Business North Carolina April 2021 by Business North Carolina

A GOLF JOURNEY: 50 ROUNDS, 50 STATES, 50 DAYS ROLFE NEILL’S LEGACY • AVERY THRIVES ON SECONDS • CAN JOHN KANE BAG BIOTECHS?

2021

TOP 100

Golf Courses

APRIL 2021 Price: $3.95 businessnc.com

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Landing Nestle, Pella and other plants has Rockingham County on a roll, economic developer Leigh Cockram says.

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+ DEPARTMENTS 4 UP FRONT 8 GUEST COLUMN It’s time to redefine what makes for Black excellence.

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12 NC TREND

John Kane zeroes in on biotech; Facebook likes Forest City; Charlotte gains some love from Oprah; Black businesses get scant piece of economic pie.

READY TO ROCK

102 TOWN SQUARE

Kinston’s successful downtown rebirth was hit hard by the pandemic. Leaders expect a significant rebound.

+ SPONSORED SECTIONS 32 ROUND TABLE

Six leaders from the transportation and logistics industry discuss the pandemic’s effects on their sector and how it has changed priorities.

80 NC GOLF

CO V E R P H O TO B Y M A R K WAG O N E R

April 2021, Vol. 41, No. 4 (ISSN 0279-4276). Business North Carolina is published monthly by Business North Carolina at 1230 West Morehead Street, Suite 308 Charlotte, NC 28208. Telephone: 704-523-6987. Fax: 704-523-4211. All contents copyright © by Old North State Magazines LLC. Subscription rate: 1 year, $30. For change of address, send mailing label and allow six to eight weeks. Periodicals postage paid at Charlotte, NC, and additional offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Business North Carolina, 1230 West Morehead Street, Suite 308 Charlotte, NC 28208 or email circulation@businessnc.com.

As newspapers’ influence crested, publisher Rolfe Neill played a pivotal role in Charlotte’s emergence. BY RICK THAMES

2021 TOP 100 GOLF COURSES

Eastern N.C. communities are looking in the mirror, addressing ways of attracting new businesses, expanding current ones and improving their residents’ quality of life.

Despite pandemic challenges, businesses finished 2020 at a record clip, setting them up for a strong run this year.

BY MARK TOSCZAK

COMMUNITY CONSCIENCE

40 COMMUNITY CLOSE-UP

88 INDUSTRIAL PARKS

A Triad county rich in history shows hints of accelerating growth.

Golf’s popularity exploded over the past year as a safe outdoor activity during troubled times.

▲ HALLOWED ▲

GROUND

GRINDING ▲ HIGH IT OUT TEE

BY LAURA DOUGLASS

BY LEE PACE

Pinehurst solidifies its “Home of American Golf “ status.

Four friends take on A once-isolated county 50 courses in 50 states becomes a vacationin 50 days. home and golf mecca. BY HARRIS PREVOST

Start your day with business news from across the state, direct to your inbox. SIGN UP AT BUSINESSNC.COM/DAILY-DIGEST. A P R I L

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UPFRONT

► David Mildenberg

MESSING IN MY BUSINESS

PUBLISHER

Ben Kinney

bkinney@businessnc.com EDITOR

David Mildenberg

dmildenberg@businessnc.com MANAGING EDITOR

verybody deserves to have a good boss during their career. I’ve had several, including the extraordinary newspaper publisher that veteran Charlotte journalist Rick Thames profiled in this month’s magazine (Page 80). Rolfe Neill wasn’t really my boss because I was far down the totem pole at The Charlotte Observer many years ago. It had many talented people. But we knew who was in charge at a time when the newspaper employed more than 1,000 people and set much of the local agenda. Many of us would have run through a wall for Rolfe because he made the paper’s mission so clear: Give a fair, accurate, daily portrayal of the Charlotte area while treating readers, sources and colleagues with the utmost respect. But we remember bosses because they show personal interest in us, not because of mission statements. Early in my career, Rolfe asked me to lunch at one of his favorite haunts, the old Rogers Barbecue in north Charlotte. “Wow,” I thought. “I’ve really made it.” He knew everybody and everything that happened in Charlotte, so surely I’d get some great story tips. I was in a hurry back then, so perhaps he was going to help me get that next job at a big KnightRidder newspaper in Miami or Philadelphia, where he’d spent time. As we made small talk, I mentioned that I’d recently gotten engaged. Looking me straight in the eye, he asked, “Are you really ready to get married?” “Are you serious,” I thought. “Is that any of your business? Why do you care?” I can’t remember what I actually said. I doubt it was coherent. Yet, I’ve never forgotten his cut-to-the-point query. Our increasingly risk-averse society has made such banter increasingly off-limits. But it was a different time. Thinking back, I appreciate that Rolfe

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Taylor Wanbaugh

twanbaugh@businessnc.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Cathy Martin

cmartin@businessnc.com SENIOR CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Edward Martin

emartin@businessnc.com SPECIAL PROJECTS EDITOR

Pete Anderson

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

showed I mattered as more than just a writer filing stories. Also, the best journalists ask the most penetrating questions. As the profile this month shows, Rolfe was a great journalist in addition to possessing many leadership skills. He showed concern for racial equity, LGBTQ rights and other issues decades before it became fashionable. More than a decade later, I was a finalist for a job at the paper that I really wanted. I didn’t get it. I complained to Rolfe, who told me why — the other candidate was a better fit. He was absolutely right, but it hurt more than any career experience I’d ever had. Good managers don’t sugarcoat. Not long after, I left the paper and found new opportunities in and out of North Carolina that were more challenging and better suited my skills. Missing the promotion turned out to be a great favor. Rick’s story describes many excellent decisions that Rolfe made or influenced during his distinguished career. On behalf of Charlotte and the state, thank you, Boss. One other thing: We’re still married.

Dan Barkin, Page Leggett, Bryan Mims, Shannon Cuthrell, Mark Tosczak, Laura Douglass, Jim Pomeranz, Lee Pace, Harris Prevost, Rick Thames, Mike MacMillan CREATIVE MANAGER

Peggy Knaack

pknaack@businessnc.com ART DIRECTOR

Ralph Voltz

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

Mark Wagoner

MARKETING COORDINATOR

Jennifer Ware

jware@businessnc.com AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST

Scott Leonard

sleonard@businessnc.com ADVERTISING SALES ACCOUNT MANAGERS

Sue Graf, western N.C. 704-523-4350 sgraf@businessnc.com

Melanie Weaver Lynch, eastern N.C. 919-855-9380 mweaver@businessnc.com CIRCULATION: 818-286-3106 EDITORIAL: 704-523-6987 REPRINTS: circulation@businessnc.com

BUSINESSNC.COM OWNERS

Jack Andrews, Frank Daniels Jr., Frank Daniels III, Lee Dirks, David Woronoff PUBLISHED BY

Old North State Magazines LLC

Contact David Mildenberg at dmildenberg@businessnc.com.

PRESIDENT

David Woronoff

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BNC ONLINE

We love getting feedback from our readers. Here’s a sampling of what you had to say about Business North Carolina on social media last month. Greenville Eastern North Carolina (ENC) Alliance

@GreenvilleENCA

We love this piece by @BusinessNC She said, she said: An interview with the women of EDPNC

Laurie Paolicelli

Christopher Chung

Chief Executive Officer at Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina (EDPNC) Proud to call these women my colleagues at the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina (EDPNC). And thank you to Business North Carolina for showcasing some of the diverse work we do at the EDPNC and the incredible people doing it! She said, she said: An interview with the women of EDPNC

blackdogwoodcreations

Stoked to have been a part of the @businessnorthcarolina February issue and their feature on Jamestown. Check out the story.

Gaston Business Association

@lauripaolicelli

Grateful for #NorthCarolina and its stunning beauty. Outdoor craze fills state parks

City of Gastonia @CityofGastonia

Congrats to @CaroMontHealth - named #1 hospital in Charlotte region and #3 in the state by @BusinessNC. #GreatPlace #GreatPeople #GreatPromise

Congratulations to GBA board co-chair Chris Peek and the entire CaroMont team for their [No.] 3 ranking of best hospitals by Business North Carolina magazine. CaroMont Regional Medical Center’s jump — 11 spots — was the largest made by any hospital in this year’s top 10. 2021 North Carolina's best hospitals

Business North Carolina

Asheville-based Blyss Running gains a niche making practical gear for women on the move. Cindy Clarke I have two products from Blyss and love them!!! Can’t wait until it’s warm weather again.

Town Square: Jamestown

Read these stories and more at

businessnc.com.

Gaston Outside

2021 North Carolina's best hospitals

Peter Gwaltney

President & CEO, North Carolina Bankers Association

Again, for all the right reasons, Bessemer City finds itself in the limelight. When Business North Carolina turned its spotlight to North Carolina's Piedmont area, it became quite clear how Gaston County's Bessemer City is poised for quite the success in the future. #GastonOutside

Linda Ross Bessemer City is a beautiful town

This podcast is worth your time...give it a listen and get to know David Stevens, past chairman of the North Carolina Bankers Association. The Weekly Roundup: David Stevens

Check out Business North Carolina’s weekly podcast on Wednesdays at 10 a.m. at

businessnc.com/ podcast/.

Town Square: Bessemer City

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GUEST COLUMN

► Donald Thompson

BLACK EXCELLENCE BEYOND THE ARENA It’s time for a redefinition of what makes for success.

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▲ Donald Thompson

failures as learning opportunities, we have to show them what’s actually achievable, because the truth is that being a professional actor, musician, or athlete is exceptionally unlikely. Instead of celebrating Denzel as an actor, we should emphasize his work in philanthropy. Instead of celebrating what Lebron does on the court, let’s talk more often about his charitable work. Let’s talk about Beyoncé as a powerful CEO, not only as a stage performer. When we do that, we amplify the traits that really matter. We start to look around for more Black people who are doing hard work that makes a real social impact. Instead of celebrating Black success in mostly unattainable jobs, we start to celebrate the health care workers, teachers, public servants, engineers, and business leaders who are out there right now, forging paths we can actually follow. Three North Carolina examples are Aretha Blake, a

PHOTO COURTESY OF DONALD THOMPSON

hy are we comfortable celebrating Black people as performers and athletes but not as leaders? That’s the question a good friend asked me recently, and I have to say, it’s been hanging around in the back of my mind ever since. During this year’s Black History Month, I reflected on the stereotypes of Black excellence in modern America, and so has my team at The Diversity Movement, with conversations around unconscious bias and with our inaugural Black History Now Awards. (The latter project cited 20 Black Americans who are making a difference in business, politics, arts and society.) To cut right down to the core of the problem, I think we spend too much time talking about performers and athletes in general. Lebron James, Tiger Woods, Cicely Tyson, Denzel Washington, Beyoncé — those are common household names. But Marvin Ellison, Roz Brewer, Bozoma Saint John, Brenda Mallory, Victor Glover? They’re each at the very top of their fields, but they’re still almost completely unknown. (Ellison and Brewer are CEOs of Lowe’s and Walgreens Boots Alliance, respectively. Saint John is chief marketing officer at Netflix. Mallory heads the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Glover is the first Black astronaut on the International Space Station crew.) Certainly, there are lots of complex and intersectional social issues at play, but I’m not interested in explaining how we got here. Instead, let’s talk about where we go now. With a growing number of Black leaders across science, technology, construction, retail, marketing, health care and other major industries, we have a fantastic opportunity to flip the script on Black excellence at work. What is it, and who is doing it best? Which examples are we holding up for our children as we redefine what it means to be successful? The answer lies in our definition of impact. If we want to raise children and young adults who work hard and use their

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District Court judge in Mecklenburg County; Dudley Flood, a retired educator and administrator who was instrumental in desegregating N.C. schools; and Pitt County Sheriff Paula Dance, who has spent her whole life working in public service. We find more Black school principals, Black chief marketing officers, Black restaurant owners, entrepreneurs, writers, nurses, data analysts and farmers. Here, I think I’d be remiss not to mention what it’s like to be Black in most of America: what Black excellence usually means. It’s what Kiese Laymon, a writer and professor at the University of Mississippi, calls “Black abundance” and what Time magazine describes as “an economic lifeline.” It’s what Black parents have been telling their children for decades: If you want to keep your place on the team, you need to overperform. Black excellence is a survival strategy, and that’s important because, as The Atlantic magazine titled a story, Black Workers Really Do Need to Be Twice as Good. But doesn’t that mean these powerful examples have earned at least twice the applause and recognition? These local examples inspire me to view Black history in a different light and to examine my own personal impact on

the story of Black people in business as well. Remember that February shouldn’t be the only time you recognize the contributions of Black Americans to our society. Black history is American history, after all. If you’re looking for powerful ways to integrate diverse stories and histories into your workplace, my team at The Diversity Movement has put together a Black History Month Programming Guide with recommendations on how organizations can recognize Black history throughout the year. When you learn about someone you want to celebrate, someone who inspires you to make a bigger impact, I hope you’ll share their story with me on LinkedIn. Let’s amplify them together. ■ Donald Thompson is CEO of Walk West, a Raleigh-based marketing agency ranked on the Inc. 500 list of fastest-growing companies for the past three years. He is on the boards of Vidant Medical Center and TowneBank Raleigh. This column originally appeared in WRAL TechWire.

Thompson cites three Black North Carolinians as examples of strong public servants. Here is some information about them. Aretha Blake has been an elected Mecklenburg County District Court judge since 2016. She previously worked at the Parker Poe law firm. She is a graduate of the University of Georgia School of Law.

Dudley Flood, 88, is an iconic N.C. educator who helped desegregate the state’s public schools during a career as a teacher, principal and administrator. He served on the UNC System Board of Governors and was executive director of the N.C. Association of School Administrators.

Paula Dance was elected Pitt County sheriff in 2018, the first female Black sheriff in North Carolina and the fifth nationally. She is a Martin County native who joined the Pitt County Sheriff’s Office in 1994.

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HOW ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS SHAPING THE FUTURE OF TREASURY MANAGEMENT Once relegated to performing traditionally mundane tasks, AI is increasingly showing its sophistication and potential through payment system innovations.

This is the tenth in a series of informative monthly articles for North Carolina businesses from PNC in collaboration with BUSINESS NORTH CAROLINA magazine.

In today’s increasingly digital world, businesses everywhere are embracing digital innovation to stay competitive. Central to this movement is the often-referenced, and seldomunderstood, phenomenon of Artificial Intelligence (AI) – and machine learning (ML), specifically. While these terms are sometimes used interchangeably, there is an important distinction, says Charlotte-based Doug McKinley, PNC senior vice president and head of treasury management innovation. “AI is the science of training machines to perform tasks that would normally be performed by people,” he says. “Machine learning is a form of AI. It entails providing machines with large amounts of data so they can identify patterns and draw conclusions, in the same way humans do, but better and faster.”

While AI and ML drive automation, optimization and intelligence throughout the financial services ecosystem, the adoption and integration of AI-based engines and ML algorithms is perhaps most visible in the realm of treasury management solutions. “While technology continues to be the main disruptor in banking, AI takes on even greater relevance for companies when we think about the continued shift of paper-based payment systems to digital – a change that accelerated significantly in 2020 as many companies transitioned to a virtual working environment,” says Charlotte-based Chris Ward, PNC executive vice president and head of treasury management digital and innovation. Ward and McKinley both have contributed to the delivery and integration of AI- and ML-enabled treasury management technologies – beginning in the early days of robotic process automation more than a decade ago. Today, machine learning is no longer a curiosity or novelty, says Ward. As reflected in the following usage examples, it’s a business imperative.

AN IMPORTANT LINE OF DEFENSE

With massive volumes of data being generated by a growing range of networked devices – and backed by ongoing advances in computing power – the use of AI and ML in business continues to accelerate. The financial services industry is among those harnessing the power of AI and ML to help protect, support and empower customers. Reducing exposure to fraud, executing faster payments, and providing data-driven business insights are among the capabilities AI can help enable.

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Because of ML’s propensity for recognizing patterns in data and behavior, it is commonly employed to help identify fraudulent transactions and activities. The significance of this capability cannot be overstated; the 2020 Association for Financial Professionals Payments Fraud & Control Survey, which examines fraud attacks on B2B transactions, found that 81% of organizations experienced actual or attempted payments fraud in 2019. And that was before the pandemic, which created an even more friendly environment for fraudsters to exploit the vulnerability, uncertainty and change that many companies and employees experienced.

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ENABLING SAFE REAL-TIME PAYMENTS The convergence of mobile technology and digital commerce has ushered in real-time payment innovations, including the Real-Time Payments Network (RTP), which can allow participants to send and receive funds immediately at any time. AI- and ML-enabled technologies are crucial for monitoring and analyzing transactions in the fractions of a second necessary to facilitate real-time payments.

AUTOMATING FOR EFFICIENCY As the pace of business increases and companies continue to embrace efficiencies, automating the receivables process is one example of a function that ML-enabled tools have helped deliver. PNC Receivables Automation, for example, draws upon AI-based engines and machine learning algorithms to match incoming payments and associated remittance of open invoices.

