Economic Development - Expansions and Relocations

[KJHburg]

From a Biz Journal article about growing manufacturing base in the region some key points: 

""Danny Chavez, chief business recruitment officer at the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance, said that over 74% of his qualified projects pipeline is industrial projects.""    I recently heard Mr Chung of the EDPNC say 90% of the statewide prospects are manufacturing.  This is good for the greater region but most of this growth will be outside of Mecklenburg county as it has limited industrial sites now.  

""Colliers International’s Rob Speir said his brokerage is tracking around 27 million square feet of total industrial space requirements in the market. Of that, around 31% is for manufacturing projects, which he said was “a tremendous uptick in the last 12 to 24 months from what was historically distribution uses.”

Priorities in industrial site searches are also shifting. Infrastructure is becoming even more important. Miller said he “would probably put (the sites) in third place behind utilities, labor and then real estate,” when evaluating most important factors for power-intensive manufacturing users.""

""As of July, the region’s manufacturing employment totaled just under 110,000, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is slightly down from the July 2019 total of 112,000, despite a recovery of the jobs lost from the Covid-19 pandemic. But a surge in manufacturing employment is on the horizon.""

Eli Lilly, Silfab projects help drive manufacturing revival here - Charlotte Business Journal (bizjournals.com)

[JRCLT]

On 10/1/2023 at 2:21 PM, KJHburg said:

From a Biz Journal article about growing manufacturing base in the region some key points: 

""Danny Chavez, chief business recruitment officer at the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance, said that over 74% of his qualified projects pipeline is industrial projects.""    I recently heard Mr Chung of the EDPNC say 90% of the statewide prospects are manufacturing.  This is good for the greater region but most of this growth will be outside of Mecklenburg county as it has limited industrial sites now.  

""Colliers International’s Rob Speir said his brokerage is tracking around 27 million square feet of total industrial space requirements in the market. Of that, around 31% is for manufacturing projects, which he said was “a tremendous uptick in the last 12 to 24 months from what was historically distribution uses.”

Priorities in industrial site searches are also shifting. Infrastructure is becoming even more important. Miller said he “would probably put (the sites) in third place behind utilities, labor and then real estate,” when evaluating most important factors for power-intensive manufacturing users.""

""As of July, the region’s manufacturing employment totaled just under 110,000, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is slightly down from the July 2019 total of 112,000, despite a recovery of the jobs lost from the Covid-19 pandemic. But a surge in manufacturing employment is on the horizon.""

Eli Lilly, Silfab projects help drive manufacturing revival here - Charlotte Business Journal (bizjournals.com)

Saw them recruiting at UNC Charlotte.

[KJHburg]

A great win for NC with this Indian based EV component maker opening its plant in Brunswick County now part of the Wilmington MSA again.

‘North Carolina had everything to offer’ for electric battery materials plant that will create 500 jobs | WRAL TechWire

this will be the only such facility in USA!  

[KJHburg]

This is big for the whole state Toyota really ups their investment and number of jobs at its new not even opened yet Randolph County plant SE of Greensboro.  It is only 94 miles from uptown Charlotte.

""Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) announced today it will invest an additional $8 billion at its North Carolina battery plant, an increase that will add 3,000 jobs at the plant under construction at the Greensboro-Randolph Megasite in Randolph County.

That brings Toyota's total investment in the facility near Liberty to about $13.9 billion, with total employment now exceeding 5,000.

Toyota will add capacity for the production of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). An additional eight BEV/PHEV battery production lines will be added to the two previously announced, for a total of 10 battery lines. Production will be increased in a phased approach, with line launches planned through 2030 to reach a total production of more than 30GWh annually. Overall, the campus will boast 7 million square feet, equating to about 120 football fields.""

this is indeed big for the entire state.

Toyota swells size of North Carolina battery plant with 3,000 more jobs - Charlotte Business Journal (bizjournals.com)

Toyota bringing 3,000 more jobs to NC electric battery plant, now a $13.9 billion investment | WRAL TechWire

Edited November 1, 2023 by KJHburg

[Richhamleigh, DC]

Sadly, crickets in the national media.  I mean $14 BILLION investment doesn't even garner a peep from CNBC???

[Crucial_Infra]

Between Toyota’s $14 billion battery plant and  Wolfspeed’s $5 billion silicon carbide plant in nearby Siler City, the so-called “Carolina Core” is really taking shape as a future development corridor.

 https://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/article281251438.html?taid=6541aede3a67310001fda1ec&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

Edited November 1, 2023 by Crucial_Infra

[DCMetroRaleigh]

I’m surprised at how blasé North Carolinians seem To be about these huge economic projects. 

[RANYC]

13 hours ago, Phillydog said:

Sadly, crickets in the national media.  I mean $14 BILLION investment doesn't even garner a peep from CNBC???

There are some global,  geopolitical tinderbox issues sucking up all the oxygen from national outlets.  Also, if this news makes the national media, it might be perceived as a boon to Biden's growth policies and too many interests can't have that.  

