Cabarrus/Rowan Developments

[rancenc]

20 years since the Cabarrus County town of Midland incorporated.

https://www.independenttribune.com/news/local/midland-is-marking-its-20th-anniversary/article_3bc23d07-c461-5dcf-9947-eeb352768a54.html

[cltbwimob]

On 5/1/2020 at 7:24 AM, rancenc said:

Article on the Concord-Padgett Regional Airport in this month's Business North Carolina Magazine.

https://businessnc.com/concord-airport-banks-on-allegiant/

There’s an interesting line in this article regarding the old Philip Morris site stating that There is some interest in trying to cobble together 3,000 acres at the site-I guess roughly 1,000 acres more than what is there currently.  I wonder how that would be possible. There are some large open tracts nearby, but it looks like it wouldn’t be a contiguous site if they purchased those (assuming their intentions are to create a contiguous 3,000 acre site. 
 

At any rate, the PM site is our best shot at a major auto assembly or engine assembly plant and I hope this is what industry recruiters are going for when they market this site.  I know it doesn’t have interstate frontage, but neither do some of the other mega sites in NC and those are being marketed to auto companies so I don’t know why this one would not (side note: the Nissan Plant in Smyrna, TN doesn’t have interstate frontage either).  Plus, this site already has all the other infrastructure and zoning needed for major industrial operations because it served as a major industrial site once.   Add to that the fact that it’s in Race City, USA-one of the capitals of automotive knowledge and the fact that there are truck assembly plants in the area  that have laid off large swathes of their workforce in recent years, so an automaker would pretty much be able to start with a ready-made workforce on day one without a lot of additional training programs and such.  It would be difficult, in my opinion for an automaker to find a better place to locate a major assembly plant, and if we were to end up with another ho-hum development such as an Amazon Warehouse or another suburban office park here, it would be a major lost opportunity.  We need to go for gold at this site.
 

[rancenc]

Atrium Ballpark is finished in downtown Kannapolis  Hopefully public events can commence in the near future.

https://www.wbtv.com/2020/05/15/atrium-health-ballpark-opened-public/

[KJHburg]

from a Biz Journal article about a new pharmaceutical plant in Kannapolis

""the Rowan County Board of Commissioners will hold the public hearing and summary presentation for Project Lake, an unnamed pharmaceutical manufacturer that is looking at a site in Kannapolis for a $14.1 million expansion. The company is eyeing a 148,000-square-foot existing building located at 2865 N. Cannon Blvd., the former site of Ei SolutionWorks, a pharmaceuticals company that closed its plant there in 2018.   Project Lake would create 388 new jobs at the facility over the next five years, according to county documents, and most of the construction and infrastructure improvements to the site would be completed by the end of 2021.""

subscriber article 
https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2020/05/18/pharmaceutical-manufacturer-eyes-kannapolis-site.html

[rancenc]

Follow up on KJHburg's posting from earlier this week.  The location is actually in a former pharmaceutical plant that went "belly up" in the last 2 years.  The building was originally a former Walmart store.  Hopefully this project comes to fruition.

https://www.wbtv.com/2020/05/21/project-lake-could-bring-hundreds-jobs-kannapolis/

[KJHburg]

this is good news even though previously announced Chewy.com needs 800 workers at their warehouse north of Salisbury.  I would expect them to attract people from Rowan, Davidson, Cabarrus counties and probably Randolph counties.   Yes even KJ has worked in an un-airconditioned warehouse one summer. 

 

[KJHburg]

Cabarrus county EDC working with multiple firms interested in locating in the county.   Not really changed during the virus crisis.

https://www.independenttribune.com/business/economic-development-keeps-our-pipeline-full-despite-covid-19/article_a28fec94-97d5-50c4-a4cb-e74c7772b04f.html

More from Cabarrus county 2 projects should be announced soon and a pharmaceutical manufacturing in Kannapolis Rowan county side should be decided by the summer.

https://www.independenttribune.com/business/friday-five-attracting-and-doing-business-in-age-of-covid-19/article_d52e8acc-3d6b-56c2-9864-c9bc006d7aa6.html

Edited May 25, 2020 by KJHburg

[rancenc]

New housing development coming to the Town of Midland

https://www.independenttribune.com/news/midland-rezones-property-for-new-development-129-homes-expected/article_5eac1f12-a041-11ea-b9f0-d75481ac3deb.html

[rancenc]

Potential new housing developments for the City of Kannapolis.

https://www.independenttribune.com/news/kannapolis-votes-to-annex-two-properties-along-jim-johnson-road-for-potential-subdivisions/article_b1e86f03-616d-5a75-b9e3-99e7e54a8d67.html

[rancenc]

Glad to see continued collaboration on projects to drive forward past this Covid19 economic disruption!