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE WITH CASH FORECASTING Currently in development at PNC is an ML-enabled cash forecasting solution, designed to help treasurers see their future cash balances. “Traditional cash forecasting is largely dependent on spreadsheets and manual data input, so it can be time-consuming and prone to error,” says Ward. “A treasurer can spend a lot of time building a model, only to arrive at a quasi-accurate forecast – and with little time to actually address learnings from the forecast. This solution aims to simplify the process and allow the treasurer to spend more time using the cash forecast and less time building it.” Ward and McKinley are quick to point out that the cash forecasting solution won’t be the final example of an ML-enabled tool in the treasury management toolkit. As Ward puts it, “We have barely scratched the surface.”

For more information, please contact your PNC Treasury Management Officer or visit www.pnc.com/treasury.

Regional Presidents: Weston Andress, Western Carolinas: (704) 643-5581 Jim Hansen, Eastern Carolinas: (919) 835-0135

Important Legal Disclosures and Information This article was prepared for general information purposes only and is not intended as legal, tax or accounting advice or as recommendations to engage in any specific transaction, including with respect to any securities of PNC, and do not purport to be comprehensive. Under no circumstances should any information contained in this article be used or considered as an offer or commitment, or a solicitation of an offer or commitment, to participate in any particular transaction or strategy. Any reliance upon any such information is solely and exclusively at your own risk. Please consult your own counsel, accountant or other advisor regarding your specific situation. Neither PNC Bank nor any other subsidiary of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. will be responsible for any consequences of reliance upon any opinion or statement contained here, or any omission. Any opinions expressed in this article are subject to change without notice. RTP is a registered mark of The Clearing House Payments Company, L.L.C. PNC is a registered mark of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (“PNC”). Bank deposit, treasury management and lending products and services are provided by PNC Bank, National Association, a wholly owned subsidiary of PNC and Member FDIC. ©2021 The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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NC TREND ■ DATA

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First take: North Hills

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■ DIVERSITY

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■ STATEWIDE

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LIFESTYLE CHOICE JOHN KANE VIEWS NORTH HILLS AS A WORTHY RIVAL TO THE TRIANGLE’S BIOTECH HOT SPOTS.

BY MIKE MACMILLAN

hile New York, San Francisco and other big cities are facing rising office and housing vacancies and declining leasing rates, Raleigh developer John Kane keeps pressing on the gas in the state capital. He apparently missed the memo on office real estate’s troubled outlook. In January, Kane Realty announced his latest venture, a $1 billion “innovation district” in North Hills intended to challenge neighboring Durham and Research Triangle Park for leases in the growing life-sciences market. The 33-acre project will be mixed use with a proposed 18-story tower, 200 apartments and a 20,000-square-foot food hall. It will offer what the company calls an “unprecedented amount of green space” and connect to the Capital Area Greenway System, eventually providing access to city parks and more than 100 miles of trails. “Raleigh is the fastest-growing city in the Triangle but doesn’t have life sciences,” Kane says. He aims to change that. The life-sciences project places Kane at the center of one of the hottest segments of the commercial real estate market, but also brings him head-to-head with some strong regional competitors. Durham has long been home to multiple biotechnology companies, many spun out of Duke University. Research Triangle Park boasts blue-chip tenants including GlaxoSmithKline, Iqvia and Biogen. It’s also home to the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, the nation’s first state-funded nonprofit group created in 1984 to fund smaller firms in the life-sciences sector. Since 1959, RTP has been legendarily successful in attracting

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▲ John Kane

major corporations and research facilities to the region, burnishing the state’s reputation globally. But Kane notes the idea of an “isolated research center” is perhaps in need of some refurbishment. Kane is betting on lifestyle, a theme that flows through nearly all his properties. “Mixed use provides a better work environment to attract top talent,” Kane says. “That’s really where the competition is, getting the best people.” While RTP has been great for the region, at present its “rental rates are the lowest, and its vacancies are the highest,” something he attributes to growing commute times and fewer lifestyle amenities found in other multiuse properties. RTP is not sitting still. Scott Levitan, president and CEO of the Research Triangle Foundation, points to recent and planned improvements designed to modernize the park’s appeal. These include the Frontier, 500,000 square feet of coworking space carved out of the former IBM campus and intended to appeal to emerging technology companies. Amenities include online yoga classes. The Boxyard, a food and retail destination scheduled to open this year, will offer a “new palette of flavors, sounds and experiences unique to the Triangle, set against a backdrop of repurposed shipping containers.” Then there’s Hub RTP, also under development, which will ultimately include 550 units of housing, 30,000 to 40,000 square feet of retail and 1 million square feet of office space. Levitan says it will be a “town center for RTP.” The project is rolling out on a timeline similar to Kane’s innovation center. Levitan says that Hub RTP will be a dense, mixed-used development, with con-

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struction starting in 2022. “It has a very cool feel about it, which is what companies want.” Levitan emphasizes that he does not view RTP as competing directly with Kane for tenants, instead taking a “rising tide floats all boats” approach. “[The region] would be disadvantaged if there was only one option [for tenants],” he says. Kane’s latest North Hills project joins other ambitious efforts by his company. In December, the Raleigh City Council approved the rezoning necessary for a 140-acre project on Raleigh’s south side that could ultimately include as much as 12 million square feet of office space, 16,000 rental apartments, 9 million square feet of retail, and a soccer stadium and entertainment complex. Called Downtown South, the project is a partnership with N.C. Football Club owner Steve Malik and Raleigh Raised Development, a minorityowned company. Total investment could reach $2 billion. Kane says his company is also involved in planning for the proposed Park City South near the Dorothea Dix Park site in south Raleigh, though the scope of its work is not set. The project is led by Merge Capital, whose managing partner Chris Woody is a Raleigh homebuilder and developer. Plans call for 1 million square feet of office and industrial space, 312,500 square feet of retail, a hotel and 975 residential units. Meanwhile, back at North Hills, Kane is exorcizing the decadesold ghost of J.C. Penney, replacing it with about 720,000 square feet of mixed-use space in his One North Hills project announced last fall. The site’s residential tower, offices and ground-floor retail entail an estimated cost of $350 million. It’s a lot, but Kane is convinced that Raleigh and the Triangle are riding a long-term winning streak, one that will take the region well into the 21st century. He’s not just offering office space or a place to sleep; he’s providing access to a “lifestyle” for talented millennials looking for interesting space to live and work. The pandemic and the popular trend of working from home have unmoored many high-value employees from their West Coast homes to places such as Austin, Texas; Miami; and North Carolina. Some are coming to Raleigh and the Triangle. Many will, Kane hopes, end up living and working at his properties. Between 2019 and 2020, the state added nearly 100,000 residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Raleigh was rated as the second-fastest growing large metropolitan area from 2010 to 2019, adding more than 260,000 residents, or growth of 23%, and trailing only Austin. About 70% of Raleigh’s growth was attributable to net migration — more people moving in than out. (Charlotte ranked eighth with 17.5% growth.) Still, RTP remains the dominant force in the region’s life-sciences industry with about 450 biotech companies located in and around the park, according to the Cushman and Wakefield real estate firm. In early March, Biogen said it will expand its large RTP campus with a $200 million gene-therapy plant, showing the park’s continued draw. Durham also has deep roots in life sciences, and its growing downtown has its own funky lifestyle appeal. Like Levitan, Geoff Durham, president and CEO of the Durham Chamber of Commerce, is not concerned with more competition. “There’s more than enough business to go around,” he says. He notes that about “80% of the Research Triangle Park is in Durham,” as is Duke University, one of the major drivers of growth in the state’s life-sciences industry.

Perhaps there is enough opportunity for everyone. JLL, a global real estate-services firm, has called Raleigh-Durham a “magnet” for life sciences. Newmark, another real estate advisory firm, reports that U.S. health care venture funding rose 38% last year to $29.9 billion. Biotech was the fastest-growing category, up 56.6%, followed by drug and pharmaceutical, up 50.2% year-over-year. These venture capital-funded startups will need a place to hang all those new lab coats, and the Triangle is near the top of everybody’s list, ranking No. 5 in real estate firm CBRE’s accounting of the largest life-science markets in the U.S. Cushman estimates there’s about 10 million square feet of lab space in the Raleigh-Durham area with a 10.7% vacancy rate. The firm recently put the pipeline for new space at 980,000 square feet, 8% higher than 18 months ago. It counts about 6,900 life-sciences employees in the Triangle, up 84% from 2010. But it’s not all smooth sailing. Competition for projects ▲ Kane Realty wants to fill an 18-story tower in is increasing, north Raleigh with life-sciences companies. such as the 330,000-square-foot MTX One tower under development by Raleigh-based Dewitt Carolinas, a mile and a half east of North Hills. Working from home seems set to continue on some level, putting pressure on demand for office space. Kane’s Downtown South project has faced pushback with critics citing everything from stormwater management to an insufficient allocation to affordable housing. Last December, Major League Soccer chose Charlotte for its first franchise in the state, making it less likely that Raleigh will land a team in the dominant U.S. men's soccer league anytime soon. None of this discourages Kane or even slows him down much. Downtown South received a vote of confidence at a December city council meeting when Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin said, “[Downtown South] is about humanity and who we are as a city. And [in] southeast Raleigh, there have been a lot of promises made but not a lot of promises kept.” Keeping that particular promise will likely require funding from the city — including a proposed floating of $240 million in tax increment financing bonds, a first for Raleigh — but Kane is confident it can be worked out. Of course when times are good, there is always money. On a macro basis, things are looking up. Goldman Sachs projects U.S. gross domestic product of 8% for 2021, and other forecasters are similarly optimistic. At the same time, the pandemic has brought home the importance of investing in the life-sciences industry. For his part, Kane likes the hand he’s playing. Of Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill, he says, “These are very different markets. But Raleigh and Wake County are where the growth is.” ■

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Data

SOCIAL CLIMBER FACEBOOK’S $1 BILLION DATA-CENTER INVESTMENT HAS HAD AN INTRIGUING IMPACT ON A SMALL N.C. COUNTY.

ore than a decade ago, Facebook started building data centers in anticipation of massive traffic growth. The social-networking platform had amassed 350 million users by 2009, but anticipated accelerating growth would require storage capacity for its members’ posts, photos and emails. After opening its first data center in a small central Oregon town in 2011, the company chose Forest City in Rutherford County for its second site. Facebook committed $450 million in capital expenditures and said it would employ at least 42 full-time workers and contractors. Nearly a decade after the data center opened in April 2012, Facebook’s growth and impact on its N.C. community have been significant. The company’s 1.3 million-square-foot facility now employs 275 staff and contractors across four buildings. The site represents a $1 billion capital investment, says Birgit Dilgert, Rutherford County’s economic development director. That includes a $200 million expansion in 2015. Data from Facebook and its sister apps, Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp, is stored, managed and disseminated within the center’s thousands of servers. Facebook accounts for nearly 17% of the county’s total tax base. That overstates the company’s actual financial contributions, however, because of the incentives agreements negotiated with state and local officials. In the 2020 fiscal year, Rutherford collected $7.82 million from Facebook but sent back $7.27 million, or 93%, because of those agreements, according to the county’s annual report. Reversing those collections back to Facebook, equal to 85% of property taxes and 95% of personal property taxes, will continue through 2040 under the agreements. Still, attracting such a prize corporation was a huge victory for Forest City and Rutherford County, which had suffered continuous economic blows from the exodus of textiles and manufacturing operations in the previous decade. More than 30,000 people worked

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▲ Facebook's data center accounts for nearly a fifth of Rutherford County's tax valuation but pays limited property taxes.

in the county in the 1990s, but plant closings and the 2007-09 recession sent that number tumbling to about 22,000 by 2010, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis research shows. In January 2010, the county’s unemployment rate hit a record high of 19.4%. It has declined steadily since then, dipping below 4% in 2019. After a sharp hike when the pandemic hit early last year, the rate is now about 7.5%. Facebook’s expansion to Forest City created confidence in the area’s economic rebound, Rutherford County Manager Steve Garrison says. “[It] returned a sense of pride and hope to our communities,” he says. “The impact to the county due to the large capital investments they have made to build out their facilities and infrastructure, the jobs they have created internally, the jobs they have created externally [via local businesses, contractors, subcontractors and suppliers that provide services for Facebook and the utility services purchased from the town] are shadowed by their philanthropic presence here.” The expanded site mirrors Facebook’s incredible growth. When the center opened, Facebook had 845 million active worldwide users. It now has 2.8 billion. The company’s stock market value in mid-March was about $800 billion, making it among the 10 most valuable U.S. public companies. It invested $11.5 billion in 11 data centers sites between 2017-19, according to a study last year by Durham-based nonprofit RTI International. It has added more centers. With a payroll of 275, the Forest City site hasn’t made substantial gains to the county’s workforce. Dilgert doesn’t know of any suppliers to Facebook that have expanded in the county to be near the plant. But Facebook has helped stabilize Rutherford’s fortunes and plays a key philanthropic role. Nearly 24,000 people were employed in the county in December, slightly higher than the decadelong average of about 23,000. Population is also flat at about 67,000, barely chang-

COURTESY OF FACEBOOK

BY SHANNON CUTHRELL

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ing over the past decade, Census Bureau estimates show. Dilgert ticks off a variety of business expansions and additions over the last decade including Taiwan-based Everest Textile, which opened its first U.S. factory in Forest City; Italy-based Trelleborg Coated Systems in Rutherfordton; and North Canton, Ohio-based Ameridial, which has a call center in Spindale. A success story is American Zinc Products, which employs as many as 375 at a site 15 miles south of Forest City. The plant, which marked its first year of operation in March, recycles steel mill dust to produce zinc metal used in cars and many other products. The same benefits that drew Facebook to Forest City attracted other tech giants to western North Carolina’s Foothills region over the last dozen years. The North Carolina Data Center Corridor is home to several major data centers led by Apple’s 400-employee plant in Maiden in Catawba County that opened in 2010. After several expansions, it represents a $5 billion investment by the most valuable U.S. public company. About 30 miles north in Lenoir, Google has invested about $1.2 billion in a data center that opened in 2008. The site now employs about 250 people. Facebook site manager Ernest Hill praises Rutherford County’s leadership for its consistent support. “We saw the commitment and vision of the community and leadership in Rutherford County. That investment in long-term planning created the right access to the [town’s] infrastructure and renewable energy, as well as the strong pool of talent in the surrounding area, and that’s why we continue to thrive in Forest City today,” he says.

The Forest City data center was among the first Facebook sites to use an outdoor-air cooling design, relying on fresh air rather than energy-guzzling systems used at peer locations. It’s among the most energy-efficient centers in the world, Hill says. “The Forest City data center supports 100% renewable solar energy, with five contracts with solar entities within North Carolina.” Facebook has provided $1.1 million-plus in “community action grants” since 2011 to local schools, nonprofit groups and other organizations for equipment and other educational projects focused on science, technology and math. Facebook’s separate community investment fund recently provided a $300,000 grant to Rutherfordton-based KidSenses Children's Interactive Museum for a tech lab expansion. In 2020, the company also gave about $780,000 in COVID-19 relief grants to community organizations, providing a lift to beneficiaries including Rutherford County Family Resources, the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina, and school systems in Cleveland, Henderson, McDowell, Polk, and Rutherford counties. It also put $200,000 into a county small-business assistance fund that aided about 100 companies. “For many of these businesses, this was their only lifeline at the time as they did not qualify for federal COVID relief programs that were being offered,” Dilgert says. “The roots that Facebook has put down in Forest City stretch all throughout Rutherford County,” she says, noting opportunities for local suppliers, contractors and other businesses. ■

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Film

CHARLOTTE SHOW BIZ WARNER BROS.’ NEW TV SERIES DELILAH, FILMED AND SET IN CHARLOTTE, PUTS THE QUEEN CITY IN THE SPOTLIGHT.

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Entertainment is big business

The series was approved for North Carolina’s film and entertainment grant fund — which replaced the former incentive program — and is expected to spark direct spending of more than $20 million. The state offers producers financial rebates of as much as 25% on qualified expenses. To be eligible, a television series must have average in-state expenses of at least $1 million per episode. Feature films require at least $3 million in spending. “Had the rebate not been available, then Delilah would not have really considered North Carolina,” says Guy Gaster, director of the North Carolina Film Office, which is a unit of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina. Seven years ago, the N.C. legislature replaced the incentive program with a smaller grant program. Ending the incentive program meant productions (and talent) left the state — many for Georgia. “Over the past few years in particular, people in the state’s film and TV industry have been challenged,” Winston says. “But in Charlotte, we are skilled, creative and determined to get things done.” Beth Petty, director of the Charlotte Regional Film Commission, makes that case all the time. Warner Bros. phoned her last February, sent her a Delilah script and started asking about locations and local crew availability. Petty essentially acts as Charlotte’s talent agent. When producers need to know if the city could appear pastoral and dreamy

COURTESY OF OWN

No one’s calling Charlotte the “Hollywood of the South.” But the Queen City is the backdrop for a high-profile television project. This time, it’s a Warner Bros. TV series executive produced by Oprah Winfrey. Delilah, which began filming last October, focuses on the titular character — a principled Black lawyer and single mom — played by Maahra Hill (Black-ish, How to Get Away With Murder) and her best friend, played by Jill Marie Jones (Girlfriends). The series premiered on Winfrey’s OWN network in March. What sets it apart from Shallow Hal, Homeland, The Hunger Games and other films and TV series shot in North Carolina is that Charlotte isn’t a stand-in for another place: Delilah is set in the state’s largest city. “Just like Baltimore plays an important role in the series The Wire, the city of Charlotte is actually a character in this storyline,” Braxton Winston says. As an at-large member of Charlotte’s City Council, Winston has a vested interest in Charlotte’s economic development. He works with the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority and the Charlotte Regional Film Commission to land projects such as Delilah. As a member of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Union, his interest is also personal. This is his industry; he worked on set as a rigging grip and set grip. Charles Randolph-Wright, a Duke University alum who grew up near Charlotte in York, S.C., is also an executive producer and among the directors. Randolph-Wright, who is in his mid60s, was the first Black student to earn the university’s prestigious Angier B. Duke Memorial Scholarship. He later studied in London with the Royal Shakespeare Co. and danced with Alvin Ailey in New York. He’s been on Broadway (part of the Dreamgirls original cast), directed Broadway musicals (Motown), acted on TV sets (Melrose Place) and written for the stage.