[CLT2014]

Projects in North Carolina also don't fuel a Blue versus Red dynamic as the state isn't extremely liberal or extremely conservative. General plant expansions that aren't part of a culture war narrative are of zero interest to the media. Our governor is low key and does not tend to say inflammatory statements. The national media tends to like headlines such as: 

"Corporation moves factory from liberal California for pro-growth Texas in rebuke of Newsom"

"Due to abortion laws in Texas, company moves factory to Nevada." 

The Toyota and Wolfspeed plants don't have a culture war narrative for either side of the aisle... so nobody cares. Especially national news outlets... 24/7 culture wars. 

Edited November 1, 2023 by CLT2014

[Crucial_Infra]

6 hours ago, DCMetroRaleigh said:

I’m surprised at how blasé North Carolinians seem To be about these huge economic projects. 

Haha. What are regular people supposed to be doing? I’m imagining putting a bumper sticker on my car for when I travel out of state: “I’m from North Carolina: Toyota and Wolfspeed have invested $20b in my state. Ask me about it!”

[atlrvr]

Cedar Fair and Six Flags are merging and moving the combined HQ to Charlotte.

https://www.dallasnews.com/business/local-companies/2023/11/02/theme-park-operators-six-flags-cedar-fair-to-merge-and-move-hq-to-charlotte/

Looks like  roughly $3.2 Billion in combined revenue...so somewhere around #800 on the Fortune 1000 list.

 

[TheOneRJ]

6 minutes ago, atlrvr said:

Cedar Fair and Six Flags are merging and moving the combined HQ to Charlotte.

https://www.dallasnews.com/business/local-companies/2023/11/02/theme-park-operators-six-flags-cedar-fair-to-merge-and-move-hq-to-charlotte/

Looks like  roughly $3.2 Billion in combined revenue...so somewhere around #800 on the Fortune 1000 list.

 

This is great news for Carowinds. Six Flags is closing all of their corporate offices and Cedar Fair is finally making Charlotte the official HQ after years of quietly moving corporate positions from Ohio to the former Paramount office down the street from Carowinds. 

[DCMetroRaleigh]

18 hours ago, Crucial_Infra said:

Haha. What are regular people supposed to be doing? I’m imagining putting a bumper sticker on my car for when I travel out of state: “I’m from North Carolina: Toyota and Wolfspeed have invested $20b in my state. Ask me about it!”

I want that sticker!

[Nick2]

On 11/1/2023 at 11:07 AM, DCMetroRaleigh said:

I’m surprised at how blasé North Carolinians seem To be about these huge economic projects. 

According to Facebook comments, they're mad it's for electric vehicles and batteries. Smh

[Crucial_Infra]

1 hour ago, Nick2 said:

According to Facebook comments, they're mad it's for electric vehicles and batteries. Smh

So it’s less about North Carolina and more about a certain political persuasion being mad online 

[KJHburg]

Hey just got back from an epic road trip anything happen in the last 10 days?  Like any major announcements for a corporate relocation of HQ of Fortune 1000 company?

Amusement park rivals to combine, make new headquarters in Charlotte - Business North Carolina (businessnc.com)   anyone know if this will stay in the Oak Hill Business Park off 77 or move into more class AA digs in Southend or uptown or even Camp Northend?  

any big Japanese companies make a $3 Billion expansion before their first Billion dollar plant is even opened?

Toyota Supercharges North Carolina Battery Plant with New $8 Billion Investment - Toyota USA Newsroom

or any huge investment in the fastest growing county in NC Brunswick right next to Wilmington?

that plant is 1.5 M sq ft $650 M investment   Epsilon Advanced Materials chooses Brunswick County for new facility (starnewsonline.com)

the state of NC needs to pay me to leave the state more often! 

[Nick2]

3 hours ago, Crucial_Infra said:

So it’s less about North Carolina and more about a certain political persuasion being mad online 

Idk about their political leanings but these people would much rather have minimum wage coal mining jobs with no benefits with working 80 hrs a week

[CarolinaDaydreamin]

Surprised no one has mentioned Rail Car servicer TTX moving their HQ to Charlotte from Chicago. 

TTX’s new office will be just under 70,000 square feet, with the buildout expected to be complete by this spring. The office will open in 2024 and will include a work cafe, balcony and a training facility.

 

https://chicago.suntimes.com/business/2023/7/13/23794146/rail-car-company-ttx-pulls-headquarters-chicago

[KJHburg]

Here is a company that moved its HQ from Los Angeles to Charlotte in 2022 fairly quietly.  This was in the Biz Journal advertisement with Bank of America about Latino owned businesses.

""The tools used by your local auto mechanic or HVAC repairman have a closer connection to Charlotte because of the leadership of Chema Garcia.

Garcia is the CEO of MGL Group, a global holding entity for several widely recognized brands of testing and measurement products for the electrical and automotive industry. Among MGL Group’s brands is Power Probe, an American brand that in 2022 moved its U.S. operations from Los Angeles to Charlotte.

“California is a great state, but compared to the life we have here in Charlotte, it was much easier to stay here,” Garcia says. “I was in Dubai at the time and my colleagues, and I made the decision that Charlotte would be the best location for us to move the business.”

