Why Union County will spend millions in Wingate to help food businesses take root
As development spreads into Union County, leaders are investing in a new food innovation center designed to strengthen the local agricultural and small business economy.
The Union County Food Innovation Center is a 25,000-square-foot facility in Wingate that will serve as a hub for food production, distribution and business development. The new facility will be equipped with a commercial kitchen and professional workspace for business owners who aren’t yet positioned to open a brick-and-mortar-facility. The facility will be marketed toward small business owners and farmers as a space to grow and develop their business.
The building, which will take 18 months to complete, is slated to open in the summer of 2027, according to a news release
The project is a partnership between Union County, NC State University’s Union County Cooperative Extension Program and the Town of Wingate. The county will run the facility once its constructed and NC State University’s Union County Cooperative Extension Program will be heavy user of the space, said Liz Cooper Union County’s director of public communications.
It will be located on Julia May Baker Road right across the street from a proposed industrial park and just minutes from Wingate University.
The center will support Union County farmers and small business owners by creating a local food system that markets their crops, creates jobs, promotes healthy eating and supports programs like Meals on Wheels, according to an architectural report of the project.
For instance, if someone is passionate about baking pastries but doesn’t have the capacity to have their own commercial kitchen, the Food Innovation Center will be a space for them to grow and develop their business, Liz Cooper director of communications for the county said.
In 2022, Union County had the third-largest agricultural economy in the state, with 957 farms, a Charlotte Business Journal report found. But as Mecklenburg County’s sprawl creeps its way into Union County, leaders are looking for ways to preserve the area’s rural feel the farmland that supports it.
The County recently approved a 5-step plan to protect the area’s rural land including: increasing the amount of designated rural areas to the Rural Use Land Map and creating hubs within rural areas for small, commercial development.
In a news release, Union County chairman Brian Helms said he has confidence that the food innovation center will create long-term benefits for the community and small businesses.
The project initially got approval in 2023 with $800,000 allocation from Union County commissioners. The funds went toward architectural design, cost estimates for construction and a business plan for the project. According to a cost sharing agreement passed in February, Union County will pay up to $14.85 million for the construction of the building. The town of Wingate will reimburse the county $1.81 million for the construction of a road leading up the facility and utility installation.