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enough for a Hallmark movie, she’s the one they call. When they wonder if Charlotte could look like a post-apocalyptic hellscape (The Hunger Games), Petty has to know if such a setting can be found. “We’re an information hub,” she says. “They want to know about locations, but they also want to know what crews will be available to them when they start shooting.” Charlotte’s can-do spirit was essential when it came to filming during a pandemic. “We don’t just have a TV series that’s been filmed here,” Winston says. “We have a COVID-compliant TV series that’s been filmed here. We figured out how to get that done with very little actual infrastructure ahead of time. So, as the proverbial Hollywood — whether it’s [Los Angeles], Atlanta [or] New York — tries to figure out how to do these things, we have a product that we could go out and sell. And that means something in the marketplace of ideas.” There were 14 people on the Delilah set dedicated just to COVID-19 safety, Petty says. A consortium of industry guilds and unions created guidelines for productions, with each individual production taking additional safety measures, Gaster says. “There’s a lot of testing that goes on. There’s the use of [personal protective equipment]. And there are a lot of measures employees are asked to follow — not only on set, but also when they’re off set — to keep cast and crew safe.” Gaster makes a persuasive argument for how vital the film in-

dustry is to the state’s economy. “It’s great when the state lands a corporate headquarters or a manufacturing plant,” he says. “But those job numbers and actual boots on the ground may not take place for several years. Once the announcement is made [by the Film Commission], they’ve already hired their locals and are spending millions of dollars right away. There’s a quick economic impact.” Gaster says many people don’t get a behind-the-scenes glimpse of how jobs are created through film projects, whether for TV or movies. “There are people behind the camera you will never see on screen. This is a sector that offers well-paid jobs. And it’s a pretty clean industry in terms of the footprint they leave.” Winston is hoping Delilah is a bellwether for Charlotte. “The challenge is: How do we create infrastructure here? How do we create an environment where these productions don’t just come, do their job and pack up and leave? I’d like to see perpetual production happening in Charlotte.” Randolph-Wright promises Charlotteans will see familiar faces in Delilah. He told Mayor Vi Lyles he wanted her to make at least a cameo appearance. He hinted that Braxton Winston has some screen time. Winston was asked, “Do you play yourself, or do you play a character?” He gave a politician’s answer: “Well, I am a character, right?” ■

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Diversity

SHORT SQUEEZE BLACK-OWNED BUSINESSES MAKE UP A SMALL FRACTION OF NORTH CAROLINA’S ECONOMY, SPARKING EFFORTS TO SPREAD THE WEALTH.

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orth Carolina’s Black-owned businesses made up less than 2% of the state’s total economic output before COVID-19. Meanwhile, minority- and women-owned businesses accounted for about 0.22% of the nearly $10 billion in state contracts awarded by 29 agencies between 2014-18, according to the N.C. Office of Historically Underutilized Businesses. Then hundreds of such entities closed because of the pandemic’s impact. In a state in which 22% of residents are Black, that isn’t sustainable. Helping Black businesses in N.C. gain a 22% share of economic activity is the goal of Napoleon Wallace, managing partner at Durham-based Partners-in-Equity and co-founder of the ResilNC.org initiative. Partners-in-Equity helps Black-owned companies find capital to invest in commercial real estate, including tax-advantaged Opportunity Zone projects.

Wallace’s team worked with 10 N.C.-based community development groups and interviewed more than 250 Black business owners and about 30 key state leaders to develop the ResilNC plan. The work produced what Wallace calls “scalable, common-sense recommendations” to position those businesses for rapid growth post COVID-19. These are examples: ■ Connect Black businesses with “trusted, growth-oriented advisers rather than assistance that is merely transaction-focused.” Support should include “a combination of financial, intellectual and relationship capital that is aligned with the long-term success of the business and entrepreneur." ■ Access to equity, grants and forgivable loans should be prioritized along with access to credit. “A singular focus on debt can result in overleverage relative to equity capital, which hinders business growth.”

Who gets the state's outlays? N.C. agencies' payments for prime construction (2014-18)

Ownership

Construction

Black Asian Hispanic American Indian Nonminority female Nonminority male

0.6% 0.01 0.6 0.2 4.3 94.4

Architecture & engineering 0.2% 0.01 0.3 0.8 7 91.7

Professional services 0.1% 0.03 0.03 0.01 1.6 98.2

Goods 0.1% 0.4 0.02 0.01 0.5 99

Totals may not be 100% because of rounding. Source: N.C. Department of Administration

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■ State and local governments must renew their commitment to “equitable procurement. The stronger the commitments, the lower the hurdles to access, the better the outcomes will be.” The study by the N.C. underutilized business agency was the state’s first comprehensive study of its kind in more than a decade. It was unrelated to the ResilNC project, though its findings have influenced the group’s work. Atlanta-based consultants Griffin & Strong studied spending in construction, architecture and engineering, professional services, and other services and goods. They determined that of $9.95 billion spent in all categories from 2014-18, Black businesses received $21.6 million, or less than 0.22%. All minority-owned firms received $92 million, or 0.9%. The state report noted that half of the companies surveyed said they believe a “Good Ole' Boy network” exists that “excluded a subset of potential contractors and subcontractors.” A former deputy secretary at the N.C. Department of Commerce, Wallace has a bachelor’s degree from N.C. Central University and an MBA from UNC Chapel Hill. He is a member of the Raleigh-Durham International Airport Authority.

► REGARDING THE 22% BY 2022 GOAL CONCERNING STATE PROCUREMENT, WHAT IS THE MORE UPDATED PERCENTAGE RECEIVED BY BLACK-OWNED COMPANIES?

The state is currently in the process of a disparity study, so we’ll know for sure by midsummer. The best estimate we have is based on historically underutilized business data at the state level. It shows that 0.75% of the state’s $7 billion budget went to Blackowned HUB businesses. ► WHAT DO YOU SEE AS THE TWO TO THREE KEY STEPS THAT NEED TO BE TAKEN FIRST TO MOVE THE NEEDLE?

Broad awareness that for universal owners whose businesses are correlated to overall economic cycles, equity investment in all business communities is needed to achieve sustainable growth. Broadened use of the business improvement toolkit, namely more equity and advisory resources, for businesses that have only been offered debt and technical assistance to date. Getting genuine commitments from government, investors, banks to make it happen — and acknowledging that there is an investment need to make this happen. ► NORTH CAROLINA HAS INVESTED IN HISTORICALLY BLACK UNIVERSITIES AND VARIOUS MINORITY-OWNED BUSINESS EFFORTS, BUT THE PICTURE REMAINS PRETTY BLEAK. IS THAT YOUR INTERPRETATION?

Napoleon Wallace

Wallace discussed the ResilNC report in an interview with Business North Carolina.

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► TO WHOM IS THE MESSAGE TARGETED?

We’re prioritizing the business community, especially the small business and banking communities. State and local elected officials are definitely a key constituency that we’d like to inform. ► ARE GOV. ROY COOPER AND OTHER KEY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GROUPS AWARE OF THIS WORK?

The governor has read the report, and we’ve discussed the possibility of an issue convening with the Department of Administration or N.C. Commerce Department. We have not engaged the Golden LEAF [Foundation] or the NC Chamber, but we have engaged with a few of their board members.

Investments have been made and returns have been high, but more is needed. HBCUs still produce outsized economic impact in their surrounding communities, and their graduate outcomes are better for first-generation and Black students than at similar predominantly white institutions. As for community development investments, the same argument can be made with the caveat that a focus on access to credit for small business (as opposed to a balanced debt and equity approach) leaves lower-wealth entrepreneurs more vulnerable to economic downturns. ► AREN’T ALL SMALL BUSINESSES FIGHTING AN UPHILL BATTLE BECAUSE THEY LACK MONEY TO INVEST IN TECHNOLOGY AND TECH WORKERS?

Not completely. The U.S. remains highly competitive especially in tech-driven industries. Small business accounts for two-thirds of net new jobs and 44% of all U.S. economic activity. This number is down from 48% since 1998. But as the economy has grown, small business gross domestic product has grown by 25% over that period, or about 1.5% annually. ■

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PANDEMIC HITS BLUE CROSS’ FINANCES A BIG INSURER QUESTIONS THE BENEFITS OF HOSPITAL MERGERS. B Y DAV I D M I L D E N B E R G

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Blue Cross reported net income of $492 million in 2019, $685 million in 2018, $734 million in 2017 and $185 million in 2016. It reported flat results in 2015 and a $50.6 million loss in 2014. The 2020 results were not affected by a $365 million award that Blue Cross received after a Supreme Court decision last April that ordered payments to insurers under the Affordable Care Act’s “risk corridor” program. Much of the money was spent on pre-loaded gift cards of $100 to $500 mailed to members depending on their plans, rather than booking a gain, Perry says. Other uses of the money included reducing premiums and paying a rebate related to medical losses. The company reported that CEO Tunde Sotunde, who joined the company last year, had total compensation of $1.53 million, including a $750,000 “sign-on payment.” Gerald Petkau, who served as interim CEO before Sotunde’s hiring, had compensation of $2.7 million. In total, 10 Blue Cross executives had total compensation topping $1.3 million. In 2011, two company executives received more than $1 million in annual pay. ■

COURTESY OF BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD OF N.C.

lue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina recorded a small loss in 2020 as its revenue remained flat for the third straight year. With COVID-19-related claims topping $100 million, the state’s dominant health insurer said it lost $16 million on its operations. Gains from its investment portfolio helped the Durham-based company report a net profit of $260.5 million for a net income margin of 2.6%. The overall profit declined 47% from a year earlier, when Blue Cross earned $492 million. Membership at the not-for-profit insurer grew 1.3% to 3.86 million. Total revenue was flat at $9.9 billion because it lowered premiums for its Affordable Care Act plans and entered cost-sharing programs with some hospitals and physician groups. “While the pandemic dominated much of 2020, we were able to remain financially stable and act nimbly to ensure our members received the care they needed and lower premiums,” says Mitch Perry, the company’s chief financial officer. “Our goal is to make health care better, simpler and more affordable, and we did not let increased costs from the COVID-19 pandemic sideline that effort.” Blue Cross typically aims for a 3% operating margin, though it expected 2020 would be a difficult financial year because of the pandemic, Perry says. It ended with a negative margin of about 0.2%. Blue Cross said its medical claims and expenses rose about 3% to $7.5 billion, a $200 million increase from a year earlier. Higher costs for drugs to treat ▲ Mitch Perry cancer and autoimmune disease pushed the amount spent per fully insured customer to $5,800, a 4% increase from 2019 and 23% higher than five years earlier. While North Carolina’s hospital industry is consolidating, Blue Cross is doubtful that mergers reduce costs or improve care, Perry says. “The cost of health care is still too high.”

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AG’S ROSY OUTLOOK N.C.’S ROBUST AGRICULTURE SECTOR HAS A BRIGHT FUTURE. BY DAN BARKIN

COURTESY OF NCAGR.GOV

orth Carolina’s agriculture industry is on the cusp of topping $100 billion in annual economic activity, N.C. Agriculture Secretary Steve Troxler said in his 2021 outlook speech. Researchers peg the impact at $92.7 billion this year from the state’s food, fiber and forestry industries. “We are still the largest tobacco state, top in poultry and egg receipts, and the leader in sweet potatoes,” Troxler said. “We’re in the top three in hogs and pigs. Agricultural and food innovation research has a big presence at our land-grant universities, N.C. State and North Carolina A&T State universities.” The industry employs nearly a fifth of the N.C. workforce, according to Troxler, who has been commissioner since 2005 and was re-elected in November. “If you look in some of the large cities in North Carolina,” he said, “I think sometimes that’s hard for people to imagine. But you don’t have to get far outside the cities to see the rural landscape of North Carolina and the infrastructure and the agribusiness that goes on in North Carolina.” The state’s pork and poultry industries benefited last year as exports of both meats to China topped 20% despite strained relations between the Trump administration and the Asian nation. From 2018, he said, “We went from almost nothing being exported to China in the poultry world to almost $100 million in 2020.” Much of what North Carolina farmers produce goes to world markets. The pandemic and its impact on travel have forced Troxler’s international trade specialists to find new ways to reach new places. Secondary markets such as Argentina were previously too expensive for in-person visits, but a virtual trade show targeting the South American nation was expected to attract 20 companies, he said. Blake Brown, an N.C. State agricultural economist, predicted a better year ahead for North Carolina farmers, particularly in the hog, poultry and tobacco sectors. A key factor may be the weakening value of the dollar versus the euro, which tends to boost exports to Europe. But the dominant force in trade remains China, which is rebuilding its hog supply after African Swine Fever wiped out 40% of the nation’s industry in 2018. “That’s going to swing back to feedstuff because they certainly can’t grow enough soybeans and corn in China to feed this industry,” Brown said. Flue-cured tobacco production in the U.S. dropped to about 238 million pounds last year but is likely to rebound to more than 300 million pounds as China purchases more U.S. products, Brown said. “That’s very good news for North Carolina, since we produce most of the flue-cured tobacco,” he added.

▲ Steve Troxler

One of North Carolina’s agricultural success stories has been the sweet potato, with a variety developed about 20 years ago, the Covington, becoming a bestseller in the U.S. and Europe. But tariffs imposed by the European Union on tobacco, sweet potatoes and peanuts because of an unrelated dispute over airline subsidies depressed N.C. exports. With the new Biden administration comes a significantly different approach to climate policy and immigration with consequences for farmers. Climate policies could include incentive payments for carbon sequestration, which would be more preferable to many farmers than regulations. Brown urged farmers to be engaged in the climate policy process. One question looming over the Biden administration is immigration enforcement, with a potentially less stringent approach leading to an influx of foreign workers. “Does that mean we’re going to see a return to use of undocumented workers, not only in agriculture but other industries as well?” Brown asked. That could be a problem for operations that play by the rules, use documented workers, and pay federally mandated wages. ■

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TRIANGLE

ing built at Research Triangle Park. The company plans to make vaccines and injectable medicines.

DURHAM Gene-therapy startup StrideBio raised $81.5 million to finance its continued research in therapies to treat cardiovascular and central nervous system disorders. The funding was co-led by Northpond Ventures and Novo Holdings and included five new investors and four existing ones. ApiJect Systems named Raymond Guidotti, a veteran life-sciences executive, as its chief operating officer for the company’s nearly $800 million factory be-

Biogen, a biotechnology company headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., is opening a $200 million gene-therapy manufacturing center at its RTP campus. The project is expected to open by 2023 and create 90 jobs. With a year left in his first term, Duke University President Vincent Price was appointed to a second five-year term. The new term begins on July 1, 2022. Interim City Manager Wanda Page was named to the post on a permanent basis. The UNC Chapel Hill graduate, who earned a master’s degree from N.C. Cen-

tral University, succeeded Tom Bonfield in September. Maryland-based commercial real estate finance company Walker & Dunlop will partner with N.C. Central University to start a real estate studies program. The company will provide two full scholarships each year for the next five years to MBA aspirants who need financial support and also provide internships and mentoring. Velocity Clinical Research acquired Denver-based Downtown Women’s Health Care and Edgewood, Fla.-based Riverside Clinical Research, bringing its total sites to 16 across 11 states. Financial details were not disclosed.

BIG EXPANSIONS IN TOUGH YEAR

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record was in 2019, with an investment total of $4.4 billion. Last year’s top investment announcements included: ■ Centene’s pledge to invest $1 billion in an East Coast headquarters and technology hub in Charlotte, which is expected to create more than 3,237 jobs, ■ Pratt & Whitney’s $650 million, 800-job high-tech turbine airfoil production facility in Asheville, ■ Eli Lilly’s $474 million, 462-job plant in Research Triangle Park, ■ Nestlé Purina PetCare’s $450 mil-

lion, 300-job plant in Eden, Grifols Therapeutics’ $351.6 million, 300-job expansion in Clayton, ■ and United Parcel Service’s $262.2 million, 451-job hub in Mebane. The first quarter this year is off to a strong start, the partnership noted. Key announcements included Biogen’s $200 million gene-therapy manufacturing center in RTP and Adverum Biotechnologies’ pledge to invest $82.8 million in a Durham County gene-therapy manufacturing facility. ■

COURTESY OF NESTLÉ

The Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina’s 2020 annual report, Emerging Stronger, highlights robust business recruitment activity and other key metrics in the state’s economy. Despite the negative effects of the COVID pandemic and state-mandated shutdowns, it was a record year for investment, with 147 new corporate location and expansion deals expected to create 20,026 jobs and $6.3 billion in capital investment. It was the largest total investment in any year over the past decade. The previous

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jobs will have an annual average wage of more than $99,800. Fujifilm could receive more than $26 million in state incentives, based on investment and hiring goals.