MGL America Inc. and Power Probe are located off Sunset Road near I-77 in a location large enough to support a planned expansion. Power Probe has around 50 employees but expects to ramp up to nearly 140 in another year.  

Why did Power Probe choose Charlotte?

California is a great state but compared to the life we have here in Charlotte, it was much easier to stay here. Not only was the traffic hard to deal with, but we found North Carolina and Charlotte to be very welcoming. We were making the decision between Atlanta and Charlotte, and in the end, the decision was related to the people, how welcomed we felt and how people try to make your life easy. There are a lot of great things about Charlotte.   Moving to Charlotte gives us a chance to plan for the next step of our business plan. After moving to North Carolina in May 2022, we started moving employees that decided to stay with us and hired new team members. The goal is, by 2024, to invest in a U.S. manufacturing plant to make Power Probe products. We are now manufacturing in three production plants, and we want to move all Power Probe products to be manufactured closer to the U.S. market to shorten our supply chain. We moved the company from a 24,000 square foot building to a 55,000 square foot building and we are looking forward to continued success.""

this is the under the radar movement to NC and Charlotte from California that happens a lot.   Salaries are not high in the LA metro area as you think unless you are in the entertainment industry middle class jobs pay not really much more than here and the cost of living and the cost of doing business is much higher.  

Latinos Mean Business: MGL Group & Power Probe - Charlotte Business Journal (bizjournals.com)

[15895]

Multifamily units don’t always tell the full story on urban growth (Apartments can be unsustainable urban sprawl too - like what’s built around NorthLake etc) but in any event, Charlotte is still up there in adding units & thats a positive. Fingers crossed for a blue wave in NC in 2024 to legalize dense housing, subsidies for sustainable growth, etc. & progressive leadership in CLT to funnel existing resources (schools, housing tax credits, etc) into a more sustainable area. If we’re building schools, why build in such unsustainable ways? Why not build a high school and affordable housing at underutilized light rail? Give the kids free transit passes. Etc.

Edited November 11, 2023 by AirNostrumMAD

[CLT2014]

51 minutes ago, AirNostrumMAD said:

Multifamily units don’t always tell the full story on urban growth (Apartments can be unsustainable urban sprawl too - like what’s built around NorthLake etc) but in any event, Charlotte is still up there in adding units & thats a positive. Fingers crossed for a blue wave in NC in 2024 to legalize dense housing, subsidies for sustainable growth, etc. & progressive leadership in CLT to funnel existing resources (schools, housing tax credits, etc) into a more sustainable area. If we’re building schools, why build in such unsustainable ways? Why not build a high school and affordable housing at underutilized light rail? Give the kids free transit passes. Etc.

The CMS Bond only included two net-new schools that require land acquisition (one of the largest costs right now to building a new school). The vast majority of the bond is rebuilding schools on existing sites or re-purposing existing CMS properties. The only new schools for land acquisition are for the fastest growing regions for CMS enrollment, which are unfortunately far from the city core (a new middle school in the Ballantyne area and a new middle school in Steele Creek). 

Edited November 11, 2023 by CLT2014

[11 HouseBZ]

6 hours ago, CLT2014 said:

The CMS Bond only included two net-new schools that require land acquisition (one of the largest costs right now to building a new school). The vast majority of the bond is rebuilding schools on existing sites or re-purposing existing CMS properties. The only new schools for land acquisition are for the fastest growing regions for CMS enrollment, which are unfortunately far from the city core (a new middle school in the Ballantyne area and a new middle school in Steele Creek). 

I thought CMS already owned the land for the middle school in Steele Creek? On Hwy 160 south of Hamilton near the border of Tega Cay? At least that was the property mentioned in the last community meeting.

Edit: Not doubting your info because I'm sure you're probably way more in the know, but I was just hoping for clarification since this might be our neighborhood school for our boys.

Edited November 11, 2023 by 11 HouseBZ

[RANYC]

22 hours ago, CLT2014 said:

The CMS Bond only included two net-new schools that require land acquisition (one of the largest costs right now to building a new school). The vast majority of the bond is rebuilding schools on existing sites or re-purposing existing CMS properties. The only new schools for land acquisition are for the fastest growing regions for CMS enrollment, which are unfortunately far from the city core (a new middle school in the Ballantyne area and a new middle school in Steele Creek). 

https://www.cmsk12.org/Page/9940

[CLT2014]

17 hours ago, 11 HouseBZ said:

I thought CMS already owned the land for the middle school in Steele Creek? On Hwy 160 south of Hamilton near the border of Tega Cay? At least that was the property mentioned in the last community meeting.

Edit: Not doubting your info because I'm sure you're probably way more in the know, but I was just hoping for clarification since this might be our neighborhood school for our boys.

No you are correct. Looks like the bond is just for the construction portion. 

[DCMetroRaleigh]

On 11/2/2023 at 4:43 PM, Nick2 said:

According to Facebook comments, they're mad it's for electric vehicles and batteries. Smh

This is true. On Twitter, a lot people are rooting for electric cars to fail for political readies.