The Industrial Commons – Innovation Campus & Hopewell Facility

TIF has successfully closed an $8,000,000 investment to anchor a multi-facility manufacturing and workforce development project in Morganton, North Carolina. This was a complex, multi-CDE transaction for The Innovate Fund, completed alongside partners Truist (CDE and Investor), The Reinvestment Fund, and Urban Research Park CDE.

This project represents a “rural wealth blueprint” for Western North Carolina, reactivating the region’s heritage industries through employee-owned manufacturing and high-tech textile circularity. The project is located in two severely distressed census tracts characterized by poverty rates as high as 31%, and MFI as low as 61%. Notably, both sites are located within a designated FEMA Disaster Area (following 2024 Hurricane Helene) and an Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) Distressed Area.

This opportunity was introduced to The Innovate Fund by Advisory Board member Carl Rees (ElectriCities of NC). Building on the success of other regional collaborations, Carl’s deep connection to North Carolina’s economic development landscape was instrumental in bringing this project to our pipeline. TIF has worked with this borrower for several years to navigate the complexities of this multi-site, multi-CDE deal, ultimately supporting a nonprofit with a proven track record of generating over $64 million in local wealth.

Location: Morganton, NC (Burke County). Once a global furniture manufacturing hub, Morganton is now a focal point for economic recovery in Western North Carolina and home to a highly concentrated textile cluster.

The Project: The project consists of two major components:

• Hopewell Facility: The renovation of a 171,269 SF industrial facility to expand production for circular economy enterprises.
• Accelerator Facility: The new construction of a 43,087 SF textile manufacturing and workforce training hub. This serves as Phase I of a 28-acre Innovation Campus located on a brownfield site previously abandoned by Drexel Furniture.

Key Tenants: The facilities will house a mission-aligned ecosystem of businesses:

• Material Return: An employee-owned social enterprise that recycles manufacturing waste into new yarn.
• Good Books: An incubated bookkeeping cooperative.
• Rainy Pass Repair: A Seattle-based outdoor gear repair business that established a satellite office in Morganton to leverage the local skilled workforce.
• Workforce Training: The Accelerator will house 3,500 SF of multi-purpose classroom space for industrial sewing and upholstery training programs in partnership with local community colleges.

Financing and Partnerships

• NMTC Investor: The tax credit investor is Truist Community Capital. Truist played a dual role in this transaction, also providing NMTC allocation alongside TIF.
• Collaborative Funding Stack: This project utilized a highly sophisticated capital stack, demonstrating massive buy-in from state, federal, and philanthropic partners.
• Significant funding sources included:
  • The Kendeda Fund & Cannon Foundation
  • NC State Legislature Grant
  • U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Engine Grant
  • Dogwood Health Trust & Golden Leaf Foundation