Washington, Sep 13, 2005 - Western North Carolina Representative Charles Taylor announced today the approval of a $200,000 award for Yancey County for the renovation of the old Brown Dorm in Burnsville into a retail crafts center. The grant, from the Appalachian Regional Commission, will help renovate the facility into a center where eight local craftsmen will lease space for the production of items for sale and wider distribution. The center will be known as The Mountain Heritage Center Craft Incubator

“I am pleased that I was able to help secure these funds for Yancey County,” said Rep. Taylor. “Crafts are a vital part of our mountain economy and an important part of local mountain culture. Hopefully these funds will eventually lead to the creation of new jobs for crafts people in Yancey County.”

Studies show that Yancey and surrounding counties are home to an above-average number of professional and part-time producers of authentic mountain crafts. The Mountain Heritage Center Craft Incubator will provide the necessary infrastructure to help this industry develop a homegrown economic development strategy.