Charlotte area "ring cities"

[SgtCampsalot]

I work around Concord Mills area. Too many new garden apartments, too many new subdivisions, and far too many new strip mall centers. Wonderful yet ironic that downtown Concord is on the up-and-up.

Edited April 20, 2017 by SgtCampsalot

[KJHburg]

Because this county Cabarrus has embraced growth it has up and coming downtowns of both its largest cities Concord and Kannapolis and lots of standard run of the mill suburban development.  Plus lots of commercial and industrial growth. Next time I am in downtown Concord I will take a lot more photos of all the shops, restaurants and the neighborhoods around downtown for the most part are very sought after and strong. 

[Windsurfer]

10 minutes ago, KJHburg said:

Because this county Cabarrus has embraced growth it has up and coming downtowns of both its largest cities Concord and Kannapolis and lots of standard run of the mill suburban development.  Plus lots of commercial and industrial growth. Next time I am in downtown Concord I will take a lot more photos of all the shops, restaurants and the neighborhoods around downtown for the most part are very sought after and strong. 

Embraced is an understatement. While protesting (yes, protesting) a proposal to add 800 homes to an already crowded 800+ subdivision across the highway from me in the Davidson zip code that runs into Cabarrus County....but doesn't qualify to be in the Davidson ETJ), the planning board just chuckled when I asked if they had considered traffic, "That's the DOT's problem, not ours". There's no planning in Cabarrus. Just like Union. Just like York. etc. etc.  Ironically, the big selling point is its proximity to Davidson.

[KJHburg]

2nd ring city Salisbury getting 100 new jobs at Aldi warehouse http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2017/05/11/discount-grocer-to-invest-8m-add-100-jobs-in.html?ana=e_ae_set2&s=scroll&ed=2017-05-11&u=oAaDx%2B74FoP4qOJ%2By4AU6dhJPpc&t=1494531427&j=78149991

[SgtCampsalot]

1 hour ago, KJHburg said:

2nd ring city Salisbury getting 100 new jobs at Aldi warehouse http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2017/05/11/discount-grocer-to-invest-8m-add-100-jobs-in.html?ana=e_ae_set2&s=scroll&ed=2017-05-11&u=oAaDx%2B74FoP4qOJ%2By4AU6dhJPpc&t=1494531427&j=78149991

Nice.

I've heard in some circles that Salisbury could be considered the closest thing to a small southern town version of Plaza-Midwood or NoDa near the Charlotte region. Perhaps they're going solely by the annual Busking Festival and Pride parade... Anyone have input on that?

Edited May 11, 2017 by SgtCampsalot

[KJHburg]

23 minutes ago, SgtCampsalot said:

Nice.

I've heard in some circles that Salisbury could be considered the closest thing to a small southern town version of Plaza-Midwood or NoDa near the Charlotte region. Perhaps they're going solely by the annual Busking Festival and Pride parade... Anyone have input on that?

It is. Lots of older homes near an older downtown. Check out photos i took back in Dec. on page 8 of Ring Cities Because of its location further from Charlotte approx 40 miles it has a preserved downtown and immediate adjacent neighborhood with a mix of homes like Myers Park and PM. It is starting to get discovered and there is a new brewery right by the railroad up there. George Washington on his 1791 tour of the south was very impressed with Salisbury not so much with Charlotte! Real estate values of the older homes 1/3 to 1/2 of Charlotte's intown neighborhoods. I think once I-85 is complete through northern Cabarrus southern Rowan to 8 lanes I think you will see  many people moving this way for it will be an easy commute to the University area for example and tolerable to even Uptown.  Take a ride up there and see for yourself. The tallest building in the city will be restored to apartments and event space.  

Edited May 11, 2017 by KJHburg

[SgtCampsalot]

14 minutes ago, KJHburg said:

It is. Lots of older homes near an older downtown. Check out photos i took back in Dec. on page 8 of Ring Cities Because of its location further from Charlotte approx 40 miles it has a preserved downtown and immediate adjacent neighborhood with a mix of homes like Myers Park and PM. It is starting to get discovered and there is a new brewery right by the railroad up there. George Washington on his 1791 tour of the south was very impressed with Salisbury not so much with Charlotte! Real estate values of the older homes 1/3 to 1/2 of Charlotte's intown neighborhoods. I think once I-85 is complete through northern Cabarrus southern Rowan to 8 lanes I think you will see  many people moving this way for it will be an easy commute to the University area for example and tolerable to even Uptown.  Take a ride up there and see for yourself. The tallest building in the city will be restored to apartments and event space.  

