High Point project seeks incentives, plans 40 jobs and $340,000 investment

A closely held High Point project could bring 40 jobs and $340,000 in renovations and personal property, while the city considers up to $75,000 in incentives. On paper, that works out to about $1,875 in city support for each job and roughly 22 cents in incentives for every private dollar invested.

The project, called Project Launch, is still in the planning stages and is not yet operational. City Economic Development Director Peter Bishop said High Point is withholding the company name, location and other details until the City Council holds a public hearing on April 20. Bishop called it “a unique project for High Point,” and said it is a businessperson’s side venture investing in companies. He said it is not venture capital and not a business incubator.

Under the proposal, the client is seeking incentives through High Point’s building upfit grant policy, which reimburses renovations in core city sites. Bishop said the venture firm and the startups would be the tenants, with money going toward an upfit that would make the space more collaborative. The project’s scale is modest compared with the city’s biggest recent wins, but it still fits High Point’s effort to use targeted incentives to draw and expand employers.

That comparison is clear in the city’s recent deal with Opsun Systems Inc. In April 2025, the Canadian manufacturer announced a new High Point facility at 772 Gallimore Dairy Rd., with a planned $17 million investment and 32 new jobs. That package included a $40,000 One North Carolina Fund grant and matching performance-based incentives of $71,127 from both High Point and Guilford County, a much larger project in capital terms but one that promised fewer jobs than Project Launch.

High Point has also tied its incentive strategy to broader planning efforts. The city points to its 2024 All-America City designation and to the Southwest Mill District plan, which is meant to support continued revitalization in Southwest High Point while building a walkable, connected, mixed-use district that embraces modern industry, jobs and commerce. The High Point 2045 Comprehensive Plan, adopted in May 2024, reinforced that direction.

The April 20 hearing will be the moment when the public learns who is behind Project Launch, where it would go and whether City Council approves the deal. For now, the city is asking taxpayers to consider a small but unusual investment pitch: 40 jobs, a $340,000 buildout and a side venture that officials say could add another layer to High Point’s economic development push.