Golden LEAF Foundation Awards Funding to Coastal Carolina Regional Airport

New Bern, N.C. (Feb. 13, 2023) – Coastal Carolina Regional Airport (EWN) recently received $753,700 in funding from the Golden LEAF Foundation as part of its Community-Based Grants Initiative.

The funding will be used to extend public utilities and prepare land to serve a 90-acre Corporate Aerospace Development site planned at the Coastal Carolina Regional Airport. The end state of the project could result in aerospace companies creating up to 100 new jobs over time with an average annual wage of $43,435.

“We are so pleased to begin developing this property with the help from the Golden LEAF Foundation, this is the spark that the airport needed to successfully transition the vacant property into a leading aerospace business site for the region. This development will help increase the current $513 million annual impact of the airport,” said Airport Director Andy Shorter.

The new area will be adjacent to the main runway at EWN and have easy access to Old Airport Road and future Interstate 42. The project will begin this Spring.

“The Craven County Board of Commissioners are grateful for Golden LEAF’s investment, as the airport is a critical asset for our County and the region. This project signifies a continued commitment to strengthening economic development in Craven County,” said Jason Jones, Chairman of the Craven County Board of Commissioners and Coastal Carolina Regional Airport Authority Board Member.

“The Golden LEAF Board of Directors supports the development of industrial sites to attract new businesses and create opportunities for existing businesses to expand, especially in rural areas,” said Scott T. Hamilton, Golden LEAF President, Chief Executive Officer. “We are excited about the job creation potential this project will have for Craven County and across the region.”

The Golden LEAF Foundation is a nonprofit organization established in 1999 to receive a portion of North Carolina’s funding from the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement with cigarette manufacturers.

For more than 20 years, Golden LEAF has worked to increase economic opportunity in North Carolina’s rural and tobacco-dependent communities through leadership in grantmaking, collaboration, innovation, and stewardship as an independent and perpetual foundation.