38 replies to this topic

[roundhere]

Does anyone have any information on Hickory? How is the city? While it doesnt seem to be growing at the rate of Mooresville or the Lake Norman area, it seems to be adding places one at a time. Considering a move to Hickory, I noticed a new Circuit City just built and a some other major retail stores that look rather new. I know the economy busted a few years ago. I heard the city is trying to transform itself into a retirement area? Any truth to that? Google and Target are coming to the area which seems should start attracting other businesses and entertainment. Any information is appreciated. Thanks.

[suburban george3]

My office is located in Hickory and strongly considered moving there.  However, I have a several issues with Hickory.  The zoning, or lack thereof, annoys me.  You see mobile home parks close to downtown and close to high end developments.  There is much abandoned retail space.  It seems like you had too much speculative commercial development and now you have empty shopping centers, which if my sources are correct will get worse.  The unemployment rate has improved, but I think it's still one of the highest in the state.  The area's economy is based too much on manufacturing, and it's suffering due to that.

The potential is there, but I'm afraid it's not on an adequate major corridor to experience a "boom" anytime in the near future.  A lot of my co-workers commute from the Charlotte or Asheville areas.  

As far as retirement community, NC is getting a large influx of retirees all over the state with the largest percentage in the Mountain/Coastal regions.

[roundhere]

suburban george3, on Feb 14 2007, 03:24 PM, said:

My office is located in Hickory and strongly considered moving there. However, I have a several issues with Hickory. The zoning, or lack thereof, annoys me. You see mobile home parks close to downtown and close to high end developments. There is much abandoned retail space. It seems like you had too much speculative commercial development and now you have empty shopping centers, which if my sources are correct will get worse. The unemployment rate has improved, but I think it's still one of the highest in the state. The area's economy is based too much on manufacturing, and it's suffering due to that.

The potential is there, but I'm afraid it's not on an adequate major corridor to experience a "boom" anytime in the near future. A lot of my co-workers commute from the Charlotte or Asheville areas.

As far as retirement community, NC is getting a large influx of retirees all over the state with the largest percentage in the Mountain/Coastal regions.

Yes, Ive seen that. It appears to have alot of abandoned or low end retail towards the western side of the city, but rather new areas behind the mall on Catawba Valley Blvd with a Best Buy, HH Gregg, theatre, etc. If the city would be more aggressive in attracting more higher end retail it may help. Retirees seem to be the thing for Hickory, might help jump start the economy. Im down by Lake Norman, so the rapid growth here is uncomparable to probably most of the nation. For one thing, the city (Hickory) does have a lot of natives, not transplants with most people Ive run into with a strong Southern accent, unlike here at Lake Norman.

In NC, the saying seems to hold alot of truth, "if you build it, they will come." After hearing that Cornelius was building a new shopping area I think, why keep building this stuff in the same place? Spread it around to places like, I dunno, Hickory?

[monsoon]

Hickory's fortunes are highly dependent upon the NC furniture industry which is being ravaged by off-shoring.   If you look at the economic statistics for the area you will find they are not so good.

[roundhere]

I talked to some people, called around for more info on the city, city government. Heres a compilation of what Ive been told:

Contrary to popular belief, the economy of the city is not based just on manufacturing jobs. Its is home to two major hospitals, Frye Regional and Catawba Memorial. There seems to be quite a bit of the healthcare industry in Hickory and the area is attractive for more of this growth.

Hickory is the city of the Catawba Valley. Much like Charlotte or Raleigh is the center of their respective areas.

I was told that "the city is going to make some big business announcements in 2007" though the city staff would not elaborate any further on this.

Now Im not in the health care area and I dont know what other businesses are being attracted to this area.

It seems that the local and state politicians are willing to make great strides to bring major corporations to this part of the state, as evidence with Google and Target Corp. coming.

Well thats what Ive heard, anyone have more info?

[monsoon]

The Google deal appears to be one of the most irresponsible uses of public money in the state's history.   Someone who lives there made a good point about it in today's Charlotte paper.  Why didn't they spend this money to give the breaks to the furniture industry which has eliminated 1000s of jobs in the area, instead of spending it to create just a couple of hundred.

As far as the hospitals go, I don't see them prospering if the main employment base is disappearing from the region.

[roundhere]

I dont think thats the type of job they wanted to bring back to that area.  If it left once, it can leave again. Global competition will only increase.

Google to Lenoir could be the what the research triangle is to Raleigh.

[suburban george3]

roundhere, on Feb 16 2007, 12:46 AM, said:

Contrary to popular belief, the economy of the city is not based just on manufacturing jobs. Its is home to two major hospitals, Frye Regional and Catawba Memorial. There seems to be quite a bit of the healthcare industry in Hickory and the area is attractive for more of this growth.

I don't know how "major" those hospitals can be considered.  For anything out of the ordinary, residents of Hickory are routinely referred to Winston-Salem, Charlotte, or even Asheville.  

Most of the industry in Hickory is of course manufacturing in the furniture, textile, or fiber optics industry.  There is also Food Distribution (IFH, MDI) as a large employer.  Of course, being the largest city in the Unifour, Hickory is the commercial center for the area with regional banking offices, law firms, accounting offices, etc.

I still feel that geographically, it's a bit out of place to gain from the projected boom along the I-85 corridor.

[Eastwestrob]

I have not been to Hickory in 25 years. Can't imagine how it looks today....can someone post photos.