SANFORD SHINES Sanford in Lee County has been on a roll, benefiting from expanding pharmaceutical companies and other manufacturers. Site Selection magazine also noticed, ranking Sanford fifth in its list of top micropolitan areas in its March edition. It cited expansions by Audentes Therapeutics, which plans a $109 million investment with 200 jobs, and Kalyani Group’s Bharat Forge, which is investing $170 million and creating 460 jobs at its first U.S. automotive-parts factory. Site Selection bases the rankings on “corporate projects landed” at markets with populations of 10,000 to 50,000. Shelby ranked 11th, while Kinston, Lumberton and Mount Airy tied for 32nd. Transportation technology company TransLoc tapped Brett Wheatley as CEO. Wheatley most recently served as the Michigan-based vice president of mobility for Ford Motor Co. TransLoc was acquired by Ford in 2018.

CARY Video game-software developer Epic Games acquired Capturing Reality for its photogrammetry technology. The deal marks the Fortnite creator’s fifth acquisition in recent months. Raleigh-based developer NorthView Partners plans Meridian East Chatham, a mixed-use apartment project downtown. Situated on 3 acres, the building will have 220 units and include some retail space.

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Albemarle, Morehead City and Pinehurst-Southern Pines tied for 55th. “Beginning in 2008 with the Lee County Second Century effort, continuing with the Mayor’s Open for Business Agenda adopted in 2014 and the creation of [the Sanford Area Growth Alliance] in 2015, our community stakeholders worked intentionally and cooperatively to reach this level of national prominence,” alliance CEO Jimmy Randolph said in a release. “Local leaders in both business and government and the staff at SAGA deserve to take a bow. This recognition is what we’ve worked toward for the past 13 years.”

Winston-Salem-based Lowes Foods opened a store here in late March. It’s the anchor tenant for a retail plaza at the Greystone residential community near the intersection of Morrisville Parkway and Interstate 540. New York-based grocery store chain Wegmans canceled plans for a location in the Fenton mixed-use development. The grocery store was expected to be the anchor tenant of the development along Cary Towne Boulevard and Interstate 40.

HOLLY SPRINGS Japanese drugmaker Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies is building a $1.5 billion, 725-job manufacturing plant that is slated to be the largest monoclonal antibodies facility in the world. The

RALEIGH Colorado-based Dish Network plans to buy Republic Wireless, which was launched a decade ago by parent company Bandwidth.com. Republic will be led by Rob Currie, senior vice president of Ting Mobile. The financial terms were not disclosed. Bandwidth says it plans to raise $300 million in new capital. It didn’t designate any specific uses for the money. The company bought Belgium-based Voxbone in November. Two years ago, Paris-based cancer research firm Cellectis pledged to add 200 jobs here at a $69 million site. Now, the French gene editing company is getting ready to open its second location here. Vista Strategies, a government affairs firm led by former N.C. Sen. Tom Apodaca, is joining forces with sole proprietorship Joey Nichols Consulting. Nichols will join Vista as a partner and will concentrate on economic development and client services.

SANFORD Raleigh developer Jim Anthony’s APG Capital paid $2 million for a 96,000-square-foot industrial property. The seller is Static Controls, which is moving from the site.

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SPIFFY CLEANS UP ON FRANCHISES Durham-based car-cleaning company Spiffy announced its first five franchise partners, enabling the Durham-based company to expand to seven metro areas: Greensboro/ Winston-Salem; Wilmington, Del.; San Jose, Calif.; Cincinnati; Greenville, S.C.; Columbia, S.C.; and Charleston, S.C. The franchises are expected to open this year. “The [first five franchise partners] represent a broad spectrum of experienced business owners with backgrounds spanning automotive finance, tech angel investing, aviation, and other franchises, which really validates our business model and makes us even more excited about the momentum we’ve built bring-

BELMONT Belmont Brewing opened a River Drive site that was previously home to York Chester Brewing and Riverman Brewing.

CORNELIUS Construction on the $25 million Cain Center for the Arts in downtown will begin on May 14. The building will include a 400-seat theater and an art gallery.

CHARLOTTE British electric-vehicle maker Arrival is opening a second plant here, investing $41.2 million and adding more than 250 jobs. Production will start by the third quarter of 2022. The company could receive $1.5 million in local incentives, based on hiring and investment goals. Blue Flame Credit Union plans a $2 million headquarters in south Char-

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lotte. Its current office is in the Lower South End neighborhood. The new building is expected to open next year.

started her own firm, Brookhouse, which will offer brand strategy and communications planning to select clients.

Blackstone Group and Starwood Capital Group joined to buy midprice hotel chain Extended Stay America, based here, for $19.50 per share, or $6 billion. It’s the largest deal in the hotel sector since the beginning of the pandemic. Amwins Group, a wholesaler of specialty insurance products and services, agreed to buy Los Angeles-based Worldwide Facilities, the fourth-largest U.S. wholesale insurance brokerage. The combined firm will have more than 6,150 employees in 155 offices and place $24 billion in annual premiums. Truist Financial is closing six local branches on March 30. It plans to close 230 branches by 2022. There are no job losses associated with the closures. Startup company Rent Ready secured $10 million in investment funding in a move led by Grotech Ventures. The company will use the money to expand and invest in new technology. Peggy Brookhouse, former president and a partner at marketing agency LGA,

The Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office dismissed all domestic violencerelated charges filed against Sonic Automotive CEO David Smith. He had been arrested last October and charged with assault on a female, assault by strangulation, false imprisonment and interference with emergency communication. Smith denied wrongdoing, and the company’s board supported him. Crescent Communities promoted four senior executives. Jay Curran was named president of multifamily. Brendan Pierce is president of commercial after joining the company last year from Keith Corp. Daniel Cooper is president of construction. Ben Collins was named managing director of multifamily, reporting to Curran.

COURTESY OF SPIFFY

CHARLOTTE

ing mobile vehicle care to fleets and individuals nationwide,” said CEO Scot Wingo in a release. Spiffy has 22 company-owned and -operated locations including in Atlanta, Baltimore, Charlotte, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Raleigh, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis and Washington, D.C. Founded in 2014, Spiffy had 2020 revenue of $13 million, according to business site Latka. It has raised $28 million from various investors, the Crunchbase website reports, including a March 2020 infusion from Royal Dutch Shell’s venture capital arm.

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FIRST CITIZENS’ CEO UPS OWNERSHIP STAKE

First Citizens Bancshares, the nation’s biggest family-owned bank, said CEO Frank Holding Jr. now controls 13.5% of the Raleighbased company’s voting power, according to the annual proxy. That’s an increase from 11.5% a year ago. The market value of the company was $8.5 billion in mid-March. Shares gained more than 140% in the past year, benefiting with other banks from the prospects for higher interest rates and a strengthening post-COVID-19 economy. First Citizens expects to complete its $2 billion purchase of New York-based CIT Group by June 30, marking its largest acquisition.

TRIAD

Syngenta Crop Protection will retain its 650-employee headquarters and invest $68 million to rebuild much of its local campus. The company’s jobs average more than $100,000 and include research and business roles related to agricultural chemicals. The Chinese-owned company is eligible for as much as $3.6 million in local incentives.

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Camden, N.J.-based NFI Real Estate bought the 1.6 million-square-foot former Kmart distribution center for $74 million. The seller is Drake Pacer Penry Acquisition of Cohasset, Mass., which bought the 93-acre property in March 2019 for $49.75 million. Michelle Gethers-Clark, CEO of the United Way of Greater Greensboro, is leaving to serve as chief diversity officer and head of corporate responsibility for San Francisco-based financial-services giant Visa. Gethers-Clark has led the nonprofit group since 2013. Law firm Crumley Roberts named Karonnie Truzy chief diversity officer. Truzy previously served as a shareholder complex litigation attorney.

WINSTON-SALEM Wake Forest Baptist Health is raising its minimum wage from $12.50 to $15 per hour. The company first made the promise to raise wages in 2018.

Carter Bank & Trust is opening its fourth bank here with 10 employees. Martinsville, Va.-based Carter is the eighthlargest community bank in the Triad with 100 branches across North Carolina and Virginia.

GREENSBORO

The combined company will be the 20th-largest U.S. bank with more than $100 billion in assets. CIT has a national lending business and a retail bank network in California. Holding, who has been CEO since 2008, slightly trails his sister Olivia Holding as the company’s biggest shareholder, according to the proxy. She has 13.7% of the voting power, up from 13.3% last year. Their sibling Hope Bryant, who is the bank’s vice chairwoman, has 12%, while sisters Claire Bristow and Carson Brice each control about 9.5%. All told, the family’s ownership in the bank’s stock appears to exceed $4 billion. First Citizens started in Smithfield in 1898. The current CEO’s grandfather, Robert Holding, led the bank through many of its early years before a transition to his three sons, Robert Jr., Lewis and Frank. They ran the bank for decades and moved its headquarters to Raleigh in 1974.

UNC Greensboro is laying off 19 employees in its information technology services department. The move comes after increased expenses and decreased revenue because of the pandemic and an increased reliance on cloud computing.

N.C. A&T State University said its forthcoming $90 million engineering building will be named the Harold L. Martin Sr. Engineering Research and Innovation Complex. Prior to his 11 years as A&T chancellor, Martin served as a professor, dean and vice president. He holds two engineering degrees from A&T.

Wake Forest Baptist Health and Atrium Health are building a $30 million children’s outpatient center as part of their 10-year, $3.4 billion partnership. The location has not been determined, though officials say it will be in the Triad.

ASHEBORO Randolph Health CEO Angela Orth will step down effective April 15 after eight years in the post. The hospital, which has had financial problems, was acquired by American Healthcare Systems. She will be succeeded by Tim Ford, who has more than 30 years of health care management experience.

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COURTESY OF UNC HEALTH

UNC HONORS FORMER HOSPITAL CHIEF GARY PARK

UNC Health recently honored longtime administrator Gary Park by naming the tower at the N.C. Neurosciences Hospital in Chapel Hill in his honor. After 20 years of service to UNC Health, Park retired Feb. 28. From 2004 to 2019, Park was

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president of UNC Hospitals. In that period, the not-for-profit organization opened the N.C. Cancer Hospital and the Hillsborough Campus, expanded mental health services in Raleigh with the WakeBrook campus, began construction of a surgical tower in Chapel Hill, and won many honors for excellence in clinical care and patient satisfaction. It also was ranked as one of the nation’s best places to work. Park worked at Moses Cone Health System in Greensboro from 1992 to 2000, including four years as chief operating officer. He is a graduate of the University of West Virginia.

EAST GREENVILLE Philip Rogers took over as 12th chancellor of East Carolina University. A former chief of staff at ECU, he most recently was senior vice president for learning and engagement with the American Council on Education, which promotes universities. Evansville, Ind.-based MetroNet plans to invest as much as $40 million to provide fiber-optic internet, TV and phone services in an agreement with the city. Construction is expected to take two years and eventually cover at least 90% of the city.

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OLD DOMINION’S GROWTH PLAN Old Dominion Freight Line wants to hire 800 truckers by June, including 275 line haul drivers, 260 pickup and delivery posts, and 100 team drivers. The company had nearly 20,000 employees during the fourth quarter last year. The Thomasville-based trucker had a mid-March market cap of nearly $27 billion, eighth-most among N.C.-based public companies. Average annual pay for the jobs ranges from $73,000 for the delivery jobs to $99,000 for the line haul positions. The non-union company also has hundreds of other open dock worker and clerical jobs. Old Dominion is gaining market share as demand for rapid home de-

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livery soars. Shares have had a total return of more than 400% over the past five years, the second-best among N.C. companies and nearly matching the performance of Amazon.com and Netflix. Shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, a Durhambased drug-development company with a $2.3 billion market cap, increased about 430% over the past five years. Keeping up that pace won’t be easy for Old Dominion with its share price trading at 40 times trailing earnings. Five of the 15 analysts that track the stock rate Old Dominion a “buy,” while 10 say it’s a “hold,” according to Yahoo Finance.

WASHINGTON

Novant Health will pay $15 an hour to eligible New Hanover Regional Medical Center staffers, aligning the hospital with its other facilities. About 1,100 employees are affected by the change. The previous minimum was $12.50. Financial software provider nCino started an entity in Germany to expand its sales to European financial institutions. Its software helps automate financial processes.

Pamlico Air, an air-filter manufacturer, sold a substantial equity stake to Ludwigsburg, Germany-based Mann + Hummel. Pamlico operates plants employing a combined 1,300 in Wilson; Reno, Nev.; Wichita Falls, Texas; Lake Wales, Fla.; and here. It is adding a factory in Goldsboro.

ARDEN Buncombe County agreed to provide $462,000 in incentives to manufacturer BorgWarner, which plans a $62 million expansion at its 500-employee plant. The company makes parts for electric vehicles and plans to add 100 jobs paying an average of about $25 an hour over the next few years.

WEST

FAYETTEVILLE ASHEVILLE Thermo Fisher Scientific is adding 200 employees at its local plant because of strong demand for low-temperature freezers. The company is making a 30,000-square-foot expansion at its plant and adding 50,000 square feet in its warehouse.

Harnett Health Foundation of Dunn is officially joining Cape Fear Valley Health. Cape Fear has managed Harnett for the past seven years. Cape Fear will take on Harnett’s debt and no money is being exchanged.

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CONOVER Premier Development Partners of Ohio is building a 497,000-square foot distribution center for the Arhaus Furniture retail chain that is expected to create 65 jobs. A building permit lists the construction cost at $31.5 million.

COURTESY OF THERMO FISHER

Cumberland County commissioners approved an incentive grant of $595,000 aimed at retaining a Cargill soybean processing plant that employs 70. Agricultural giant Cargill may expand its Cumberland site and invest more than $25 million while retaining at least 70 jobs paying $70,000 or more per year. Separately, commissioners approved an incentive of as much as $60,000 for a second unnamed company that may add 75 jobs.

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TRANSPORTATION & LOGISTICS

GAINING SPEED Since March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has steered North Carolina’s economy. Restrictions and stay-at-home orders derailed many businesses, at least temporarily. But those in the state’s transportation industry, whose strength is connected to a vibrant network of roads, rails, airports and institutions, rolled forward. They ensured grocers were stocked, services continued and deliveries completed. Business North Carolina gathered six leaders from the transportation and logistics industry to discuss how the pandemic affected their sector and how their members changed directions under the circumstances. They also provided a look ahead, forecasting when this turbulent ride may finally end.

PANELISTS

Kevin Baker

Rick Cates

Samuel Chinnis

executive director, Piedmont Triad International Airport Authority

vice president of workforce strategies and fleet safety, Marsh USA

instructor of global logistics, Guilford Technical Community College

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Guilford Technical Community College, Martin Marietta, N.C. Railroad Co. and Piedmont Triad International Airport sponsored the discussion, which was moderated by Business North Carolina Publisher Ben Kinney. It was edited for brevity and clarity.

FOX: It has been a time of changes, financially and operationally. The state Department of Transportation felt the biggest hit in its revenue. It’s healthy now, but it was quite a roller-coaster ride at the pandemic’s start. About 61% of it comes from motor fuels taxes. When Gov. [Roy] Cooper suggested that North Carolinians stay home in March 2020, they did. The number of vehicle miles traveled, based on gasoline consumed, drastically dropped. Our revenue was down about $350 million in April, May and June, the last three months of the previous fiscal year. That money is never coming back. People aren’t going to make four extra trips to the grocery store in August, for example, because they didn’t go in May. That’s a real challenge for us, because NCDOT was already experiencing cash issues because of hurricane damage in

2018 and Map Act settlements to landowners in 2019. We adapted by trimming more spending. We worked with the legislature and the governor’s office to craft a funding package, which involved adjusting our budget and selling bonds at the end of last year. Some transportation modes received assistance from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act. When Congress initially passed it, airports and public transit received money, while other modes, such as freight, didn’t. Those choices were passenger related. Like every employer, DOT was worried about the health of its workers. Many began working from home. I used to go into DOT’s downtown Raleigh building and find more than 500 people working there. The parking lot lately has had only a handful of cars — mine, the secretaries’ and two or three others driven by employees working on legislative items. That change caused concerns about productivity. We still have essential front-line workers, including those at Division of Motor Vehicles offices who interact with the public daily and those in the highway division who respond to emergencies and keep traffic moving. We structured their work environment so they’re as safe as possible. We’ve been largely successful at that while continuing to provide good service. I renewed by license tag about a month ago, and the office setup, with everyone wearing masks and separated by partitions, was impressive.