Nice. Ive heard all that too. What about culture. Is it really an oasis of hippies hipsters and artists (in a small town way)? That's what I've got people telling me

Edited May 11, 2017 by SgtCampsalot

[KJHburg]

There seemed to be some artists and lots of independent small shops but really couldnt say for sure about the culture. I would have to spend more time up there to find that out. 

[tozmervo]

You can always pick June 24th as the day to go up and see Sainsbury's wonderful downtown

http://www.salisburypride.com

 

[KJHburg]

Mooresville is one of my favorite Charlotte suburbs as long you dont have to commute to Charlotte. Vibrant downtown, a Fortune 500 Headquarters, diversified economy with manufacturing and of course the Lake and its recreation and resort living. Try some of the great restaurants in downtown like the Epic Chophouse, unique coffee shops etc. 

[KJHburg]

Use Facebook? your photos and data are stored on servers in Forest City in Rutherford County NC west of Charlotte. Use the Apple I-Cloud? That data is stored in servers in Catawba County town of Maiden. Do a Google search? that probably goes through the NC data center in Lenoir just NW of Charlotte. Here   It  is a story on Facebook's data center in Forest City. It is HUGE I think it is close to 750,000 sq or it might be a million now. http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2017/05/23/economic-impact-of-facebook-data-centers-around.html  It is right of Hwy 74

Edited May 23, 2017 by KJHburg

[kermit]

^ and all of them together probably have less post-construction economic impact than NoDa Brewing.

[cjd5050]

4 minutes ago, kermit said:

^ and all of them together probably have less post-construction economic impact than NoDa Brewing.

Interesting read on the subject.  Not sure what the economic image of NoDa Brewing is but it's not like the data centers don't have some spin off.....

http://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2014/09/05/study-facebook-data-center-north-carolina-massive-economic-impact/

[KJHburg]

Usually data centers don't employ many people but Apple's Madien data center has 400 employees and or contractors working there. The big thing these data centers provide is a large tax base for the counties they are in. Here is a recent story on Apples's 4 Billion dollar facility in Catawba County http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2017/01/18/new-apple-investment-in-catawba-county-could.html

Edited May 23, 2017 by KJHburg

[kermit]

13 hours ago, KJHburg said:

The big thing these data centers provide is a large tax base for the counties they are in. 

That would be true if the respective counties did not give 20 year property tax exemptions to each of the data centers as part of their incentives packages. Sure their will be spillovers (although the article you cited was focused on spillovers from construction), but fewer from these facilities than just about any other business. In short, those hundreds of millions spent to lure the big three data centers could have been better spent on ANYTHING else.

Meanwhile NoDa recieved no incentives and is paying excise taxes out the yinyang.

I will conceed that Apple's solar farm was one of the things that allowed NC to grow it's solar sector. But no one (not even Apple) anticipated that when they began to build.

 

Edited May 24, 2017 by kermit

[KJHburg]

I don't view this as an either or situation. I am in full support of raising the cap for the craft breweries and allow them to grow to their full potential but these data centers do pay property taxes at a reduced rate. Apple's data center for example helped pay for a new fire station in Maiden according to the article I linked to above. 

Below is a quote from the article so they pay at 50% tax rate but they do pay something. I agree Apple the world's richest company does not need a dime from NC but they would have just gone elsewhere I imagine. I don't like corporate tax incentives as much as anybody but they are necessary to compete. 50% of the value of Apple's campus in Catawba is better than 50% of zero and just having that land vacant. 

"Incentives extended by the county include a 50% tax rebate on property like buildings and an 85% reduction in taxes on equipment such as the servers" and Catawba county reeling from textile and furniture industry losses needs the tax base. Ditto for Rutherford County.  And remember they are not going to shut down these data centers in 10-20 years to move elsewhere then they will be taxed at the full value. 

