Charlotte area "ring cities"

[KJHburg]

this is from the NC Golden Leaf CEO which manages NC settlement money from cigarette  manufacturers.  This is major truth 

 

.@ncLEAFchief has the mic: “the growth of #NC urban areas doesn’t hurt #rural, it helps rural. We don’t need to bring “down” Wake, Mecklenburg and Durham, we need to bring up rural!”

[KJHburg]

Immigrant family from Laos and Thailand creates fresh flower agribusiness in nearby Catawba County in Newton https://www.ncfieldfamily.org/farm/flower-power-summer-fresh-flower-farm/ and you can find these flowers right here in Charlotte. 

[KJHburg]

Here is Kannapolis's new 1,000,000 sq ft Amazon fulfillment center under construction.  They even had a mini concrete plant for the pours.  Today.  Right off Kannapolis Parkway about 2 miles from I-85. 

 

[KJHburg]

Downtown Concord today.  1. 2. Historic homes entering downtown Concord 3. city parking garage with solar panels on top  4. historic Hotel Concord being converted to loft apartments and bottom floor event space.  5. Locke Mill Plaza loft apartments and offices in one large building north of downtown on N Church 

[KJHburg]

A strong region and towns around Charlotte makes for a much stronger Charlotte.  100 new manufacturing jobs announced as an expansion of a cable plant in Catawba county.  http://www.hickoryrecord.com/news/community/claremont-company-plans-expansion-addition-of-jobs/article_956fab84-2c50-11e8-8eb0-871eb1b50b9e.html?utm_source=Business+North+Carolina+Daily+Digest&utm_campaign=4b2056c51a-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_3_21_2018&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_7ae5defd0d-4b2056c51a-122553233#new_tab

[KJHburg]

China Grove train equipment manufacturing plant tripling their workforce to 100 in China Grove.  China Grove in southern Rowan county is starting to grow as overflow from Cabarrus and with widening of I-85 will further increase growth there.  https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2018/03/28/train-equipment-company-to-triple-its-rowan.html

[Cadi40]

The great part about Charlotte is not only are many companies relocating and expanding in Uptown but many are doing the same in Ring Cities. Makes for a strong regional economy!

[KJHburg]

Now Bessemer City over in western Gaston County is getting into the mill redevelopment act.  According to this Business Journal article:

""Osage Mill has become an icon in downtown with its towering smokestack overlooking 260,000 square feet of the former spinning and weaving space. Now a private developer is teaming up with the city and others for a $32 million project to turn the sprawling mill in the center of town into more than 150 loft apartments and about 30,000 square feet of retail.""

https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2018/04/06/plans-underway-to-transform-historic-mill-into-32m.html

Many surrounding towns have redone their cotton mills in Concord, Waxhaw, Mooresville, Gastonia  and plans to do so in Lincolnton.  Great this huge hulking buildings being saved around the region and even here in Charlotte. 

[rancenc]

Kannapolis seeks additional partnerships with developers concerning the Main Street area of downtown.

http://www.independenttribune.com/news/kannapolis-seeking-developers-for-part-of-downtown/article_38ac5b90-3c13-11e8-afc6-e75349e867d9.html

 

[KJHburg]

Concord is booming with new industrial and warehouse space.  This is the Concord Airpark west where the first 500,000 sq ft building was leased by Haines, 2nd 300,000 sq ft building has 100K of space available rest leased and now a 3rd 252.000 sq ft building is underway.   If these huge warehouses were office buildings everyone would be jumping up and down and yet this kind of warehouse growth is under the radar all over the area.  Also caught an Allegiant jet landing at the Concord Airport (first time I have seen one landing and this the night after the 60 Minutes story last night)  Today. 

[NcSc74]

3 hours ago, KJHburg said:

Concord is booming with new industrial and warehouse space.  This is the Concord Airpark west where the first 500,000 sq ft building was leased by Haines, 2nd 300,000 sq ft building has 100K of space available rest leased and now a 3rd 252.000 sq ft building is underway.   If these huge warehouses were office buildings everyone would be jumping up and down and yet this kind of warehouse growth is under the radar all over the area.  Also caught an Allegiant jet landing at the Concord Airport (first time I have seen one landing and this the night after the 60 Minutes story last night)  Today. 

Well at least its an Airbus landing.  I watched that 60 minute segment as well.  What I will say is an airline's aircraft are only as good as their maintenence personnel.  If their MD-80's were well maintained then the age of the aircraft really doesnt matter.  However, they did mention lack of reliable replacement parts.

[deleted]

https://www.charlotteagenda.com/123651/lendingtree-headquarters-pineville/

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/business/article208854174.html

From Andrew Dunn in the Agenda article:

While most of Charlotte’s suburban towns are booming, Pineville has to some extent been left behind. At $35,000, Pineville has by far the lowest median income of the 16 neighboring towns.

I'm sympathetic to a point but...Pineville could have been booming more than others had they not made the shortsighted decision to fight the Blue Line (which I suspect was partially rooted in racism but I could be wrong).  Matthews, conversely, is all in on the Silver Line.

 

[KJHburg]

No I remember the debate it was all traffic related.  They thought if end if line was in their town it would be even more gridlock with commuters than it was already.  Lendingtree is saying they might run a shuttle to the end of the line if they redevelop Cone Mills.