BAKER: A typical pre-COVID Saturday in April might see about 3,200 people boarding planes at PTI. But on Saturday, April 18, 2020, Piedmont Triad International Airport hit bottom; only 75 people boarded airplanes. It was really bad, and it hasn’t improved much since. Boardings are down about 70%, which is typical of most airports. Hubs are doing better, but even the airports of Raleigh-Durham International’s size aren’t doing much better than 60% down in late February. We have employees working from home, but about 70% of PTI staff don’t have that option. We have to have firefighters, police, communications, security and maintenance folks on-site. So, we faced challenges ensuring that everybody at work was protected from COVID. However, PTI enjoyed a silver lining to the pandemic. Unlike many airports, PTI’s role as a home to many aerospace companies kept portions of our operation quite busy, and more importantly, kept many in our community employed. For instance, the growth of online shopping was a boon to FedEx, which has a hub at PTI. Its January 2021 volume was up 38% over January 2020, which was a banner month for us and pre-pandemic. As another example, soon after the pandemic hit, airlines began pulling airplanes from service. They called us, asking how many planes PTI could park. We closed taxiways at one point, making room for 60 or 70 airplanes from American and Alaska airlines. They are customers of HAECO Americas, which conducts aircraft maintenance at PTI.

Amanda Conner

Michael Fox

Anna Lea Moore

manager of aviation business development, N.C. Department of Transportation, Division of Aviation

N.C. Board of Transportation chairman and N.C. Railroad Co. board of directors member

vice president of economic development, N.C. Railroad Co.

HOW DID THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC AFFECT YOUR CORNER OF THE TRANSPORTATION INDUSTRY? WHAT WAS YOUR RESPONSE?

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So, those planes that were due for work came here. That kept HAECO employees busy the past 12 months, and they still had more to go as of the end of February. We’re hedged because of those businesses. That’s the way I look at it. CONNER: North Carolina’s airport system is unique. I like to say if you’ve been to one airport, then you’ve been to one airport. The state Division of Aviation adjusted what it does in the field. It created a virtual community so key staff members could correspond with airports, providing an opportunity to understand how we could help them. We created a database of assets at airports statewide so it could better respond to calls for help. North Carolina airports received CARES Act funding. Our grant administration worked quickly to funnel that money to airports, which used it to sustain operations. The pandemic-induced slowdown gave some airports time and space for development projects. Some were able to accelerate projects. We saw less project activity overall because the aviation industry was expecting a transition period of acquisitions, mergers and consolidations. Its businesses needed time to understand where the market was headed, identify new trends and decide how they could emerge from the pandemic stronger. CATES: We had to adapt quickly. A driver used to go into a delivery destination and

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pick up a bill of lading. That changed in late March 2020, when they weren’t allowed inside or to interact with on-site staff. Trucks are still delivering to grocery stores, but they’re making more trips to fast-food restaurants, whose move to drive-thru only has increased business. An Atlanta-based fast-food chain, for example, needed to get enough supplies to its locations, so it started its own distribution center. And in December, it announced it was building one in Mebane, a $52 million investment that will employ 160 people. It’s expected to open early next year. The trucking industry was running into issues as early as March and April 2020, especially meeting the needs of over-the-road drivers. Interstate welcome centers, along with some truck stops, were closing. So drivers had few if any places to stop. We had to get legislators and transportation officials in Washington, D.C., to reopen them. Some less-than-load freight carriers had one set of drivers operating their trucks during the day, then a second set would drive them at night. Those trucks had to be sanitized in between, and additional help had to be hired to do that. About 3,000 trucking companies nationwide have gone out of business during the pandemic. But many of those remaining reported profits in the fourth quarter of 2020. HOW HAS THE PANDEMIC AFFECTED WORKFORCE TRAINING? CHINNIS: Guilford Technical Commu-

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nity College was moving toward more online-based education, either synchronous or asynchronous, but the pandemic pushed it there faster. While some of the technology that makes that happen may have felt optional before, COVID made it mandatory. We’re making progress and so are our students. That’s exciting. Enrollment has remained steady, maybe a bit down. Economic downturns historically have increased community-college enrollment and made available more resources for retraining the unemployed. But that didn’t happen with the COVID-19 pandemic because its employment picture is different. Many people are describing the recovery as V-shaped. But not everyone will be fortunate enough to quickly return to a job. The pandemic is providing our supply chain management instructors and students with a teachable moment — the importance of flexibility and the concepts behind it. We’re pushing that. CATES: The trucking industry is short about 85,000 drivers. Along with private schools, most of the state’s community colleges, including GTCC, offer truck-driver training. We just can’t produce them fast enough to meet the need. HOW HAS TRANSPORTATION’S ROLE IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CHANGED? MOORE: I’m encouraged about our future. While economic development project activity drastically slowed in 2020’s first half, by May, we made important changes to our strategy and operations to put us in the best position for an economic recovery. And what happened? By the end of July, economic development activity was back to the pre-pandemic levels we were accustomed to servicing. We saw a spike in intermodal shipping containers, for example, thanks to soaring demand from the e-commerce sector. That will continue to provide opportunities for North Carolina, especially at intermodal terminals in Rocky Mount, Greensboro and Charlotte. Project activity has continued to soar. What is new is how in-person visits to sites have changed drastically. We developed new and creative ways to showcase the infraSPONSORED SECTION

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structure and benefits attached to a site in video and through drone footage. We’ve been proud to partner with communities in marketing sites, providing spec sheets and sales-pitch points for the rail portion of their available sites. We developed ways to stay connected with many of our contacts, including site-location folks, who are scattered across the country, through video conferences that we call ‘railbreaks,’ a play on jailbreak. We hosted almost 50 of them and had great participation. FOX: DOT is always involved to some degree with site development. If a company wants to build a large warehouse, for example, then DOT makes sure that the transportation infrastructure can handle it. That work hasn’t slowed because of the pandemic. People still want to live and move or expand their businesses in North Carolina. That bodes well for our state’s future. It’s one of the four fastest-growing states, and 4 million more residents are

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expected in the next 20 years. We need to ensure that our infrastructure is ready, so they are a benefit, not a burden. WHERE IS THE INDUSTRY IN TERMS OF A RECOVERY? BAKER: Business was slowly improving toward the end of 2020. A lot of people traveled over the holidays, but there was a significant spike in COVID numbers in early January. Then the vaccines started rolling out, possibly putting the pandemic’s end in sight. In January and February, people seemed to be hunkering down, waiting to be vaccinated before they got on a plane. But as more are vaccinated, we’ve seen an uptick, and it will probably really take off in the second quarter. We expect a very busy summer. People want to travel, and leisure travel will be big, as long as we don’t run into any setbacks. However, PTI really needs business travelers to return. Historically, they were 70% of our business, with

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leisure being the other 30%. If you listen to 20 industry experts, you’ll get 20 opinions, but I mostly hear predictions that between 10% and 30% of that business is gone for good because of adaptations, such videoconferencing, made during the pandemic. Hopefully business travel will rebound in the second half of this year to whatever becomes its post-pandemic level. We’ll see what that is. CONNER: We’re encouraged that airlines are returning to former destinations and adding new ones from North Carolina airports. PTI handled the most cargo of any North Carolina airport in 2019. While that function may have slowed at the start of the pandemic, more airports see its potential as passenger numbers remain low. Instead of moving people in a plane’s cabin and cargo in its belly, why not carry cargo both places? And while the number of flights may have fallen, the lows are actually growing. While

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many North Carolina airports were seeing about a 70% decline in passenger boardings, they were within, or in some cases better, than the national average, according to Federal Aviation Administration data. After a decline in April, May and the beginning of June 2020, there was a quick rebound in airport activity. There were more military operations and an increase in charter planes — business aviation. And there was an increase in leisure travel to the coast and the mountains, where vacations that lend themselves to social distancing are easily found.

Amazon, that maintain a fleet of vehicles that run regular routes. If a vehicle, for example, always returns to reload after running its 50-mile route, then there’s an opportunity for recharging. And as those situations increase, the recharging infrastructure will expand for everyone. General Motors recently announced that it will stop building cars and trucks with gas engines by 2035. That may push some companies to electric fleets sooner. But can enough electric vehicles be built to meet the needs of Amazon, FedEx, UPS and others? It’ll be interesting to see if reality meets expectations.

HOW IS TECHNOLOGY SHAPING THE INDUSTRY?

CHINNIS: Lithium, a raw material needed for rechargeable batteries, is in limited supply. COVID-related issues contributed to a shortage of microchips, which are in every electronic device. The more technology we use, the more microchips we need. That supply chain will catch up, but it currently is behind. Technology

FOX: We’ve been hearing about the transition to electric vehicles from ones powered by gasoline or diesel fuel for years. Experts predict that transition will be led by companies, such as UPS and

is enabling large retailers to use their big-box stores as fulfillment centers for e-commerce orders. They’re doing that with curbside pickup and home delivery. Delivery service Grubhub, for example, recently brought something to me from Walmart, and that blew my mind. The technology behind that has room for improvement. Its biggest issue, and we work on this with our students, is inventory accuracy. That’s easier done in a distribution or fulfillment center than in a retail environment. But retailers are pushing the envelope. CATES: North Carolina recently opened a state-of-the-art truck scale on Interstate 85, just this side of the state line near Kings Mountain. If a truck’s inspection score is high enough that it’s not in an alert status, operators can give it a green light to bypass the scale. That keeps commerce moving. We have tracking devices on our trailers and freight. And even with

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all that was moving around during the pandemic, we know every shipment’s location, within 2 inches at any given time, wherever it is in the world. Much of the technology that was only found on luxury cars not that long ago, such as lane departure warning devices and automatic breaking, is standard on trucks. Most trucks had 10-speed manual transmissions five years ago. Now 60% to 70% of them have automatic transmissions. That will be closer to 90% within three years. CONNER: More investments and research, including into fuel sources, for unmanned aircraft systems are being made in North Carolina. DOT is working to maintain that through various initiatives, including in the regulatory environment. The Division of Aviation works with FAA, for example, through the BEYOND program, which has brought government and private entities together to manage UASs since 2017. North Carolina has real-use UAS cases that are generating revenue, whether that’s meeting that last mile of delivery or moving needed medical supplies and personal protective equipment during the pandemic. We have a bit of “coop-petition” with Ohio, which claims to be the birthplace of flight. But even though the Wright brothers were born there, they had to come to North Carolina to get it done. And that’s why we’re first in flight. And UASs is why we will remain first in flight.

WHAT SHOULD THE TRANSPORTATION INDUSTRY EXPECT THIS YEAR? CHINNIS: The pandemic’s effects on supply chains have received a lot of news coverage. As a result, the general public is more aware of supply chains, and we’re seeing more students who want to study them. That will help everyone moving forward. FOX: Transportation always has been an essential service. More folks have recognized that during the past year. While you worried if there was toilet paper in stock at your favorite grocery store, there was a truck, maybe even a rail car or ship, bringing it there. Logistics and transportation will always bring the items and services that we rely upon. Many people embraced online shopping and the convenience of having items delivered to their door during the pandemic. They’re not going to decide that’s a terrible idea all of a sudden and return to standing in line at a store. CATES: Cargo capacity was tight at the end of 2020, and it’s expected to remain that way into 2022. There has always been a saying: You’ll never have enough drivers, you’ll never have enough trucks and you’ll never have enough freight. Something will always be short. I recently was at an in-person meeting, and I sat between a last-mile delivery company representative and someone from a trucking company

who had placed a 900-truck order for its fleet. The last-mile delivery company representative said its order was for 10,000 vans and 10,000 straight trucks. We live in an amazing world, where we can hit a button and that item is brought to us. Trucks, trains and planes get it there. That hasn’t changed, and it won’t change. MOORE: This is an exciting time for transportation. All modes, which were historically viewed as separate entities, are becoming increasingly integrated. Railroads nationwide, for example, are testing various drone technologies, given they control a vast network of unencumbered air space, which drones require. Whereas companies may have looked for a site that had rail access in the past, now they need one with rail and an interstate or equivalent highway that’s within a 45-minute drive of an airport. It’s every penny for every mile as it relates to suppliers. Our overall success will be driven in large measure by the extent to which we all willingly partner, ensuring our communities have the access they need to attract and grow existing companies. Rest assured, the North Carolina Railroad Co. is actively partnering with anyone working to create jobs and transportation efficiencies. We also will continue to support communities eager to have more sites ready for construction. That’s critically important for our state moving forward. ■

Rail service, especially intermodal, rebounded a few months after the pandemic’s start in 2020. The latter was because of growing e-commerce.

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EASTERN N.C.

SELF-CARE The communities of eastern North Carolina are looking in the mirror, addressing details that are grabbing new businesses, expanding current ones and improving their residents’ quality of life. Across the 29-county region that’s represented by Greenville-based economic development booster NCEast Alliance, there are many means for promoting and developing business opportunities. While those calls are heard in far-flung places around the world, volume has been added to those directed closer to home over the past several months. NCEast statistics show as many as 80% of new jobs are born locally. “When you look at engaging with industry, our approach now is more than the conditional, ‘How are you doing?’ but [instead] a very engaged, ‘What are your needs? How can we help you?’” says Todd Edwards, a member of NCEast’s board of directors. “People get excited about new jobs, but most jobs come from existing industries.” Edwards says instead of “hunting big elephants,” the group’s focus is cultivating the local business climate. “We aren’t anti-large operations at all, but we’re looking at what we have and how we can make better opportunities,” he says. “Whether it’s new talent or

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homegrown entrepreneurs, we need to be involved with our people and leave the ‘big elephants’ to others. … the 300,000and 500,000-employee companies are great. But let’s look at the foundation and make our communities more attractive. The other guys out there can be the jet fighters. We’ll be the ground crew, the landing crew.” Undertaking that new role requires a new approach. “Most economic development entities look similar,” says Edwards, who operates his namesake construction company in Farmville. “If you get a group of them together in a room or via Zoom, they complain about the same things. Workforce development is an issue. Retention is an issue. Funding is an issue. We started looking at our large basket of things. We realized there are a lot of people competing, but no one’s looking at the foundational issues. So we took a step back and asked, ‘How do we tackle these things?’” One way has been with regular webinars that examine the region’s foundational issues. Hosted by NCEast, they have C A R O L I N A

attracted as many as 200 participants. They’ve covered boat building and aerospace opportunities. NCEast Regional Economic Developer Trey Goodson says one session about the Interstate 87 corridor, which stretches from Raleigh to Norfolk, Va., garnered much attention. “They realized the importance of us doing that,” he says. “We have an awesome [webinar] lineup focusing on offshore wind, cybersecurity, retail and how it can be used to bolster economic programs. We’ve really taken our advocacy efforts and explained it in these webinars.” NCEast’s ultimate goal is defining the scope of future economic development in eastern North Carolina based on its assets such as workforce. “If we have anything in these silos, it will move economic development forward and put us on a different plane foundationally,” Edwards says. “If a foundation crumbles, it doesn’t bode well. We had areas that were a little crumbly. We’re saying, ‘Come join us, because we’re getting better. Here’s the proof.’” SPONSORED SECTION

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CUMBERLAND’S CAN DO CAROLINA Eastern North Carolina communities disentangling from pandemic plagued 2020 are investing in optimism. Downtown development projects, along with pushes for diversity and higher wages, are widespread. So are business expansions tethered to workforce development, start-ups and a refocus on growing existing assets. “There needs to be economic vibrancy,” says John McCauley, a Fayetteville native, business owner and president of Vision 2026, one of 11 Cumberland County groups collaborating on a community-wide rebranding effort. “We want to try to encourage people to work together toward some common directives and quality-of-life issues, which are interrelated to economic development.” More than 4,000 residents, civic leaders, local businesses and other stakeholders in Fayetteville and Cumberland County emerged from two years of collaboration and creativity to form Can Do Carolina, a rebranding intended to bring awareness to the region’s ongoing metamorphosis. The once widely held perception of a small community that was tied tightly to the military is being reworked to promote a lively center for performing arts, sports, tourism and societal camaraderie. Community leaders say Fayetteville’s former slogan — History, Heroes and a Hometown Feeling — covers much but not everything. “Fayetteville has long been viewed, inside and outside, as a military town, and Fayetteville is a military town,” says McCauley, a graduate of Davidson College and UNC Chapel Hill School of Law. “But to us, the military is more than just an economic engine or [Fort Bragg] that’s next to us. They’re our neighbors, and we cherish them. We go to church with them. Part of our mission encompasses Fort Bragg, but we’re not exclusive to that. There’s a humility about Fayetteville that’s unique. There’s no arrogance here, and it’s refreshing. It’s a place where we can focus on doing things, not big talk or cheap talk.” The rebranding effort’s leaders say its agenda must be all-inclusive. In Cum-

Fayetteville’s Cool Spring Downtown District, a growing destination for art and entertainment, boasts more than 100 businesses, restaurants and museums.

berland County, that means people from multiple interests and activities. “We look forward to activating the brand through contests, customer-service recognition, storytelling, photography, art and other visual means,” says Robert Van Geons, president and CEO of Fayetteville Cumberland Economic Development Corp. “We are inviting the community to express this brand in ways that amplify their passions and serve their goals while reflecting what is uniquely Fayetteville and Cumberland County. We are telling this story to build a shared sense of purpose and belonging among our citizens and to attract new residents, businesses and visitors into our community, ultimately strengthening our economic health and diversifying our tax base.” Many groups are behind Can Do Carolina, including the city of Fayetteville, Cumberland County, Fayetteville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, Greater Fayetteville Chamber, The Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County, Crown Complex, Cool Spring Downtown District, Cumberland County Schools, Vision 2026 and Fayetteville Cumberland County Economic Development Corp. Publicly introduced Dec. 1, it has four pillars: We find a way, we care for one another, we protect the world and we always go further. “Can Do Carolina is what we stand for and how the world should think of us,” Van Geons says. “Following a successful launch, we are now welcoming additional partners into this effort, helping to expand our story as they rebrand their organiza-

tions in alignment with Can Do Carolina.” McCauley says residents need to promote Fayetteville in addition to defending it. “Those of us who are here and who have raised families here, it is combatant upon us to be vocal in our community,” he says. A goal of Vision 2026 is to push for a centrally located community park featuring soccer pitches and baseball fields. “One way for communities to be effective and somewhat unified and be truly diverse is to get people together around the common purpose of teams and children and teammates,” he says. “If our town is going to succeed, we need venues for our people to be together as friends and neighbors, and we’re trying to make that happen.” Some of those venues already exist, including Cape Fear Regional Theatre, Fayetteville Woodpeckers’ Segra Stadium and the U.S. Army Airborne & Special Operations Museum. More reasons to promote the region have been recently unveiled. Cape Fear Valley Health plans a Center for Medical Education & Research and Neuroscience Institute, a five-story, $30 million addition to the health care system that will staff 50 to 60 faculty and administrators along with 300 residents. It will house the growing residency and neuroscience programs of Buies Creek-based Campbell University, improve access to health care and relieve physician shortages. Groundbreaking was in January; it is expected to open next summer. A P R I L

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EASTERN N.C. Evansville, Ind.-based MetroNet announced a $70 million project to bring 100% fiber-optic internet, television and fiber-optic phone service to businesses and residents in Fayetteville, Hope Mills, Linden, Wade, Stedman, Godwin, Eastover, Falcon, Spring Lake, Vander and unincorporated Cumberland County, as well as portions of Hoke County. The company plans to hire locally for sales, customer service, service technicians and market managers. In August 2020, barbecue-maker Dansons said it would invest $28 million to build a 260,000-square-foot distribution center that would create 118 full-time jobs in Fayetteville. The Phoenix-based company received a $400,000 One N.C. Grant from the state and $175,000 job-creation grant from the county. And in January, Paris, Texas-based We Pack Logisitics signed a three-year lease for the remaining 208,602 square feet in SkyREM’s 930,000-square-foot I-95 Distribution Center in Fayetteville. At Fayetteville Regional Airport, American Airlines began offering daily service to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport last month. According to an N.C. Department of Transportation report, the airport has a $790 million economic impact, supports 4,575 jobs and pays $28 million in state and local taxes annually.

