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BURLINGTON (MCT) — LabCorp officials are seeking cash incentives for a $27.6 million project the company wants to build somewhere in Burlington, but they are not offering the promise of new jobs in exchange for the money.

Those are among the main points in a memo that Alamance County Manager Craig Honeycutt sent to the county commissioners, Commissioner Tim Sutton said Tuesday.

In the memo, Honeycutt suggested giving the county's largest employer a cash incentive of $552,000, or 2 percent of the cost of the project, instead of the typical 2.5 percent request since LabCorp was offering no new jobs.

The revelation comes after Mac Williams, president of the Alamance County Area Chamber of Commerce, announced at Monday's commissioners meeting that the county's largest employer was seeking incentives from the county and Burlington and asked the board to set up a June 21 public hearing on the request.

Burlington City Manager Harold Owen confirmed that LabCorp is seeking incentives from the city council, but he said the medical testing giant has not submitted a formal request. Owen said he is giving LabCorp until Thursday to submit a request to give the city time to advertise and set up a July 6 public hearing.

LabCorp has had "some very serious conversations about several sites in Guilford County and other sites across the country."

Owen said the council will consider an incentive along the lines of the $552,000 the county is offering. Owen doesn't know where in Burlington the company wants to put the project but said, "It's not downtown."

Owen said LabCorp is offering no new jobs, but like Honeycutt, he said the project would increase the local tax base and bring in additional revenue.

Both managers said the project, which Honeycutt thinks involves new construction and Owen said might involve a medical testing facility, could lead to more jobs. Owen thinks Lab-Corp might locate the project at "an existing site."

Those in other businesses who are considering projects have indicated that consolidating operations is the trend, Owen said. Such consolidations, he said, often lead to new jobs in locations that land such projects.

Granting an incentive to LabCorp has other benefits, Honeycutt said. "Larger projects such as this don't come along on a daily basis ... Hopefully, we'll be able to look at ensuring that Lab-Corp remains a strong presence within the county."

A LabCorp spokesman did not return a call seeking comment.