[kermit]

No one thinks these data centers will be around in 20 years, it will be far cheaper to build new elsewhere (and for a new set of incentives -- google did not agree to a minimum stay requirement in their incentives package)

This Bloomberg article says Caldwell county rebates 98% of Google's annual county taxes and will continue to for 30 years. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2007-07-22/the-high-cost-of-wooing-google

Quote

Rather than focus on Google's expected annual tax rebate of $5.87 million on a bill of $6 million, Weiss points out that what the city will collect--some $130,000 --is a lot more than what it received on the property before the company's improvements.

$130,000 is better than nothing, but it does not come close to ever repaying the $212 million in incentives that were given away to google (more than $1 million per job). Even if Caldwell rebated 50% the county only gets $60 million over 20 years -- about 1/4 of the total incentives paid out.

I was not suggestion an either or, just that the data centers are hugely overblown as economic drivers and probably one of the least efficient uses of taxpayer incentives dollars.

Edit: Imagine if the $212 million that was _given_ to google was instead spent on microloans to local entrepreneurs? Or what if they just mailed Caldwell county residents a check (about $2,600 per person) -- at least all of that would have been spent locally.

Edited May 24, 2017 by kermit

[KJHburg]

Monroe plant of Indian owned Glenmark Pharmaceuticals is expanding $50 million expansion 37 new jobs. That site will produce Schedule II controlled substances, such as oxycodone or lower-potency codeine cough syrup.  Subscriber only article http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2017/05/23/pharma-company-eyes-job-growth-expansion-at-50m.html?ana=e_du_prem&s=scroll&ed=2017-05-23&u=oAaDx%2B74FoP4qOJ%2By4AU6dhJPpc&t=1495567243&j=78239931

[rancenc]

New Publix anchored center under construction in Harrisburg at Highway 49 and Harrisburg Veterans Parkway

http://www.independenttribune.com/news/publix-harris-square-expected-open-in-early/article_d1a97bdd-0a65-5279-acbf-71943dd02ff3.html

 

[KJHburg]

Couple of photos of the Hotel Concord renovation today. Was in downtown Concord and walk around a bit. Several new businesses opening and very few vacancies. This renovation adding 40 loft style apartments will help the downtown now. Saw a new French restaurant opening next to a Thai restaurant which is next door to a new coffee and donut shop opening. Article on Hotel Concord http://www.independenttribune.com/news/business/a-look-inside-hotel-concord-and-redevelopment-plans/article_d7b7e596-72a8-11e6-9c89-831116806b8a.html And at 6 stories this is the tallest building in downtown (The Embassy Suites by Concord Mills is tallest building in the county) 

Edited May 24, 2017 by KJHburg

[KJHburg]

Downtown Concord 's main street is Union Street and both North Union and South Union are great residential neighborhoods with homes like you would see in Dilworth or Plaza Midwood. (park for free for 3 hours in the parking garage during the day or 2 hours on the street) Concord has no parking meters!  These are all homes on North Union Street including the Cannon Mansion which is now a house again after being the original home on the Cannon School and of course before than the home of the Cannon family. Come visit Downtown Concord is is only 30 minutes from the heart of Charlotte. They have a good Cuban restaurant downtown and Union St Bistro is ranked as one of the best restaurants in the county. Sorry for so many house shots I have a soft spot for old homes even though I have only lived in new homes. 

Edited May 24, 2017 by KJHburg

[KJHburg]

This is the downtown Concord business district which is pretty thriving in this the 2nd largest city in the Charlotte metro area. The old Courthouse is an arts center. A couple of these buildings are from the late 1800s. Concord has its own French bakery and chocolate shop. Like I said FREE parking 3 hours during the week days free on weekends and no meters downtown. Mainly legal offices, government offices but plenty of restaurants. I even saw a coworking space on Union St. 

Edited May 24, 2017 by KJHburg

[SgtCampsalot]

Concord Mills really gobbles up the PR for that town.

[southslider]

^and some sort of auto-racing venue

 

 

Edited May 24, 2017 by southslider

[KJHburg]

You are right most in Charlotte would say Concord Mills or the Speedway when thinking of Concord which both are on the county line practically and until recently were not even in the city limits of Concord.  Yet Concord existed  for 203 years before the mall opened! Here is a link to the county visitors guide so some of you could explore this strange mystical place called Concord and Cabarrus County LOL http://www.visitcabarrus.com/