CURRITUCK OFFERS OPPORTUNITIES Kris Vick was a real-estate agent with a nationally known company in Currituck County when co-worker Gretchen Keeter suggested they strike out on their own. “We prayed about it before we went into it,” Vick says. “‘Lord, don’t open these doors if it’s not meant to be.’” Statistics favor the duo. Currituck County, located in the extreme northeastern corner of the state, is expected to gain 3,000 residents — the majority soon to retire — over the next five years, according to the county’s 2020 economic development report. Site Selection magazine ranked North Carolina’s business climate the nation’s

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best in 2020, a title it shared with Georgia. That’s attracting businesses and residents, including to Currituck County. Its median household income of $66,300 is $6,000 higher than the national median, according to the county report, and its population is expected to zoom past its current 28,284 to more than 40,000 by 2035. There were 600 new single-family home applications from June 2019 to June 2020. Currituck County’s largest community — Moyock — is a few miles inland on N.C. 168 and a 45-minute drive from busy Hampton Roads, Va. It’s welcoming Currituck Station, a 3,000-acre collection of residential, commercial and entertainment development. Tractor Supply and Wendy’s have chosen locations there, along with a locally owned furniture company, counseling center and Currituck Area Holdings, which handles driver’s licenses, vehicle titles and so forth. They’re part of a $14.9 million investment that represents $7.2 million in tax assessment value, according to the county’s report. The businesses coming to Currituck Station aren’t alone. From July 2019 through June 2020, the secretary of state received registrations from 126 companies, including 56 commercial projects, in Currituck County. They include retail flooring and tile, restaurants, real estate, a dealership for off-road vehicle parts and a business center with shared office space. Currituck County is ready to welcome industry, too. Maple Commerce Park has 10 shovel-ready sites adjacent to Currituck County Regional Airport. It gained its first tenant last year. Corolla-based Brindley Beach Vacations & Sales, which manages more than 600 properties on the Outer Banks, agreed to pay $163,000 for 4.4 acres, where it will build an industrial-size laundry to wash the sheets, towels and linens used at its vacation rentals. Vick and Keeter opened their Royal Realty Group in February 2020 in a former bank building on N.C. 168 in Currituck County. “This year we specialize in new construction as well, and I see a lot of first-time homeowners,” Vick says. “And we sold quite a few to military families in

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2020. I can almost guarantee it’s a lot less strenuous here than the Virginia Beach area. People can appreciate you wanting to relocate. They’re with you, not against you. Tax purposes is another good thing.” In five years, Vick predicts business and population growth will turn her county “into a mini-Norfolk, actually.” Currituck County’s population has increased 18.7% in the past decade, the county report says. The majority of single-family home construction is in Moyock. And from 2015 to 2020, jobs increased by 9.1%. “I see it just turning into, from the master plans I’ve encountered and talking with attorneys, I see it growing up quickly,” she says. “It already has.”

PITT COUNTY CONNECTS THE PLOTS East Carolina University and its nearly 29,000 students are a large part of Greenville. Its newest chancellor, Greenville native Philip Rogers, 37, started in March. This isn’t his first ECU stint: He was chief of staff from 2008 to 2013, serving with former Chancellor Steven Ballard. In between, he was senior vice president for learning and engagement for Washington, D.C.based American Council on Education, a nonprofit group that represents more than 1,700 higher-learning institutions. Rogers will oversee ECU’s continually expanding presence with an eight-year plan that blurs the boundary between campus and downtown with the newly named urban hub Intersect East. Formerly called the Warehouse District because of its historic Export Leaf Tobacco and American Tobacco buildings, it’s a $150 million project that includes 14 buildings and is expected to create 1,500 jobs and $3 million in annual tax revenue. Intersect East’s 19-acre spread is adjacent to ECU’s main campus and will have two 60-unit apartment complexes, office and research space, restaurants, and parking for young professionals and students; a high-tech research and innovation hub; and a hiking-biking trail along a former railroad grade between Dickinson Avenue

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Winston-Salem’s Novant Health completed its $5.3 billion acquisition of Wilmington’s New Hanover Regional Medical Center earlier this year.

and the ECU campus. The development’s construction will be undertaken in four phases, the last expected to be complete in 2027. Tim Elliott, managing partner of Intersect East developer Sparks, Md.-based Elliott Sidewalk Communities, calls the project a “pacesetter urban hub,” where business and science mingle. “[A place] where innovation will flourish … you could say this is an Olympic training center for business growth, where university research and corporate research and development meet, train and win,” he says. “The entire reason for this project is to have businesses leverage the great research capabilities of the university so that together the university and the business can elevate themselves together and, at the same time, bring jobs to downtown Greenville.” Intersect East isn’t the only place in Greenville where help-wanted signs will be hung. “We had a huge announcement, to the tune of $500 million in investment and 500 jobs over the next five years,” says Kelly Andrews, executive director of the Pitt County Development Commis-

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sion. Thermo Fisher Scientific, the global life-sciences company that is expanding its sterile drug product development and commercial manufacturing of critical medicines, plans to add those jobs and make that investment at a 130,000-square-foot factory that’s expected to open next year. The Waltham, Mass.-based company has had a Greenville presence since 2017. Filling those jobs will require a cooperative effort. Andrews says Pitt County’s workforce-development plan will “provide marketing, training and career pathways to produce an ongoing pipeline of workers, now and into the future.” Its design and implementation will involve the county, Pitt Community College, ECU, Pitt County Schools, N.C. Biotechnology Center and others.

NEW HANOVER IMPROVES QUALITY OF LIFE Passed by Congress and signed by former President Donald Trump about a year ago, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security — CARES — Act provided $2.2 billion in relief to people and communities impacted by the pandemic.

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Some of that money assisted New Hanover County in meeting three focuses of its five-year strategic plan while only in its third year. They include intelligent growth and economic development, superior education and workforce, and superior public health and safety. “As with all challenging times come opportunities for creativity and innovation, and New Hanover County was able to double down on strategic priorities with a different perspective of focus on how to accomplish our clearly defined outcomes and targets utilizing new CARES Act funding resources,” says Jennifer Rigby, the county’s chief strategy officer. New Hanover is working with schools and local businesses to add access to free Wi-Fi. “Additionally, through CARES Act funding, New Hanover County was able to boost the Wi-Fi signal at our public facilities to create free community Wi-Fi zones, increasing free Wi-Fi access to 13,498 more residents within a quarter-mile of a county public Wi-Fi access point,” Rigby says. New Hanover County commissioners used $1.3 million in CARES Act funding to provide $10,000 grants to 130 small businesses. “The county’s economic development priorities are to bring more diverse and higher-wage jobs for every person in the community, leverage public infrastructure to further private investment and encourage the development of complete and diverse communities that provide access and opportunities for all citizens,” says Chris Coudriet, New Hanover County manager. The county also used funds to increase access to programs that promote healthy eating, exercise, home-delivered meals and diabetes care. It’s one of several moves to improve local health care, whose landscape has changed. In October, county commissioners gave a green light to Winston-Salem-based Novant Health’s purchase of New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington for $1.5 billion. Novant is expected to invest $3 billion in expanding the medical SPONSORED SECTION

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Homes line the beach in Currituck County, top, where the population has increased 18.7% in the last decade. The 82-acre Rocky Mount Mills, left, is a mixed-use campus built on the site of a former cotton mill. East Carolina University and Elliott Sidewalk Communities are partnering to redevelop 19 acres in Greenville into Intersect East, right.

center’s community reach and its relationship with UNC Health and UNC School of Medicine. “As we move into 2021, we can feel proud of the work the organization has done to pivot and use new resources during an extraordinary time to accomplish our vision of being a vibrant, prosperous, diverse coastal community committed to building a sustainable future for generations to come,” Rigby says. New Hanover County is building a government center. Financing for the $46 million private-public project was approved by the N.C. Local Government Commission, which is staffed by the Department of State Treasurer, in February. Construction was set to begin in mid-March. It will include a new Emergency Operations Center as well as the 911 center. Its devel-

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oper also will build a mixed-use development next door.

NASH AND EDGECOMBE LEVERAGING LAND Sitting on an abundance of vacant land has its benefits. “People in rural North Carolina have somewhat of an advantage in that we have a significant amount of available land at pretty reasonable prices, compared with other places around the world,” says Rocky Mount-based Carolinas Gateway Partnership President and CEO Norris Tolson. “You can still get good property in Nash and Wilson [counties] and elsewhere. The saying is ‘location, location, C A R O L I N A

location.’ But we like to say, ‘ready, ready, ready.’ If you want to continue to grow and prosper, you better have a major stake in the U.S., because a lot of major companies are moving their supply chains back, instead of Asia or someplace else. And when they come back onshore, you’d better be ready. If you’re not — if you don’t have the land, the workforce, the buildings, all those things — they’ll move on down the road.” Nash and Edgecombe counties’ 2021 economic well-being was listed as among the most-distressed counties in North Carolina. But that doesn’t mean things aren’t improving. “We are not without growth,” Tolson says. “Edgecombe has been very rural, very agricultural, and that’s changed the last few years. And we got a startup

CREDITS: CURRITUCK BEACH PHOTO BY PETE HUME; ROCKY MOUNT MILLS PHOTO BY CARL LEWIS; AND INTERSECT EAST RENDERING COURTESY OF ALLISON ELLIOTT

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CREDITS: CURRITUCK BEACH PHOTO BY PETE HUME; ROCKY MOUNT MILLS PHOTO BY CARL LEWIS; AND INTERSECT EAST RENDERING COURTESY OF ALLISON ELLIOTT

pharma company last year, Asterra Labs, that moved into one of our shell buildings.” The startup, which makes wellness products, dietary supplements and alternative medicines, is the first tenant in West Nashville Commerce Park. It’s expected to create 25 jobs and invest almost $2 million at what will be its headquarters. Tolson says his group had eight new projects in 2020, and “four or five” of them went into existing shell buildings. “We’re pretty aggressive about going after business,” he says. “That’s what we do. People in rural North Carolina are sometimes at an advantage. You can buy a decent plot of land in Edgecombe [County] for $20,000 that in Charlotte would cost you $100,000. I’m in the process of pursuing another 350 acres in Edgecombe [County], close to the railroad, with water and sewer. We’re working with the largest number of projects in our territory, a mixed bag of domestic, advanced

manufacturing, food processing, logistics and some pharmaceutical. The Kingsboro Business Park has 1,600 acres of land left. Will we fill all those now? No. But if you’re not looking, you can’t close ‘em.” Sara Lee Frozen Bakery, a division of Springdale, Ark.-based Tyson Foods, announced it was investing $19.8 million to expand its operations in Tarboro, creating 108 jobs in the process, last year. And Battleboro-based LS Tractors in Whitaker Business & Industry Center on Interstate 95 is expanding its warehouse capabilities and upfitting its office to handle increased volume, Tolson says. The Cheesecake Factory and Nukato also have buildings in the park. Cary-based Cornerstone Building Brands, maker of exterior building products, says it will create 38 jobs in Nash County and invest $25 million over five years to establish a production center in Rocky Mount. The Twin Counties received $980,000 in state grant money in December, with

$790,000 for building renovations or reusage and $190,000 for current businesses and business expansions. Tolson says the money went toward four projects, mostly renovations. “And we also have a lot of available workers who can be trained up to work in these industries. [Regional Advanced Manufacturing Pipeline, a 10-county partnership] has put together training programs to get people prepared for work in all these industries, and we are still actively engaging in getting training for people who want to go to work.” ■ — Kathy Blake is a writer from eastern North Carolina.

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FAYETTEVILLE’S HISTORY CENTER WILL TELL ITS PEOPLE’S STORIES While Fayetteville’s modern military history is written by the U.S. Army at adjacent Fort Bragg, stories from its wartime past run deep. They include ones from the fields along Arsenal Avenue, where Union Gen. William T. Sherman’s troops demolished a building where weapons were manufactured and stored in March 1865. The stories continue at the Cumberland County seat’s cemeteries. Revolutionary War veterans are buried at Cross Creek alongside Civil War dead who garnered the state’s first Confederate monument, which was purchased by the Ladies Memorial Association of Fayetteville, in 1868. And at Brookside, Black residents who started schools, were born into slavery or freed after the Civil War found their final resting place. Several community leaders, including longtime Fayetteville advocate Mary Lynn Bryan, immediate past chairwoman of Methodist University’s board of trustees and a 20-year member of Cumberland Community Foundation’s board of trustees, are behind a museum that will preserve this history and more from the antebellum period, Civil War and Reconstruction. The North Carolina Civil War & Reconstruction History Center will expand and replace Museum of the Cape Fear, standing at the same site near the former arsenal. It will be owned and operated by N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources as a branch of the N.C. Museum of History. Marc Barnes, spokesman for the center, says talk of a museum and history center started about a dozen years ago.

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Ground was broken for the first phase of its construction in April 2018. It involves rehabilitating three existing Civil War-era homes, including the John Davis House, which is one of the city’s few examples of mid-19th century late Victorian ornamentation. It will be used as the headquarters for the center’s digital outreach education program. A 60,000-square-foot building is planned for the museum’s second phase, which is expected to be complete in a couple of years. The city and county have pledged money to the $80 million endeavor. The state is expected to kick in $46 million. The center will explain the Civil War through written history, legends and stories that were shared on front porches and passed down through generations. Each will be sifted by experts, leaving only facts, textbook safe and footnoted in unbiased proof. “[The museum] will use academic research from the UNC System along with gathered stories from North Carolina families to write a narrative of the Civil War in North Carolina,” Barnes says. “And that information will be used to teach Civil War history to schoolchildren across North Carolina.” The center collects some military items, but its exhibits will be digitally interactive. “There’s certainly a wrong way to do it, and this historic facility would not be a monument to anything,” says one of its organizers, John McCauley, a Fayetteville native and business owner. “It would be a history center, an educational tool for young people and adults, in understanding the war and its effects on all of us for the last

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150 years. We understand people’s concerns, and we think there’s a way around that. Fayetteville has not had a lot of racial strife. We’re one of the most diverse communities in North Carolina. It’s a strength.” Vandalism mandated the city erect an 8-foot wrought-iron fence around Cross Creek Cemetery. Museum advocates know disruption can be borne of powerful emotion, but they also know history can’t be corralled. “One of the problems we have, frankly, is with today’s issues, we treat it with kid gloves, and we don’t want people to be upset,” McCauley says. “So, we avoid it. But if all you do is avoid painful issues you never go beyond them. This is an important thing as a community, as a diverse community, to have a part in changing the discussions and leading the way out of it, where we can deal with history in a civil, educational, honest manner, and from that not only comes education but healing.” John “Mac” Healy, a center organizer, local business owner and current chairman of Methodist University’s board of trustees, agrees with McCauley. “Some people have an aversion to the words ‘Civil War,’ and we understand that,” he says. “But if we don’t face our past, we’re condemned to repeat it. People like stories. These are the stories of the people.” ■ — Kathy Blake is a writer from eastern North Carolina.

