What will it take to take G-boro to the next level.

[NcSc74]

I saw this in the SC forum and thought it would be a good topic for the Triad. I pose the same question about W-S. One more thing there was an article in the Las Vegas Sun sunday about High Point and the furniture market. How will HP deal with this new threat and will it diminish the furniture showroom season. I certainly don't want it too. I feel that the people in HighPoint have been doing this for years and there should be no competition. I tell you guys the people here in Vegas have put a bullseye on the Triad and are excited about taking our buisness...what do you guys think. I hope the Triad pulls this out but it is going to be a dogfight because the pull of vegas is strong.

[Noneck_08]

Well as far as the Funiture Market goes, I think High Point will keep it. But the city needs to step up to the plate or they will lose it. The city has some really tough competition as it's effects were visable in last weeks market. They clearly tried to suck up, by having free concerts, free drinks, etc. But thats just the half of it. Hospitality is nice, but the money and enviroment is a biggy too. You can't expect people not to be turned away when $49.00 hotels are charging $150-200 bucks a night. Then they complain about it leaving but in reality there's only a few things they have to do to get back on the right track. Then the funiture companys themselves are raising up there prices because there not making much profit now a days. They have a few more markets to fix this but if they don't get on the ball it will leave. Now im not trying to down the market or anything, im just saying what I feel.

And as for G-boro itself. It's already well on it's way there IMO. Greensboro it's curently focusing on it's core and seems to be getting it's mind more out of the burbs. They have a set back with there economy right now, but with Fedex, Dell and the new loop, it will help boom the city. If Greensboro keeps working on infill and fixing some of it's intercity problems than that will just propel the city even more. Lets just hope they try to control themsleves with this new loop.

[monsoon]

When the furniture companies started to import furniture manufactured in China, they brought the loss of the furniture market on themselves. Unfortunately there isn't a need to have it in NC since a lot of the manufacturing is not here anymore. I see High Point becoming a ghost town one day, like towns in the rust belt that were built around one industry.

However Greensboro is not in the same situation since it isn't a one industry town. Greensboro is doing many of the things that will help it to rise to the next level. First there is the downtown revival including the new train station downtown. Eventually there will be a high speed rail stop there. The citizens of the city should continue to push state leaders for more train service (i.e a mid day train) and works towards some kind of in city rail system to connect to it.

Greensboro should stop all of the interstate building and instead focus the money into developing transit corridors where more transit oriented development could occur. This would move it further ahead of places such as Durham and Winston-Salem, and solidify its position as 3rd largest city in NC. This will take a lot of political will as there is a lot of vested interest in building those roads. Also, the city needs a plan for developing areas that will be attractive to both business and residents moving into the area.

Greensboro should work towards attracting low cost airlines to its airport. If Southwest came to Greensboro for example, I see a huge influx of people headed that way even from the northern parts of the Charlotte metro due to the obscenely high prices in the USAir hub there.

I also think that leaders there should take advantage of the fact that they are not Charlotte & Raleigh and offer unique entertainment alternatives for people who are not interested in major sports. Charlotte sold its soul to get the NBA downtown and the NFL wasn't too far behind. Greensboro ought to forget the majors and instead focus on an attraction that would draw people from the state to see.

[Hotlanta]

When the furniture companies started to import furniture manufactured in China, they brought the loss of the furniture market on themselves. Unfortunately there isn't a need to have it in NC since a lot of the manufacturing is not here anymore. I see High Point becoming a ghost town one day, like towns in the rust belt that were built around one industry.

However Greensboro is not in the same situation since it isn't a one industry town. Greensboro is doing many of the things that will help it to rise to the next level. First there is the downtown revival including the new train station downtown. Eventually there will be a high speed rail stop there. The citizens of the city should continue to push state leaders for more train service (i.e a mid day train) and works towards some kind of in city rail system to connect to it.

Greensboro should stop all of the interstate building and instead focus the money into developing transit corridors where more transit oriented development could occur. This would move it further ahead of places such as Durham and Winston-Salem, and solidify its position as 3rd largest city in NC. This will take a lot of political will as there is a lot of vested interest in building those roads. Also, the city needs a plan for developing areas that will be attractive to both business and residents moving into the area.

