Site selection decisions include evaluating available infrastructure and transportation, and relevant incentives and programs. This week’s Infrastructure & Incentives Update from Business Facilities features several of the latest developments and announcements from locations across South Carolina, Texas, New York City, and Indiana.
Central South Carolina $19M Water Infrastructure Project
In South Carolina, the Fairfield Joint Water & Sewer System Commission held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Winnsboro Connector Line Project — the largest single project infrastructure investment in Fairfield County, SC in the past decade. Representing a $19 million investment, this project will provide 500,000 daily gallons of wastewater treatment capacity to the Fairfield Commerce Center and surrounding parcels of land being developed for economic development purposes.
The Fairfield Joint Water & Sewer System Commission was created as a partnership between Fairfield County, the Town of Winnsboro and the Town of Ridgeway to address the need for increased wastewater capacity in the county. The project is funded by two main sources — $10 million from SCIIP/ARPA Grant funds, provided by the Rural Infrastructure Authority and $9 million from the funds set aside from the VC Summer Nuclear Station settlement.
The groundbreaking on March 25, 2025 was hosted by: The FJWSS Commission; Fairfield County Economic Development; American Engineering Consultants, Inc.; the Rural Infrastructure Authority; and Fairfield County Chamber of Commerce.
Port San Antonio’s Tech Port Site Of WSA Career Center
Workforce Solutions Alamo (WSA), a group that serves as the governing board for a regional workforce system in the 13-county Alamo region in Texas, has opened a new facility at Port San Antonio’s Tech Port. Opened in late March, this training and resource center is strategically located at Tech Port to connect job seekers and employers tailored to the needs of the area’s high-tech industries, such as aerospace, IT, cybersecurity, and manufacturing.
Resources include job matching and placement services; career counseling and workforce readiness programs; skills development and training aligned with the tech sector; and resources for employers to connect with talent.
Given the pace of growth on the Tech Port campus, where employers have added 9,000 new jobs since 2017, the WSA facility will be an integral avenue for additional talent. That growth will continue as the Port develops its defense industrial innovation campus with Innovation Tower, a vertiport, joint activity cyber center, a child development center, and more.
With more than 100 guests in attendance, WSA CEO Adrian Lopez was joined by Leslie Cantu, WSA’s board chair; Bryan Daniel, Texas Workforce Commission chairman; Bexar County Precinct 1 Commissioner Rebeca Clay-Flores; Aaron Demerson, CEO of the Texas Economic Development Corporation; and Margaret Wilson-Anaglia, Chair of Port San Antonio’s board of directors.
In NYC, Green Careers Accelerator Launched By Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corp.
Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation (BNYDC) has launched the Green Careers Accelerator, a program to place students in paid internships, provide applied learning experiences, and engage program participants in career development and networking.
BNYDC’s Green Careers Accelerator aims to close critical skill and opportunity gaps that continue to grow across the clean energy sector. The program will provide critical on-ramps for underrepresented college students to build their knowledge of green career pathways, hone their technical skills, build professional networks, and take the first steps toward securing future high-quality employment in the clean energy sector.
“Con Edison is proud to invest in the Green Careers Accelerator program,” said Hilary Ayala, Director of Charitable Giving, Con Edison. “Creating supportive pathways for students to build successful careers in clean energy, benefits each student, their families, communities and New York.”
The Yard’s Green Accelerator program complements the City of New York’s Green Economy Action Plan.
Child Care Efforts In Indiana Granted $150K
Duke Energy Foundation and the Indiana Economic Development Association Foundation (IEDAF) are collaborating to help address child care and its role as a workforce issue. Together, the groups awarded $150,000 in grants to four organizations to fund projects focused on improving access to affordable child care in Indiana communities. State and local government entities, local and regional economic development agencies, and public and private nonprofit organizations were eligible to apply.
This round of 2025 grants follows more than $100,000 in funding awarded through the foundations in 2024 to five organizations in. The 2025 grant recipients are: Fulton Economic Development Corporation ($40,000 grant); Greencastle Putnam County Development Center ($40,000 grant); Hendricks College Network ($30,000 grant); and Regional Opportunity Initiatives ($40,000).
