
A-B Tech applied for the grant in September 2025 with Buncombe County and the college’s board of trustees serving as co-applicants. The Land of Sky Regional Council assisted with preparing the application.
The proposed 70,000-square-foot WNC Futures Factory will be built at Biltmore Park West, where aerospace manufacturer Pratt & Whitney already operates. The site is planned as a hub for multiple advanced manufacturing companies.
“We’re celebrating much more than a new building today,” A-B Tech President John Gossett said in a statement. “In the same way tobacco fields were once converted into what we now know as the Research Triangle Park, this marks the beginning of an education, training and research collaboration that will transform this site into an innovation hub for Western North Carolina.”
College officials said the facility will combine workforce training, engineering research and industry collaboration under one roof. A-B Tech will provide education and workforce training while university and industry partners conduct research and development aimed at bringing new technologies from concept to commercialization.
According to economists who worked on the grant application, the Futures Factory is expected by 2035 to train about 800 workers each year, help create 2,747 jobs, and generate $189 million in annual labor income across the region.
Gossett said the investment also comes at a critical time as Western North Carolina continues recovering from Helene.
“We are grateful for this support, which is more important than ever post-Helene,” Gossett said. “We had nearly $60 billion in damage and loss from Helene. This grant will enable us to stabilize our infrastructure to support our existing economic base while pivoting to support the jobs of the future.”
The project will include partnerships with six universities offering engineering programs, along with additional community colleges across Western North Carolina. Research partners include NC Innovation, North Carolina A&T State University, Appalachian State University, UNC Charlotte, Western Carolina University, UNC Asheville and NC State University. Blue Ridge, Haywood, Isothermal and McDowell technical community colleges are also expected to participate.
The Commerce Department said the grants are intended to strengthen manufacturing, support business expansion and improve disaster resilience in communities still recovering from Hurricane Helene.
In addition to A-B Tech’s award, other North Carolina recipients include:
- Town of Murphy: $2.1 million for construction of a new sewer lift station.
- Western Carolina University: $1.2 million for infrastructure improvements to the Cullowhee Dam.
- Land of Sky Regional Council: $500,000 to increase recovery capacity for communities in Buncombe, Henderson and Madison counties.
- Western Piedmont Council of Governments: $500,000 to establish a regional disaster recovery coordinator.
- Centralina Economic Development Commission: $400,000 for a regional disaster resilience strategy.
- Ashe County: $267,080 for design and engineering work on three shell buildings at Ashe Industrial Park.
“The grants announced today will support the Department of Commerce’s holistic approach to recovery in Western North Carolina,” Deputy Assistant Secretary and Chief Operating Officer Ben Page said in a statement. “Each project will expand American manufacturing competitiveness, create jobs and support business expansion throughout the area, which is still recovering from the economic devastation caused by Hurricane Helene.”