[rooster8]

Found this retail update in the Hickory paper:

Chain stores shuffle along U.S. 70

[roundhere]

I saw that a new Circuit City opened, and they had a grand opening all weekend there. Also a new Ross Dress store, Michaels, and some shoe store type of place is coming. I went by that shopping center the other day, used to be an old KMART, but have revitalized it.

The mall there in Hickory, Valley Hills Mall, is old but looks modern on the inside.

Hope Hickory builds some shops/residential mixed use stuff like Huntersville and Mooresville are doing, would really help the city out.

[suburban george3]

roundhere, on Mar 6 2007, 06:34 PM, said:

Hope Hickory builds some shops/residential mixed use stuff like Huntersville and Mooresville are doing, would really help the city out.

What little that's been tried in Hickory has failed miserably.  People seem content with their sprawl there...   one thing that has bothered me about Hickory and the Unifour area is that they are just starting to embrace planning/zoning.  You can tell in how the cities are layed out as it's almost incomprehensible the land usage currently.

I'll try to snap a couple of pics when I'm there at my office.  Probably by next week.

[roundhere]

suburban george3, on Mar 6 2007, 06:58 PM, said:

What little that's been tried in Hickory has failed miserably. People seem content with their sprawl there... one thing that has bothered me about Hickory and the Unifour area is that they are just starting to embrace planning/zoning. You can tell in how the cities are layed out as it's almost incomprehensible the land usage currently.

I'll try to snap a couple of pics when I'm there at my office. Probably by next week.

Id appreciate it (pics). Been going up there more the past couple of months. Know what really surprises me? There is quite a bit of highly desirable land that is still for sale off of Hwy 70 and also Catawba Valley blvd that runs behind the mall. If this was anyplace in the Lake Norman area developers would be jumping at it. I wonder when Hickory will start to feel the boom? There are plenty of places in the mountains like Asheville suburbs or Hendersonville that are growing fast. Hickory is growing, but slowly. Maybe its good thing so traffic will keep up with the infrastructure.

What exactly do you mean though by incomprehensible land usage?

Thanks.

[suburban george3]

roundhere, on Mar 7 2007, 05:09 PM, said:

What exactly do you mean though by incomprehensible land usage?

instances like mobile homes close to downtown, shut down factories close to 300K+ housing developments, many run-down abandoned shopping areas, WAY too many used car dealers, etc.  Hickory, Newton, Conover, and Lenoir seemed to be plagued by this and they are too willing to allow new sprawl type development to occur while ignoring more distressed areas of their cities.

[rooster8]

Hickory is what I call a "sorta city."  It's sorta close to Charlotte and the mountains, but not close enough to really be able to capitalize on the growth from either region (general business growth for the former and second and retirement homes for the latter.)  Hickory has been able to establish itself as a decent regional shopping destination, but as far as other factors such as business development and investment, it's lagging behind.

[ol' firefighter]

rooster8, on Mar 8 2007, 10:41 AM, said:

<br />Hickory is what I call a &quot;sorta city.&quot;  It's sorta close to Charlotte and the mountains, but not close enough to really be able to capitalize on the growth from either region (general business growth for the former and second and retirement homes for the latter.)  Hickory has been able to establish itself as a decent regional shopping destination, but as far as other factors such as business development and investment, it's lagging behind.<br />

<br /><br /><br />

I reccenntly moved to the Hickory area, and you guys are right about the shopping destination, but you may be missing some of the new projects that are redevloping old indutrial sites, like the Broyhill Factory in Conover and the old textile mills in Hickory. Plus there is plenty of new urbanism projects like Cline Village in Conover, and Union square in Downtown Hickory. I had some friends visit from Apex last weekend and the loved Union Square. Plus the area has some great new big box retail standards. The new Wal-Mart off of I-40 is nothing like you will see in NC, it's even better that the one in Belmont Designed to look like the Abbey. The new Lowes on 127 in north Hickory is also quiet impressive. Now it's not south Charlotte but it is a major improvement.

[roundhere]

May be repeating myself, but I think Hickory can be a great city and has alot of opportunity if it takes advantage of it. Needs to start seeking out attracting rare retailers in the area. I heard Gander Mountain which is now in Mooresville had originally planned to build in Hickory instead. I believe that Gander Mountain would have done alot better in Hickory than Mooresville because there are alot more hunters up there, in Mooresville there are alot more window shoppers than anything.

Hickory is actually too far to be affected by Charlotte, good or bad I believe. The city (Hickory) is self supporting, but all the other cities near Charlotte basically owe their growth to Charlotte. Maybe it wouldnt be a bad thing for Hickory to attract retirees.  I stated in an earlier post that Hickory was going to make some big business announcements in 2007, though I dont know what they will be.

[suburban george3]

Here are some pics of the new Hickory area WalMart.  It is indeed not like any built so far in NC that I've seen (of course, except for the new one in W-S I haven't seen the ones previously mentioned.)  It is located at exit 132 off of I-40.

[suburban george3]

More Photos of Hickory, mainly near downtown....













hope you enjoyed...

[AuLukey]

While that Walmart may look different than your everyday Walmart, the part about Walmart that makes it so bad is the level of traffic it brings and the enormous parking lot that always accompany them.  It's a sad reality, but no matter how nice you make one look, it is still the same evil big box that 90% of America hates but shops at anyway.

Downtown Hickory reminds me of a larger scale version of downtown Kannapolis (in the Mills era.)