Triangle Economic News

[rolly]

https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2019/09/10/major-transformation-proposed-for-university-place.html (firewalled)

TBJ reports a big proposal in Chapel Hill to transform University Place mall to a high density project. They've arranged the project into five zones, with max heights as follows: 

• 3 stories (retail)
• 5 stories (office)
• 7 stories (residential/hotel/office)
• 7 stories (residential/hotel/office)
• 7 stories (residential/hotel/office)

[KJHburg]

Norway based gaming company opening a Durham office unsure of jobs but quite a bit of space 19,000 sq ft.

https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2019/09/23/norwegian-video-game-developeropens-office-in.html

[KJHburg]

 

Several good news stories for the Triangle today.

First with Pfizer expanding to the RTP with up to 120 new jobs.

https://www.wraltechwire.com/2019/09/26/pfizer-to-build-gene-therapy-facility-in-rtp-could-add-up-to-120-scientists-staff/

also in RTP news NC based LabCorp is taking another 111,000  sq ft in Parmer RTP the old Glaxo campus.  No word on additional jobs but you don't take that kind of space and not add jobs.

https://www.bizjournals.com/triad/news/2019/09/26/labcorp-to-expand-footprint-in-rtp-to-more-than.html

https://www.wraltechwire.com/2019/09/26/labcorp-doubles-footprint-at-parmer-rtp-campus-duke-health-technology-solutions-also-moves-in/

 

Edited September 26, 2019 by KJHburg

[KJHburg]

Epic Games of Cary aka Fortnite maker is adding a building that could add up 2000 new employees. From the N &O article

""The new building will add significantly to the company’s real estate holdings in Cary, giving it room for an estimated 1,750 to 2,000 more employees there, the company said.  Epic didn’t give a definite size for the new addition yet, saying it could be between 450,000 to 500,000 square feet. It will also give Epic 1,400 additional parking spaces.   Development of the new facility is expected to take three to four years, Epic said.""

Read more here: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/article235752097.html#storylink=cpy

[KJHburg]

""A California company plans to bring more than 100 jobs to North Carolina. “Project First Sunrise,” unveiled Friday to be aerospace manufacturing firm Ontic Engineering and Manufacturing, just picked North Carolina over Florida for a $2.8 million manufacturing expansion. That’s as both states offered up virtually the same incentives package – at about $2.1 million, records show.  Ontic is creating 126 jobs in Butner, near Interstate 85 in Granville County, as part an expansion to its existing facility in the area.""

average wages above county average. 

Subscriber story https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2019/10/04/aerospace-firm-to-bring-more-than-100-jobs-to.html

[rancenc]

Follow up to KJ's above posting concerning Ontic Engineering and Manufacturing's new facility in Granville County.

https://www.nccommerce.com/news/press-releases/aerospace-company-invest-27-million-butner

 

[rolly]

Not good news.

CREE builds new 500K SF plant in NY instead of RTP

It looks like the incentives were a big part (they didn't say how much NC was offering, if any). 

But it was more the college infrastructure was superior to the Triangle. More solid state / materials manufacturing knowledge. I guess there's not much we can do about that. Well ya win some, ya lose some. It's good to take notes on if there's areas to be improved on.

 

[KJHburg]

4 hours ago, rolly said:

Not good news.

CREE builds new 500K SF plant in NY instead of RTP

It looks like the incentives were a big part (they didn't say how much NC was offering, if any). 

But it was more the college infrastructure was superior to the Triangle. More solid state / materials manufacturing knowledge. I guess there's not much we can do about that. Well ya win some, ya lose some. It's good to take notes on if there's areas to be improved on.

 

NY state offer 500 Million in incentives something NC could not match anywhere close.  CREE is still based in Durham and is expanding there but we could not compete with an open check book of NY state.  

[KJHburg]

Raleigh metro named one of the best  top 10 for raising a family without growing broke.

https://www.realtor.com/news/trends/most-affordable-family-friendly-metros-in-the-us/

[KJHburg]

Durham attracts another cloud based tech firm now has 10 employees in the Bull City growing to 50 fast.

https://www.wraltechwire.com/2019/10/14/cloud-tech-firm-opens-durham-office-is-hiring-aiming-to-add-scores-of-jobs-very-quickly/

[rolly]

Starting: The Cambridge at Brier Creek, an $80 million project

The senior living facility features health and wellness facilities, medical amenities, a pub, salon and more. 
A large footprint, 5-story building is the center of the project. 

[nicholas]

36 minutes ago, rolly said:

Starting: The Cambridge at Brier Creek, an $80 million project

The senior living facility features health and wellness facilities, medical amenities, a pub, salon and more. 
A large footprint, 5-story building is the center of the project. 

I wonder if the driver of the blue car in the bottom left is from England.

