Guilford County welcomes $100 million-plus McLeansville National Guard readiness center

State and North Carolina National Guard leaders officially opened the McLeansville Readiness Center and Field Maintenance Shop in Guilford County, marking a major expansion of training and operational capacity on a 70-acre campus in McLeansville. The site is described as a more than $100 million investment and will house multiple Guard units and equipment for regional response.

Officials held a ribbon-cutting on February 11, 2026. The campus will serve as the home for the 113th Sustainment Brigade, the Headquarters and Headquarters Company of the 113th Sustainment Brigade, a Special Troops Battalion, a Support Operations Office, the 196th Signal Company, and the 882nd Engineer Company. Abc45 reported that more than 440 soldiers, along with military equipment and operational assets, will now be based at the site.

The project is the result of a multi-year modernization initiative that began in December 2018 with a first groundbreaking in 2021. Completion was credited to a partnership that included the North Carolina National Guard’s Construction and Facilities Management Office, the Guard’s G4 logistics team, and leaders from the city of McLeansville. Funding was split between state and federal sources: the field maintenance shop was 100 percent federally funded while the readiness center itself was fully state funded.

Design and program details reflect an emphasis on training, assembly, and logistics. A bidding document for the project described it this way: “This project consists of the construction of an approximately 85,000sqft North Carolina National Guard Regional Readiness Center (RRC) in McLeansville, NC. The existing site has been cleared and the building pad graded to subgrade as part of a separate project. The building program of approx. 85,000sqft consists of office and classroom space, an assembly hall, a kitchen, a physical fitness room, unit storage, and equipment locker rooms.”

Legislative budget language also appears in state files. Section 2D.2 of appropriations language states: “Section 2D.2 Appropriates $421,544 from the General Fund to the Department of Public Safety (DPS), North Carolina National Guard (National Guard) in recurring funds beginning in 2025-26 and $5,266,000 in 2025-26 to support the opening of the McLeansville Readiness Center, scheduled to open in January 2026.”

The center’s advocates say the facility strengthens military response across central and western North Carolina and positions the Guard to respond faster, train more efficiently, and better support communities when emergencies strike. In remarks at the ceremony Dotson said, “We’re here for the call of duty. So all you have to do is reach out. Our governor is the main one who tasks us. But that’s what we are here for, to serve our citizens.”

Local implications include an expanded regional hub for training, equipment staging, and emergency response, plus a significant state and federal capital investment in Guilford County. Project records list the site address as 4250 Camp Burton Road and identify Robyn Bryant as the project manager during procurement. State Office of Budget and Management materials dated July 1, 2024 describe the McLeansville Regional Readiness Center among a package of HUB and supporting facilities funded through a mix of federal MILCON and state ConnectNC bond and CI Supplement dollars.

What comes next for residents is operationalization: units will stand up at the new campus, equipment will be staged at the maintenance shop, and state budget lines will support facility activation. Local officials and the North Carolina National Guard are the appropriate contacts for verification of final cost breakdowns, full occupancy schedules, and any community-use arrangements.