Guilford County commissioners weigh incentives for High Point company

Guilford County commissioners weighed a $300,000 incentive package for a High Point project expected to bring almost 100 jobs to the area. The proposal put a familiar local question back on the table: whether the county gets enough in payroll growth, capital investment and future tax revenue to justify public support.

The board’s special meeting and public hearing were noticed for June 12, 2025, at a time when Guilford County was again using its economic-development tools to compete for private investment. The nine-member Board of Commissioners meets regularly on the first and third Thursdays at 5:30 p.m. at 301 West Market Street in Greensboro, but special meetings give county leaders room to act on projects that can move quickly.

Under Guilford County’s economic-development guidelines, assistance can be offered at the commissioners’ discretion to attract, retain or support private companies and projects. The county says it evaluates proposals in three broad categories, tax base, employment and countywide benefit. The guidelines also say companies making substantial capital investments in buildings and equipment may be considered for aid, which makes the size of the facility and the long-term property-tax payoff as important as the initial job count.

That matters in High Point, one of Guilford County’s main economic engines, where manufacturing and logistics still shape the local economy. Guilford County Economic Development says its mission is to market the county and the Piedmont Triad region to facilitate development, with an emphasis on retaining and expanding existing industry. In practice, that means incentive deals are often judged not just by whether a company arrives, but by whether it stays, spends and keeps hiring.

The county has seen similar deals before. In one recent Guilford County project, commissioners considered $373,855 in incentives for a $30 million investment tied to 40 jobs, a package worth about $9,346 per job. By comparison, a $300,000 package tied to nearly 100 jobs would land much lower on a per-job basis if the company delivers the hiring promised. North Carolina Commerce also announced on Aug. 13, 2024, that a contract manufacturer would invest $8 million in a new High Point facility, another example of the capital spending these incentives are meant to pull in.

For Guilford County, the return on this kind of deal comes down to whether the jobs are real, the investment sticks and the property tax base grows in High Point and beyond.