Greensboro should work towards attracting low cost airlines to its airport. If Southwest came to Greensboro for example, I see a huge influx of people headed that way even from the northern parts of the Charlotte metro due to the obscenely high prices in the USAir hub there.

I also think that leaders there should take advantage of the fact that they are not Charlotte & Raleigh and offer unique entertainment alternatives for people who are not interested in major sports. Charlotte sold its soul to get the NBA downtown and the NFL wasn't too far behind. Greensboro ought to forget the majors and instead focus on an attraction that would draw people from the state to see.

I agree with what you said about High Point being a ghost town in the near future. if you're going to have a major convention you gotta have a draw to make people want to come. I rather see them move it to Charlotte then struggling alond in the next few years with it. You have to have a level playing field. Of course this is High Point's main lifeline and is what keeps it somewhat "afloat." Greensboro doesn't really need that eastern portion of the loop it's the south and west that need it built fastest. I mean come on, who's really going to use the east portion. Besides that, I think they should have taken that money the state gave them to build it and widened the Death Valley section and eliminated some interchanges. Once the whole southern portion it completed in about a year and a half, I can see some of those old dumps of a motel going out of business and some of the restaurants too.

[Beany]

The biggest problem right now with the HP furniture market is the hotel prices. Hotels are charging two to four times their normal rate during the market. Obviously this is not very hospitable. But I don't see HP losing the twice a year market. Las Vegas has clearly challenged HP to improve their market and has and will continue to take a hit on HP, but I don't see the market going anywhere. The city has over 11.5 million square feet of showroom space. That is something that even Las Vegas has yet to touch. The furniture market is strictly a business market. People come to buy and sell furniture. HP has made improvements to the market, particularly with transportation. Right now the biggest improvement area needed is with the hotel rates. When it cost significantly more for folks to come and stay in HP than it does in Las Vegas, there is a problem.

One good thing about the HP market is that it has a more favorable location on the east coast. Many market goers can drive to HP saving money on plane tickets and rental cars. Most folks have to fly into Las Vegas.

[sax184]

High Point is toast. Toast toast toast.

My old boss knows someone in the furniture industry. His quote of the year: "You wouldn't believe what High Point is doing TO us, and you wouldn't believe what Vegas is doing FOR us."

They were whistling past the graveyard back in 2001 and didn't do anything. I predict Vegas will be the primary furniture market ahead of High Point in less than 10 years.

[intcvlcphlga]

It seems like this topic has switched to what can High Point do to stay alive. It's going to be next to impossible for High Point and the Triad as a whole to compete with Las Vegas simply because of the amenities that Vegas offers. It will no longer be about a trade show for the furniture industry but rather a chance to escape to Vegas for gambling, entertainment, various assorted things that will stay in Vegas, oh and a furniture show. I don't know if it's about branding or specializing in a certain market area or what, but High Point has to rethink its strategy now and Winston-Salem, Greensboro and the state of North Carolina should put their resources behind it.

[NcSc74]

It seems like this topic has switched to what can High Point do to stay alive. It's going to be next to impossible for High Point and the Triad as a whole to compete with Las Vegas simply because of the amenities that Vegas offers. It will no longer be about a trade show for the furniture industry but rather a chance to escape to Vegas for gambling, entertainment, various assorted things that will stay in Vegas, oh and a furniture show. I don't know if it's about branding or specializing in a certain market area or what, but High Point has to rethink its strategy now and Winston-Salem, Greensboro and the state of North Carolina should put their resources behind it.

I agree with that. The furniture industry has taken a big enough hit in NC and now this. I hope the politicians are looking at this as a serious thing. My question is what could be done???

[monsoon]

Unfortunately I don't think you will see many answers coming from the State government, and even less from the Federal government. The best the State can do is to provide some incentives, as they did with Dell, and continue to make infrastructure investments in the area such as rail. You can pretty much forget the federal government as our 2 Senators consistantly vote for trade bills that continue to gut the furniture industry in NC.

Greensboro is going to have to find its own answers in heading to the "next level". The city does have the big advantage in being the largest in the Triad so it should have some ability to direct the growth in the Triad. I think, aside from the stuff I mentione above, the city ought to figure out how to work with Winston-Salem to make both places grow in a positive manner.