https://www.independenttribune.com/business/cabarrus-edc-flywheel-coworking-to-partner-on-downtown-center/article_da917362-af43-58a8-962d-24212580c915.html

 

[KJHburg]

Prime Beverages a contract manufacturer of beverages is establishing a new plant in Kannapolis with 231 jobs.  These is one of the projects mentioned above that was considering Cabarrus County.

https://www.independenttribune.com/news/prime-beverage-group-to-add-231-jobs-in-cabarrus-county/article_e13b0e1c-aa72-11ea-9673-2746355f5b64.html#utm_campaign=blox&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social

[rancenc]

Followup article to the above posting by KJHburg.  I would also like to point out the number of job announcements made during the Covid19 pandemic.  The Department of Commerce is a great source of information concerning job creation news throughout the state.

https://www.nccommerce.com/news/press-releases/beverage-co-packing-company-add-231-jobs-cabarrus-county

 

[rancenc]

More continued development for downtown Kannapolis.

https://www.independenttribune.com/news/kannapolis-finalizing-sale-of-downtown-block-one-properties/article_9919f5cc-2a5b-531d-96cc-ef660e732077.html

[KJHburg]

Carvana moves into its first building at the former Phillip Morris plant site now called the Grounds at Concord.

https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2020/06/11/carvana-grounds-at-concord-new-facility-done.html

[KJHburg]

Atrium Ballpark in downtown Kannapolis is open every Thurs and Friday evenings and after noon on Saturdays and Sundays to hang out and the concession stands most of them are open.  Go check it out and I will post the rest of downtown Kannapolis photos in the Ring Cities thread.  Home of the Cannon Ballers and there were quite a few people enjoying the ballpark and the new downtown.  Go check it out.    Just like the Tanger Center in downtown Greensboro it planned for a spring opening all on hold for now.    Take your KJ Kannapolis Cannon Ballers Atrium Ballpark photo tour. 

[NCMike1990]

That ballpark seems like a big game changer for the area. I had no idea it was already completed.

[videtur quam contuor]

Sad trombone music

[rancenc]

Some recent transfer of ownership of property from the State of North Carolina to Cabarrus County.  The old Stonewall Training School campus which has been in a pathetic state of disrepair is now in the hands of the County.  It will be interesting what future plans will be in store for the property.  The other official property transfer is the deed of ownership from the state to Cabarrus County on the Frank Liske Park property which was a surprise to me.  I didn't release that the county has essentially leased the park land from the state since the park's inception over 30 years ago.

https://independenttribune.com/news/local/cabarrus-county-gets-stone-jackson-property-frank-liske-park-land/article_504af26d-781b-502a-8569-b712d058bd6c.html

Edited July 10, 2020 by rancenc

[rancenc]

Also the City of Concord is preparing to construct a new park on the fringes of the downtown area.

https://independenttribune.com/news/fairies-hobbits-and-trolls-concord-approves-new-park-design/article_bb148700-c2e5-11ea-827f-abbb9d7c8540.html

[videtur quam contuor]

A few years ago I went to the abandoned Jackson training home campus. I walked the grounds and peeked into the crumbling homes which held house parents and teens during the time of their incarceration/assignment. I remembered it from nearly fifty years ago as an active boys'/teen home and impoundment center. It is spooky in the way of architectural decay porn, Each time I pass the site I whisper a prayer for my good fortune. All of us should.

Read some of this:

https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/north-carolina/stonewall-jackson-school-photos-nc/

[rancenc]

Renderings of the new Cabarrus County Courthouse project underway in downtown Concord.

https://silling.com/work/cabarrus-county-courthouse/

 

[rancenc]

Another new park proposed by the City of Concord.

https://independenttribune.com/news/new-park-to-come-in-northwest-concord/article_c53e590e-c538-11ea-89f6-4b78166d85af.html#tracking-source=home-the-latest

[KJHburg]

Here is a short video about the new Cabarrus County courthouse construction.  Very modern looking building for downtown Concord.  First couple minutes of this youtube video.

 

[KJHburg]

Big artice in Biz Journal this week about the Grounds at Concord old Phillip Morris plant site.  They are marketing the main 1300 acre mega site where the plant sat and then smaller outparcels that number 600 +- acres. They have a 3rd site marked under contract in addition to Carvana and Golden Home the Chinese company.  Here is their marketing video for the mega site with the plant now gone. 

On the bottom of this page

http://www.thegroundsatconcord.com/

Edited July 27, 2020 by KJHburg

[rancenc]

New family entertainment complex opened up last week in Kannapolis.

https://independenttribune.com/news/family-fun-jockos-mini-golf-opens-in-kannapolis/article_346291de-cdd5-11ea-a788-0b6b34d7c3dd.html