[Scribe]

14 minutes ago, KJHburg said:

No I remember the debate it was all traffic related.  They thought if end if line was in their town it would be even more gridlock with commuters than it was already.

I remember the argument but they had the option to not have a parking lot (so no park-n-ride) which would have served the residents of the immediate downtown area.

[KJHburg]

The NC Research Campus in Kannapolis continues to grow. Here is the latest a Wisconsin company

""Standard Process cut the ribbon Tuesday on its 10,000-square foot Nutrition Innovation Center, which planners expect will grow to 30 employees within the next two years or so. N.C. Lt. Gov. Dan Forest was in Kannapolis to welcome the company to North Carolina.  There’s another reason why N.C. Research Campus and the Wisconsin company syncs so well: profit, says Michael Klinker, general counsel for Standard Process. “Across the atrium in the same building, the campus will open a 15,000-square-foot $6.6 million Food Processing Innovation Center. It’s expected to open its doors in 2019.""

From Subscriber article https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2018/04/24/nutrition-r-d-center-opens-in-kannapolis-on-the.html

[KJHburg]

Was up in Mooresville today and I decided to go up to downtown Statesville and walk around and eat lunch (just a little further up 77).  Really nice downtown my last visit was many years ago for a wedding.  They have nice wide pedestrian friendly sidewalks, restaurants, offices, bakery, 2 bicycle shops, fairly high occupancy.   And some very interesting buildings.  Most of the photos are from Center St.  Red brick building is old city hall now city offices.  Old courthouse is old offices.  I ate at 220 Cafe very good food.  Downtown Statesville a ring city of the QC today.   So take a short trip 30 miles north of uptown and visit.     And it busy people eating lunch, walking around etc.    Reminds me of downtown Concord but not as big or have as many tall buildings as downtown Salisbury.  

Worth a trip and then stop at Fort Dobbs north of town the only French and Indian War site in NC or stop in Lake Norman State Park south of town near Troutman.  Really nice park and facilities. 

[KJHburg]

From Rutherford County just west of Charlotte and Shelby home of the Facebook data center is this Returning the Favor by Mike Rowe episode.  He  highlights 8 ladies who do free roofs for people in need in Rutherford County.    https://www.facebook.com/ReturningTheFavor/    Call the Shingle ladies.  What a great group of people doing good!

[KJHburg]

Not the biggest  town around Charlotte but I think downtown Waxhaw really preserved its small town look despite massive growth.  All the retail buildings are full, new Mill on Main apartments opened (63 units) biggest complex in town (photos 6-10  including new restaurant there).   Always have loved this town.  Just wish it was easier to get back to Charlotte than up the 2 lane Providence Rd.   They have a great Independence Day parade and celebration.  Plus they have some good restaurants. 

[KJHburg]

Mooresville's Merino furniture store in closing in the old mill building near downtown but it is converting the space to creative office space and it sounds like they have a tenant.  (I hope they air conditioned it as the furniture store was not LOL)   They have attracted several other office tenants including China based Greenworks an electric yard tools company.  http://www.mooresvilletribune.com/news/merinos-closing-to-create-office-space/article_f534a262-52c1-11e8-904b-27a856d3244e.html

[SgtCampsalot]

9 hours ago, KJHburg said:

Mooresville's Merino furniture store in closing in the old mill building near downtown but it is converting the space to creative office space and it sounds like they have a tenant.  (I hope they air conditioned it as the furniture store was not LOL)   They have attracted several other office tenants including China based Greenworks an electric yard tools company.  http://www.mooresvilletribune.com/news/merinos-closing-to-create-office-space/article_f534a262-52c1-11e8-904b-27a856d3244e.html

Wow, I would say Mooresville will be the new mini-City of our region (creating their own transit, "urban" improvement initiatives, etc), but it's so suburban outside of their (incredible) downtown, I question the feasibility of such a notion.

Though the day will come where they will choke on their own success and finally see the light... give it 50 years?

Are there any good examples of satellite towns outside a major metro that were so successful they started changing course in their growth and developed like a sustainable small city with transit, etc? Like outside Boston/NYC, maybe?

[southslider]

^Gastonia, Concord, and Statesville all have independent transit systems.

[Matthew.Brendan]

Are you calling Boston a satellite of NYC? lol?

[JRNYP2C]

On 5/5/2018 at 2:58 PM, KJHburg said:

Not the biggest  town around Charlotte but I think downtown Waxhaw really preserved its small town look despite massive growth.  All the retail buildings are full, new Mill on Main apartments opened (63 units) biggest complex in town (photos 6-10  including new restaurant there).   Always have loved this town.  Just wish it was easier to get back to Charlotte than up the 2 lane Providence Rd.   They have a great Independence Day parade and celebration.  Plus they have some good restaurants. 

I have friends that own a small business in Waxhaw and it is an awesome town!  So many restaurants/bars and shops!  I hope they have the wherewithal to keep that small town charm even though they are growing like gangbusters!

[Cadi40]

Off topic - If you haven’t been to Maxwells Tavern in Waxhaw I HIGHLY recommend you visit. 

[KJHburg]

I might retire to Waxhaw and I am not joking. I love that town and Maxwells is good. I do miss Mama Lenas now an Irish pub it seems.