[Raleigh Walker]

Downtown Raleigh sees record  month for food and beverage sales

https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2019/10/22/downtown-raleigh-clocks-record-month-for-sales.html?iana=hpmvp_trig_news_headline

[KJHburg]

Ag-tech company moving HQ to RTP from Michigan.  From a subscriber TBJ article

""Vestaron Corporation, based in Kalamazoo, Michigan, has announced it will be moving its corporate headquarters into RTP – hoping to benefit from the area's rich talent pool and thriving ag-tech industry.  "RTP just has such an obviously strong ag-ecosystem that the company is going to benefit being around other venture-backed ag-tech, the major ag-companies in the space," says CEO Anna Rath.    To kick off its RTP operations, Rath says the company is bringing on about 15 people in the area. She says that number is expected to increase as the company expands its operations.  The company is backed by Novo Holdings – the venture capital arm of the Novo Nordisk Foundation with connections to Novo Nordisk. The group also includes Novozymes – which has a large presence in the region.""

https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2019/10/24/why-this-ag-tech-is-moving-its-corporate.html

 

[Rufus]

https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2019/10/25/this-2-8b-firm-could-be-the-triangles-next-public.html?iana=hpmvp_trig_news_headline

This is an interesting article. Fortive, a F500 company in Everett, WA, is looking to split up into two companies: Fortive and NewCo (assuming this is just a placeholder). NewCo is supposedly moving to "Raleigh-Durham," so take this to mean as mostly RTP. This is a new $2.8 billion company to locate here, joining Advance Auto Parts, Syneos, Martin Marietta, First Citizens, BMC Stock Building Supply as the only public $1b+ companies in Raleigh. Elsewhere in the Triangle are Cornerstone Building Brands, Cree, IQVIA, and Pyxus International with $1b+ in revenue. 

[KJHburg]

3Q 2019 office report is out by Avison Young and it shows some softening in the office market  however overall in the last 12 months office absorption is still positive to the tune of 1.7 M sq ft. 

One interesting nugget is that Xerox chose 11000 Weston Parkway in Cary for their 100K plus office after announcing earlier in the year a major expansion in Cary.  This building was once rumored for Apple which never pulled the trigger despite buying land in nearby RTP.

here is the report for your review

https://www.avisonyoung.us/documents/92532/2127338/Raleigh-Durham+Office+Report+(Q3+2019)+v2/1604b195-9683-498b-aa84-620903c1e990

[KJHburg]

from a subscriber TBJ article today and this is just for Wake County! 

""The figures are 15,000 jobs and 47 companies that Wake County is trying to lure to the region, says Michael Haley, executive director of Wake County Economic Development.  His team “is always working to cull that down,” to focus on the real game-changing projects, he said during TBJ's NextGen event Tuesday.   Haley says the companies eyeing Wake County are relatively evenly split “across the industry sectors:” technology, life sciences and advanced manufacturing. And that’s an advantage, he says.""

https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2019/10/31/official-47-companies-15-000-jobs-eyeing-wake.html

[KJHburg]

Forbes listed its best cities for business and careers and NC has 4 in the top 20 and 2 Raleigh and Charlotte in the top 10. 

https://www.forbes.com/best-places-for-business/list/#tab:overall

Raleigh #3  Charlotte #7 Asheville # 14 and Wilmington Durham # 17     Nashville came in for example at #15 Austin #8

This shows the strength of NC and its metros.

[rolly]

New quarter billion dollar UNC Hospital expansion

A developer is to build a 335,000 sqft UNC Hospitals Surgical Tower in Chapel Hill.  Skanska is managing the $257 million project.

The new Surgical Tower will rise seven stories at the heart of the UNC Health Care campus, with completion in 2022. 

They'll also build two overhead pedestrian bridges connecting to parking decks and the Dental School building and other renovations on site.

[KJHburg]

Canadian fintech firm chooses Raleigh for their US headquarters called FreshBooks.

https://www.wraltechwire.com/2019/11/14/fintech-firm-backed-by-jpmorgan-chase-picks-hq-raleigh-for-first-us-office/

[Rufus]

Another HQ win for Raleigh with Merz splitting into three companies with one, Merz Aesthetics naming Raleigh as its HQ. 

 

https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2019/11/12/merz-to-split-into-three-companies-raleigh.html

[KJHburg]

Nanotech firm HZO that announced it was moving its HQ to the Triangle (Morrisville)  earlier this year now says it will add more than 500 jobs locally.

https://www.wraltechwire.com/2019/11/19/nanotech-firm-hzo-opens-new-hq-in-morrisville-plans-500-jobs-in-triangle/

[KJHburg]

Wow this has to be the biggest job announcement for Chapel Hill in decades.  Well Dot Inc. choses Chapel Hill over Boston for its 400 job expansion.

https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2019/11/19/tech-firm-picks-chapel-hill-over-boston-for-400.html

[rolly]

That's a real cool addition. AI Healthcare analytics. Another link: https://www.wraltechwire.com/2019/11/19/healthcare-it-firm-picks-chapel-hill-for-its-3-1m-headquarters-adding-400-jobs/

[SydneyCarton]

On 10/12/2019 at 9:07 PM, KJHburg said:

Raleigh metro named one of the best  top 10 for raising a family without growing broke.

https://www.realtor.com/news/trends/most-affordable-family-friendly-metros-in-the-us/

While  I overwhelmingly prefer Charlotte to the Triangle, Chapel Hill is, from my perspective, the best place for families in NC.  The schools are amazing, and commuting is very easy — unless you’re going to DT Raleigh or to the RTP.  My wife’s commute to Duke is a piece of cake.

Edited November 20, 2019 by SydneyCarton