Infrastructure
Building the Foundations of Community Wealth
Our infrastructure field focuses on utilizing physical and capital assets to support the common good, from housing cooperatives and other community-driven investments. Our work also transforms underutilized sites, like the previous Drexel 3&5 plant, into vibrant community spaces that support job creation and sustainable business development. Infrastructure, in this sense, goes beyond buildings or funding; it provides the physical foundation for people, businesses, and communities to grow and thrive together.
Land for the Commons
We’re creating affordable spaces and ownership opportunities.
Land for the Commons secures and develops land and real property, providing ownership opportunities for working-class families and scaling social enterprises to ensure wealth and resources created in our community are deeply rooted in it for the long term.
The Innovation Campus Phase 1: The Accelerator Building
The Innovation Campus
Bringing life back to a 28 acre brownfield.
This transformative project is set to repurpose a once-forgotten factory site into a collaborative hub for small to mid-sized textile and furniture businesses. The initial development phase features the Accelerator Building, a versatile manufacturing center, equipped for both skilled training and incubation, and business support. This campus will enhance our collaboration with partners across the region.
Draft site plan for our Housing Cooperative near the Innovation Campus
Dixon Street Housing
Helping workers build long-term wealth.
The Industrial Commons has acquired 10 acres in downtown Morganton adjacent to the Innovation Campus to develop a unique workforce housing initiative. This venture will employ a shared equity model, aimed at ensuring affordability and enabling modest wealth accumulation for our community members over time.
Capital for the Commons
We're committed to empowering small, democratically-run, and minority-owned businesses with the support they need to grow.
Our Capital for the Commons loan fund provides essential financial resources to support the community, moving capital in ways that serve the common good. By investing in local businesses and initiatives, we help small enterprises thrive while keeping wealth rooted in the region. Capital, in this sense, is more than just funding, it’s a tool to sustain long-term community prosperity.
We provide startups with initial loans that are then recycled back into the fund as they’re repaid, launching new cooperatives and fueling ongoing community growth. We focus on supporting small, democratically run, and minority-owned businesses, giving them the resources they need to succeed.
For general questions, please contact hallie@theindustrialcommons.org