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NC GOLF

GOLF’S POPULARITY EXPLODED OVER THE PAST YEAR AS A SAFE ALTERNATIVE DURING TROUBLED TIMES.

BOOSTER SHOT W

ith scarce tee times and busy courses, golf in 2021 has picked up where it left off in 2020. While some segments of the economy spent the majority of last year getting kicked in the teeth by COVID-19, the golf industry was the equivalent of a big-box home-improvement retailer with demand often exceeding supply. Nationally, the number of rounds played in 2020 exceeded 500 million, according to the National Golf Foundation, an increase of nearly 14% from 441 million rounds played a year earlier. That occurred despite the loss of an estimated 20,000 rounds in late spring due to virus-related shutdowns and anxiety. Only once has the sport experienced a greater 12-month percentage increase, a 63-million round spurt in 1997. That was the year a 21-year-old Tiger Woods won the Masters by a record 12 shots. North Carolina’s courses thrived last year, aided by the state’s favorable climate. Bryan Park in Browns Summit, just north of Greensboro, boasts two layouts open daily to the public: the Champions and Players courses. Combined, the two courses saw 60,000

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rounds, a 20% increase from 2019. “For a period in the late spring and early summer, it felt like every day was a weekend,” says Kyle Kolls, Bryan Park’s general manager. “That’s how busy we were.” This is the 26th year that the N.C. Golf Panel has rated the state’s best courses. The panel is made up of businesspeople, journalists and others who share a love for the sport. They picked the same 20 top courses last year as in the previous year, with a few minor changes in order. Grandfather Golf & Country Club, the secondranked course in the state (behind only Pinehurst No. 2), saw a 10% increase in rounds played in 2020. “That was with little or no tournament play and limited guest access,” says Chip King, the club’s director of golf. “And we are projecting rounds to continue to increase this summer.” — Kevin Brafford is the executive director of the North Carolina Golf Panel.

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2021 TOP 100

Golf Courses

(second number is previous year’s ranking)

1. PINEHURST NO. 2 PINEHURST 72 Par

7,588 Yardage

76.5/138 Course rating/slope

2. GRANDFATHER GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB LINVILLE 72

7,085

74.3/145

3. 5. THE COUNTRY CLUB OF NORTH CAROLINA (DOGWOOD) PINEHURST 72

7,204

75.2/134

4. 4. PINE NEEDLES LODGE & GOLF CLUB SOUTHERN PINES

7,015

73.5/135

5. 3. MOUNTAINTOP GOLF & LAKE CLUB CASHIERS

7,126

73.9/145

6. 7. ELK RIVER CLUB BANNER ELK 72

6,826

73.4/141

7. 6. QUAIL HOLLOW CLUB CHARLOTTE 72

7,396

75.0/140

8. 9. PINEHURST NO. 4 PINEHURST 72

7,227

74.9/138

9. 8. OLD NORTH STATE CLUB NEW LONDON

7,102

74.8/142

10. 11. SEDGEFIELD COUNTRY CLUB GREENSBORO 71

7,117

72.9/130

11. 14. CAPE FEAR COUNTRY CLUB WILMINGTON 72

7,005

74.3/139

15. 15. WADE HAMPTON GOLF CLUB CASHIERS 72 7,154

74.0/144

16. 17. THE COUNTRY CLUB OF

NORTH CAROLINA (CARDINAL) PINEHURST 72

7,212

75.0/141

17. 16. EAGLE POINT GOLF CLUB WILMINGTON 72 7,170

74.5/137

18. 18. MID PINES INN & GOLF CLUB SOUTHERN PINES 72 6,732 71.0/126

19. 19. OLD CHATHAM GOLF CLUB DURHAM 72 7,210

74.0/131

20. 20. RALEIGH COUNTRY CLUB RALEIGH 71 7,394

75.9/143

21. 23. RIVER LANDING (RIVER) WALLACE 72 7,009

74.1/141

22. 24. MACGREGOR DOWNS COUNTRY CLUB CARY 72 7,003

73.4/134

23. 21. ROCK BARN COUNTRY CLUB & SPA (JONES) CONOVER 72 7,126

74.4/141

24. 22. BILTMORE FOREST COUNTRY CLUB ASHEVILLE 70 6,606

71.5/127

25. 35. FORSYTH COUNTRY CLUB WINSTON-SALEM 71 6,784 72.0/136

12. 13. OLD TOWN CLUB WINSTON-SALEM 70

7,042

74.5/140

13. 10. CHARLOTTE COUNTRY CLUB CHARLOTTE 71 7,335

75.9/146

14. 12. PINEHURST NO. 8 PINEHURST 72 7,099

74.1/137

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26. 25. GOVERNORS CLUB CHAPEL HILL 72 7,062 Par

Yardage

36. 34. LINVILLE GOLF CLUB

75.1/144 Course rating/slope

27. 26. FOREST CREEK GOLF CLUB (SOUTH) PINEHURST 72 7,067 74.6/143

28. 28. PRESTONWOOD COUNTRY CLUB (HIGHLANDS) CARY 72 7,082

74.3/132

75.1/143

74.1/137

32. 31. COUNTRY CLUB OF LANDFALL (NICKLAUS) WILMINGTON 72 7,100

75.7/144

73.7/138

74.7/144

35. 27. TRUMP NATIONAL GOLF CLUB MOORESVILLE 72

7,037

74.2/134

38. 38. MYERS PARK COUNTRY CLUB CHARLOTTE 71 7,120

74.3/138

(WILLOW CREEK) HIGH POINT 72 6,972 73.9/139

41. 37. HASENTREE WAKE FOREST 71 7,074

73.9/139

42. 39. UNC FINLEY GOLF COURSE CHAPEL HILL 72 7,223 GREENSBORO 72 7,302

34. 33. FOREST CREEK GOLF CLUB (NORTH) PINEHURST 72 7,139

WALLACE 72 7,112

74.9/138

43. 42. GREENSBORO COUNTRY CLUB (FARM)

33. 41. DORMIE CLUB WEST END 72 6,927

37. 40. RIVER LANDING (LANDING)

SOUTHERN PINES 71 7,003 73.8/144

31. 30. TREYBURN COUNTRY CLUB DURHAM 72 7,175

73.4/139

40. 44. MID SOUTH CLUB

30. 32. PINEHURST NO. 9 PINEHURST 72 7,125

LINVILLE 72 6,946

39. 36. HIGH POINT COUNTRY CLUB

74.4/138

29. 29. COUNTRY CLUB OF LANDFALL (DYE) WILMINGTON 72 7,026

Golf Courses

74.2/140

75.1/140

44. 43. BALD HEAD ISLAND CLUB BALD HEAD ISLAND 72 6,855 73.7/143

45. 52. BALSAM MOUNTAIN PRESERVE SYLVA 70 6,859

73.0/145

46. 50. STARMOUNT FOREST COUNTRY CLUB GREENSBORO 71 6,728

72.7/140

47. 58. PINEHURST NO. 7 PINEHURST 72 7,216

75.5/143

48. 47. COUNTRY CLUB OF ASHEVILLE ASHEVILLE 71 6,672

72.3/134

49. 46. GASTON COUNTRY CLUB GASTONIA 72 7,042

74.2/135

50. 45. DUKE UNIVERSITY GOLF CLUB DURHAM 72 7,105

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73.9/141

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2021 TOP 100

51. 48. SCOTCH HALL PRESERVE MERRY HILL 72 7,257 Par

Yardage

76.3/139 Course rating/slope

52. 51. THE CARDINAL BY PETE DYE GREENSBORO 70 6,821

74.2/139

CONFERENCE CENTER (CHAMPIONS) BROWNS SUMMIT 72 7,255 75.4/140

54. 55. GRANDOVER (EAST)

74.1/136

73.1/134

64. 57. ALAMANCE COUNTRY CLUB BURLINGTON 71 6,900

72.8/128

KANNAPOLIS 72 7,099

74.3/137

73.3/141

73.5/134

68. 67. RIVER RUN COUNTRY CLUB

73.9/136

DAVIDSON 72 6,947

74.2/138

69. 68. CARMEL COUNTRY CLUB (SOUTH)

74.4/142

CHARLOTTE 72 7,503

76.5/142

70. 77. MIMOSA HILLS GOLF CLUB

76.4/139

60. 60. PRESTONWOOD COUNTRY CLUB (MEADOWS) CARY 72 7,108

JEFFERSON 72 7,111

ASHEBORO 72 6,830

59. 54. PINEWILD COUNTRY CLUB (MAGNOLIA) PINEHURST 72 7,446

CHARLOTTE 72 7,034

67. 69. PINEWOOD COUNTRY CLUB

74.3/140

58. 59. LONNIE POOLE GOLF COURSE RALEIGH 72 7,358

62. 63. BALLANTYNE COUNTRY CLUB

SUNSET BEACH 72 6,849

57. 56. THE CURRITUCK CLUB COROLLA 72 6,888

69.9/129

66. 65. TIGER’S EYE

73.1/133

56. 49. LEOPARD’S CHASE SUNSET BEACH 72 7,055

BLOWING ROCK 72 6,327

65. 62. THE CLUB AT IRISH CREEK

72.5/136

55. 53. HOPE VALLEY COUNTRY CLUB DURHAM 70 6,671

61. 66. HOUND EARS CLUB

63. 61. JEFFERSON LANDING

53. 64. BRYAN PARK GOLF &

GREENSBORO 72 6,800

Golf Courses

MORGANTON 72 6,750

72.8/137

71. 70. CROASDAILE COUNTRY CLUB

74.6/138

DURHAM 72 7,068

73.4/140

72. 72. CEDARWOOD COUNTRY CLUB CHARLOTTE 71 6,940

73.9/137

73. 73. THE PENINSULA CLUB CORNELIUS 72 7,014

74.9/142

74. 74. THISTLE GOLF CLUB SUNSET BEACH 71 6,898

74.1/135

75. 71. PORTERS NECK COUNTRY CLUB WILMINGTON 72 7,112

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74.8/138

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2021 TOP 100

76. 75. LAKE TOXAWAY COUNTRY CLUB LAKE TOXAWAY 71 6,500 Par

Yardage

70.9/134 Course rating/slope

77. 78. KILMARLIC GOLF CLUB POWELLS POINT 72 6,560

78. 94. CROW CREEK GOLF CLUB CALABASH 72 7,101

73.9/130

79. 79. PROVIDENCE COUNTRY CLUB CHARLOTTE 72 7,021

74.6/141

80. 83. THE NEW COURSE AT TALAMORE SOUTHERN PINES 71 6,840 73.2/140

81. 80. THE COUNTRY CLUB AT WAKEFIELD PLANTATION RALEIGH 72 7,257

87. 98. BLOWING ROCK COUNTRY CLUB 69.9/130

88. 86. BERMUDA RUN COUNTRY CLUB (EAST) BERMUDA RUN 72 7,045

74.3/139

89. 85. WILSON COUNTRY CLUB WILSON 72 6,851

73.1/136

90. -- FOREST OAKS COUNTRY CLUB GREENSBORO 72 7,212

74.7/141

91. 92. MILL CREEK GOLF CLUB MEBANE 72 7,004

73.5/144

RALEIGH 72

6,885

73.6/139

CONCORD 72 6,970

73.5/137

94. 91. COMPASS POINTE GOLF CLUB

75.4/146

LELAND 72 7,228

84. 81. LINVILLE RIDGE LINVILLE 72 6,775

71.3/134

93. 90. ROCKY RIVER GOLF CLUB

74.3/140

83. 76. ST. JAMES PLANTATION (RESERVE) SOUTHPORT 72 7,212

ROCKY MOUNT 72 6,525

92. 88. BRIER CREEK COUNTRY CLUB

75.2/137

82. 84. GRANDOVER RESORT (WEST) GREENSBORO 72 7,100

86. 89. BENVENUE COUNTRY CLUB

BLOWING ROCK 72 6,162

72.2/144

Golf Courses

74.6/138

95. 93. NORTH RIDGE COUNTRY CLUB (LAKES)

72.8/136

85. 82. TANGLEWOOD PARK GOLF COURSE (CHAMPIONSHIP) CLEMMONS 70 7,101 74.6/140

RALEIGH 72 6,880

73.8/136

96. 95. CAROLINA GOLF CLUB CHARLOTTE 71

7,011

73.2/138

97. 99. STONEY CREEK GOLF CLUB WHITSETT 71 7,016

73.8/139

98. -- DEEP SPRINGS COUNTRY CLUB STONEVILLE 72 6,936

73.8/136

99. 100. NAGS HEAD GOLF LINKS NAGS HEAD 71

6,126

70.2/138

96. BROOK VALLEY COUNTRY CLUB GREENVILLE 72 6,836 73.8/141

100.

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MOST

Strategic To what degree does the course require thoughtful planning and precise execution of shots from tee to green? 1. Pinehurst No. 2 Pinehurst 2. Tobacco Road Golf Club Sanford 3. Old Town Club Winston-Salem 4. Mountaintop Golf & Lake Club Cashiers 5. Roaring Gap Club Roaring Gap 6. Pinehurst No. 4 Pinehurst 7. Grandfather Golf & Country Club Linville 8. Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club Southern Pines 9. Eagle Point Golf Club Wilmington 10. Sedgefield Country Club Greensboro

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2021

TOP 50

Courses You Can Play Par

Yardage

Course rating/

1. Pinehurst No. 2, Pinehurst

7,588

76.5/138

2. Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club, Southern Pines

7,015

73.5/135

3. Pinehurst No. 4, Pinehurst

7,227

74.9/138

4. Pinehurst No. 8, Pinehurst

7,099

74.1/137

5. Mid Pines Inn & Golf Club, Southern Pines

6,528

71.3/127

6. Pinehurst No. 9, Pinehurst

7,125

75.1/143

7. Linville Golf Club, Linville

6,946

73.4/139

8. UNC Finley Golf Course, Chapel Hill

7,223

74.9/138

9. Mid South Club, Southern Pines

7,003

73.8/144

10. Bald Head Island Club, Bald Head Island

6,855

73.7/143

11. Pinehurst No. 7, Pinehurst

7,216

75.5/143

12. Duke University Golf Club, Durham

7,105

73.9/141

13. Scotch Hall Preserve, Merry Hill

7,257

76.3/139

14. The Cardinal by Pete Dye, Greensboro

6,821

74.2/139

15. Bryan Park Golf & Conference Center (Champions), Browns Summit

7,255

75.4/140

16. Grandover Resort (East), Greensboro

7,270

75.4/140

17. Leopard’s Chase, Sunset Beach

7,055

74.3/140

18. The Currituck Club, Corolla

6,888

73.9/136

19. Lonnie Poole Golf Course, Raleigh

7,358

74.4/142

20. Tiger’s Eye, Sunset Beach

6,849

73.3/141

21. Mimosa Hills Golf Club, Morganton

6,750

72.8/137

22. Thistle Golf Club, Sunset Beach

6,898

74.1/135

23. Kilmarlic Golf Club, Powells Point

6,560

72.2/144

24. Crow Creek Golf Club, Calabash

7,101

73.9/130

25. The New Course at Talamore, Southern Pines

6,840

73.2/140

26. Grandover Resort (West), Greensboro

6,800

72.7/137

27. Tanglewood Park Golf Course (Championship), Clemmons

7,101

74.6/140

28. Forest Oaks Country Club, Greensboro

7,212

74.7/141

29. Mill Creek Golf Club, Mebane

7,004

73.5/144

30. Rocky River Golf Club, Concord

6,970

73.5/137

31. Stoney Creek Golf Club, Whitsett

7,016

73.8/139

32. Deep Springs Country Club, Stoneville

6,936

73.8/136

33. Nags Head Golf Links, Nags Head

6,126

70.2/138

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slope

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34. Carolina Trace Country Club (Lakes), Sanford

7,263

76.0/143

35. Cape Fear National Golf Club, Leland

7,217

74.5/143

36. Southern Pines Golf Club, Southern Pines

6,268

70.3/130

37. Cutter Creek Golf Club, Snow Hill

7,280

75.3/144

38. Pinehurst No. 6, Pinehurst

7,053

74.7/139

39. Legacy Golf Links, Aberdeen

7,004

73.9/133

40. Tobacco Road Golf Club, Sanford

6,554

73.2/150

41. Longleaf Golf & Family Club, Southern Pines

6,709

72.4/132

42. Carolina Colours Golf Club, New Bern

7,008

72.9/132

43. Heritage Club, Wake Forest

7,016

73.1/133

44. The Challenge Golf Club, Graham

6,828

73.7/139

45. Magnolia Greens Golf Plantation, Leland

7,031

74.7/140

46. Greensboro National Golf Club, Summerfield

6,806

72.1/135

47. Boone Golf Club, Boone

6,686

71.3/128

48. Wilmington Municipal Golf Course, Wilmington

6,564

71.2/128

49. Oak Island Golf Club, Caswell Beach

6,720

73.1/131

50. Hyland Golf Club, Southern Pines

6,823

72.1/141

FAIREST

TESTS

Regardless of overall difficulty, what course best rewards good shots and penalizes poor ones in a manner that is reasonable?

1. Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club, Southern Pines 2. Pinehurst No. 2, Pinehurst 3. The Country Club of North Carolina (Dogwood), Pinehurst 4. Old North State Club, New London 5. Charlotte Country Club, Charlotte 6. Grandfather Golf & Country Club, Linville 7. Cape Fear Country Club, Wilmington 8. Pinehurst No. 8, Pinehurst 9. UNC Finley Golf Course, Chapel Hill 10. Linville Golf Club, Linville

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NC GOLF

REGIONAL RANKINGS FOR 2021

WEST 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.

TRIAD

Grandfather Golf & Country Club, Linville Mountaintop Golf & Lake Club, Cashiers Elk River Club, Banner Elk Wade Hampton Golf Club, Cashiers Rock Barn Country Club (Jones), Conover Biltmore Forest Country Club, Asheville Linville Golf Club, Linville Balsam Mountain Preserve, Sylva Country Club of Asheville, Asheville Hound Ears Club, Blowing Rock Jefferson Landing, Jefferson Mimosa Hills Golf Club, Morganton

1. Old North State Club, New London 2. Sedgefield Country Club, Greensboro 3. Old Town Club, Winston-Salem 4. Forsyth Country Club, Winston-Salem 5. High Point Country Club (Willow Creek), High Point 6. Greensboro Country Club (Farm), Greensboro 7. Starmount Forest Country Club, Greensboro 8. The Cardinal by Pete Dye, Greensboro 9. Bryan Park Golf & Conference Center (Champions), Browns Summit 10. Grandover Resort (East), Greensboro 11. Alamance Country Club, Burlington 12. Pinewood Country Club, Asheboro

CHARLOTTE METRO

TRIANGLE

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 6. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.

1. Old Chatham Golf Club, Durham 2. Raleigh Country Club, Raleigh 3. MacGregor Downs Country Club, Cary 4. Governors Club, Chapel Hill 5. Prestonwood Country Club (Highlands), Cary 6. Treyburn Country Club, Durham 7. Hasentree, Wake Forest 8. UNC Finley Golf Course, Chapel Hill 9. Duke University Golf Club, Durham 10. Hope Valley Country Club, Durham 11. Lonnie Poole Golf Course, Raleigh 12. Prestonwood Country Club (Meadows), Cary

Quail Hollow Club, Charlotte Charlotte Country Club, Charlotte Trump National Golf Club, Mooresville Myers Park Country Club, Charlotte Gaston Country Club, Gastonia Ballantyne Country Club, Charlotte The Club at Irish Creek, Kannapolis River Run Country Club, Davidson Carmel Country Club (South), Charlotte Cedarwood Country Club, Charlotte The Peninsula Club, Cornelius Providence Country Club, Charlotte

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SANDHILLS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.

Pinehurst No. 2, Pinehurst The Country Club of North Carolina (Dogwood), Pinehurst Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club, Southern Pines Pinehurst No. 4, Pinehurst Pinehurst No. 8, Pinehurst The Country Club of North Carolina (Cardinal), Pinehurst Mid Pines Inn & Golf Club, Southern Pines Forest Creek Golf Club (South), Pinehurst Pinehurst No. 9, Pinehurst Dormie Club, West End Forest Creek Golf Club (North), Pinehurst Mid South Club, Southern Pines

EAST 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.

River Landing (River), Wallace River Landing (Landing), Wallace Scotch Hall Preserve, Merry Hill Benvenue Country Club, Rocky Mount Wilson Country Club, Wilson Brook Valley Country Club, Greenville Cutter Creek Golf Club, Snow Hill Carolina Colours Golf Club, New Bern Greenville Country Club, Greenville Highland Country Club, Fayetteville Walnut Creek Country Club, Goldsboro Belmont Lake Golf Club, Rocky Mount

COASTAL 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.

Cape Fear Country Club, Wilmington Eagle Point Golf Club, Wilmington Country Club of Landfall (Dye), Wilmington Country Club of Landfall (Nicklaus), Wilmington Bald Head Island Club, Bald Head Island Leopard’s Chase, Sunset Beach The Currituck Club, Corolla Tiger's Eye, Sunset Beach Thistle Golf Club, Sunset Beach Porters Neck Country Club, Wilmington Kilmarlic Golf Club, Powells Point Crow Creek Golf Club, Calabash

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NC GOLF

Hallowed ground Pinehurst solidifies its “Home of American Golf “ status.

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As part of last fall’s announcement, the USGA said Pinehurst Country Club will also serve as USGA’s first “anchor” site for the U.S. Open, with championships scheduled in 2024, 2029, 2035, 2041 and 2047. It’s the first such commitment by the group. The $25 million investment over the next several years includes the construction of the two buildings near the clubhouse housing 50 full-time USGA staffers. Pinehurst Resort has since announced a nearby $16.2 million 36-room boutique hotel that is scheduled to open in March 2024. The USGA’s expansion is expected to include 35 new staff positions at an average annual salary of about $80,000. The project is in line to receive as much as $18 million in performance-based incentives from the state, sparking criticism as “crony capitalism” from the conservative John Locke Foundation of Raleigh. But a bipartisan group of state lawmakers backed the plan because of projections it will spark as much as $2 billion in economic impact over the next 25 years. “Since the announcement [last fall], we came out of the gates running. There has been tremendous energy and enthusiasm in the golf community and broader Sandhills,” Jerris says. “We wanted to convert that energy into momentum for the project and pulled together the core elements of our design team and construction management team.” Porches and columns that speak to the Pinehurst aesthetic and also USGA’s main campus in New Jersey will figure prominently on multiple facades of each building. “We are creating a destina-

PHOTOS COURTESY, U.S. GOLF ASSOCIATION

BY LAURA DOUGLASS

inehurst is known for its 40 golf courses within a 15-mile radius, the first dating back more than 120 years. It’s hosted countless tournaments and competitions including the U.S. Open. Now, the United States Golf Association’s plans for a second headquarters — called Golf House Pinehurst — cements what the local convention and tourism bureau calls the “Home of American Golf.” While maintaining its headquarters in Liberty Corner, N.J., the USGA will shift its research and testing center for golf equipment to the Sandhills. It will also establish offices for the organization’s turfgrass agronomy and management section, the USGA Foundation and championships team. There will also be a combined museum and welcome center. The group hired Raleigh’s Clearscapes architectural firm to design the site at the corner of Cherokee Road and Carolina Vista Drive, within view of Pinehurst Country Club on the Pinehurst Resort’s campus. Construction is expected to start early next year and be finished in 2023. Clearscapes has shown a keen understanding of the USGA and Pinehurst, says Rand Jerris, USGA’s senior management director of public services. “USGA and Pinehurst Resort have a strong grounding in the past and an eye to the future. What Pinehurst has done to establish itself as a leader, that is important. For us with Clearscapes, there is a sensitivity to the environment, the history, sustainability, and they create beautiful buildings. … The way the spaces fit together, the color, the textures will then follow.”

▲USGA Museum in Liberty Corner, N.J.

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tion that is sharable and distinct. We will tie everything we do into the architectural language of the village,” Clearscapes architect Brandy Thompson says. The combined welcome center and USGA golf museum building will include exhibits displaying artifacts from the association’s premier collection. “We really want this space to be open to the public and allow people to take a journey to understand the USGA,” says Janeen Driscoll, public relations director. Established in 1895, the same year Pinehurst was founded by James Walker Tufts, the USGA sponsors more than a dozen championship events annually. It also governs the rules and equipment standards for golf and offers turfgrass research, education and management. The USGA is distinct from the PGA Tour and Professional Golfers Association of America, the main organizers of professional golf events. “What we do goes much further than championships,” Driscoll says. “We are very intent on creating gathering spaces in the welcome center” that will host discussions, art exhibits and other events. “In these spaces we can start conversations about golf in a much broader way. This is where the values of the USGA will come to life in the physical plant.” Likewise, the outdoor landscape around the two new buildings will further the USGA story, in particular its sustainability efforts. Through signage and actual landscape features, visitors will have a chance to learn about turfgrass management, restoring birds, bees and other pollinators on golf courses, and resource conservation.

▲ Rand Jerris is a senior USGA executive.

“It is important that our campus shares and lives the same values that we advocate for golf courses,” Driscoll says. “Pinehurst is an important way that we can put that work in front of millions of visitors, to educate them on the work we do.” Thompson agrees: “You will be able to engage in the history of the game and mission of the USGA in the welcome center, then see some of that in practice in the testing center. And all of this will work within the context of Pinehurst, and that it really is a very historically interesting village.” ■ Reprinted with permission of The Pilot newspaper of Southern Pines.

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NC GOLF

FOLLOW THE SCIENCE Fitting golf clubs goes high-tech, raising golfers’ expectations and vendors’ revenue.

BY JIM POMERANZ

▲ Golf club fitting is a precision process as players seek every possible edge. Raleigh’s Daniel Spurling is a highly touted fitter.

hen the clubhouse at Lonnie Poole Golf Course at N.C. State University opened in 2014, the lower level included a 576-square-foot room with two hitting bays. It made for a nice indoor practice site for the Wolfpack golf teams and for golf lessons during rain, snow or other inclement conditions. Today, there are computers with large monitors hanging on the walls. Racks of golf shafts missing club heads hang along with electronic gear. It’s all in the name of club fitting, the process of matching the latest golf balls, club heads, shafts, grips and putters to players wanting to update their golf equipment with a goal of improving scores. In August 2012, Larry George, the club pro at River Landing Club in Wallace, fitted me for new clubs. He supplied a large cart of six-irons with various lays, lies, weights, grips and other golf club subtleties. I stroked about 100 balls off a hard piece of plastic, aiming at a target on the outdoor practice range. Larry made his recommendation — Ping i20 from driver through lob wedge — especially for me and my swing. Since then, club fitting has really changed. Today’s

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complete, accurate club fitting involves electronic bells and whistles in a studio-like setting to start and then on a practice range, a golf course and a putting green where available. Scientific equipment fitting has gained popularity for several years for those confident that expertly fitted equipment can cut strokes off one’s score. It is a huge driver of a nearly $2.9 billion annual golf club and golf ball market, according to the National Golf Foundation. The Sports & Fitness Industry Association says golf-related equipment revenue trails only camping and fishing as a recreational sport. “More money is spent on clubs and balls [annually] than on equipment for basketball, baseball and football combined,” reports the association. Over the past two years, Golf magazine has published an annual list of 25 Elite Fitters across the United States. “Not all golf clubs are created equal,” the magazine noted in 2019. “Neither are club fitters. The top players in the industry differentiate themselves through the savvy of their staff, the sophistication of their tools, the intimacy of their service and their liberty to optimize all aspects of your game without overly restrictive brand allegiance.” Two of the 25 fitters cited by the magazine in both editions are at N.C. courses: True Spec Golf at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club in Southern Pines and Raleigh’s Lonnie Poole Golf Course. No other Tar Heel courses made the lists. The Lonnie Poole staff has offered club repair, re-gripping, and shaft replacement since the clubhouse opened. But they added full-fledged club fitting when Daniel Spurling joined the staff in 2015, and it’s become a popular business. “With an increase in golf during the coronavirus, we’ve seen an increase in requests for club fitting,” General Manager Chip Watson says. A full-bag club fitting costs $350, covering irons, metal-woods, putters and balls. “When we started club fitting, we had just one shaft supplier. We now have seven companies,” says Spurling, who is a PGA professional, Master Fitter, and the club’s player development coordinator. “We started with one successful club fitting, one happy customer who told friends of his experience. Our club fitting business grows by word of mouth.” Several PGA tour professionals have stopped by the club to get second opinions, check how their current fitting aligns with equipment supplied by sponsors, and see if different specs would improve their game. “We just run them through the fitting exercise, discuss the differences in equipment and give them the data,” Spurling says. Spurling views his work as a “David versus Goliath” when it comes to big-box sporting goods and golf-specialty stores. “We have specific core values because of our important association with N.C. State University. We work with the customer from start to finish. When I handle a club fitting, I’m responsible for ordering the parts and building the clubs unless the customer wants to have the manufacturer build the clubs. It may take a while for the player to adjust to the new set, but we are here all the way to work with that player to keep them satisfied.”

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In addition to the club fitting room, other facilities are used to assist customers as they test the clubs. “Having the practice range, the golf course and the putting green is an advantage to club fitting,” he says. Electronic equipment for club fitting reads the track of one’s swing and records swing speed and speed of the ball as it leaves the clubface. It also measures the flight height and records the landing and roll-out distance. After nine years, I’m in the market for new clubs, so for my recent fitting at Poole, we used a Ping G425 7-iron loaded with a 72-gram Ping Alta CB regular shaft and a Golf Pride grip. I hit 10 shots with my current Ping i20 7-iron and five shots with the fitted 7-iron. The difference in feel and the numbers were remarkable. The average ball speed was five miles per hour faster with the new club, while the travel distance was an average of 13 yards longer. Today’s golf clubs might be labeled as a 7-iron, but the loft is 3 degrees less steep than my 9-year-old 7-iron and is similar to my old 6-iron. Club manufacturers are doing this for marketing purposes, allowing golfers to hit the ball farther with what is labeled as one club down from previous products. Hence, when tour professional Jordan Spieth, for instance, hits a 7-iron more than 200 yards into the wind on the 17th hole at Pebble Beach Golf Links, the club loft is more like a 6-iron, maybe a 5-iron, under old standards. The additional distance, though, may not stem from the

club alone or the muscular physique of the player. “The ball is the No. 1 weapon on the course,” Spurling says, pointing out that ball fitting is as important as club fitting. “Club fitting is the method to improve your game, to make sure you have the right equipment for your swing and your ability, but golf ball selection is as important with low spin, high spin, low flight, high flight, hard and soft balls.” I spent about three hours over two sessions with Spurling, taking notes as I stroked golf balls in the club fitting lab, with each shot recorded and analyzed, refining club fitting to my swing. This was just for new irons. Still to come: my driver, 3-metal, and hybrid metal and three wedges (fitted on the practice range because of low ceilings in the clubhouse). Hopefully, new clubs, at a price of $2,000 to $4,000 depending on the make and model plus the club fitting process, will make a difference in my game. To a frequent partner on the course, I mentioned the club fitting process and the possibility of buying new clubs, fitted to my swing. “The ball went farther, and the results were more accurate,” I told him. His response: “We could be creating a monster.” That’s what today’s club fitting can do. ■ Cary writer Jim Pomeranz, a member of the N.C. Golf Panel since 2004, has been a member of Lonnie Poole Golf Course since it opened in 2009. His low handicap index for 2020 was 5.2 in mid-November.

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NC GOLF

▲Teddy Leinbach, Jack Leinbach, Hayden Swanson, Colin Wilkins

IT OUT

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By Lee Pace

onald Ross was the son of a Scottish carpenter who began his career in golf wearing overalls and hunched on his hands and knees caring for the turf and bunkers at the course in his hometown of Dornoch. No silver spoons here, which is why Ross, despite the wealth and fame he achieved as an adult designing golf courses in America, always believed, “There is no good reason why the label ‘rich man’s game’ should be hung on golf.” That yin and yang of the elite vs. the masses, private vs. public, upstairs vs. downstairs have hovered around the sport for more than a century. But the essence of the game remains the same: club, ball, hole, fewest strokes wins. “I have always believed being able to play golf is not necessarily a right and not necessarily a privilege,” says Karl Kimball, head pro and owner-partner at Hillandale Golf Course in Durham. “It is more of an honor because of all the history the game has wrapped itself around. “Whether it’s a private club or a daily-fee facility, the

COURTESY OF TEDDY LEINBACH

GRINDING

Fifty courses in 50 states in 50 days proved illuminating for four twentysomething N.C. golfers.

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common thread is the game of golf. That’s what ties everyone together. Unfortunately, we can get wound up on some of the idiosyncrasies of our clubs, almost like religion.” Which is why Kimball was delighted to see a young man who grew up playing golf at Hillandale embark on a project to travel the United States and peer under the hood of golf at a grassroots level. The idea was simple, yet ambitious: 50 states, 50 rounds of golf, 50 days. The resulting journey organized by Teddy Leinbach that included his brother, Jack, and friends Colin Wilkins and Hayden Swanson is the subject of a film released in November titled 50 Over. The 80-minute film explores “the tattered fairways and diverse personalities of public courses,” Teddy Leinbach says. Leinbach was a self-proclaimed “sports nut” as a kid growing up in Durham, where his father practices internal medicine and psychiatry. Leinbach played baseball, basketball, soccer and golf, among other sports. He attended Virginia Commonwealth University to study painting and illustration, then pivoted to filmmaking his sophomore year. After graduating in 2016, he created Airball Films to tell stories of things that interested him. Among them, golf.

“We have a lot of young stars playing golf, but I don’t think they embody enough of the counterculture movement in golf that is going to get people outside of the golf world interested in playing,” Leinbach says. All four golfers were in their early 20s in the summer of 2017 when they made their odyssey. The Leinbach brothers had played lots of golf growing up at Hillandale and had single-digit handicaps; the others were essentially beginners. The only requirement in planning the trip was that every course be open to the public. They started in Westbrook, Maine, at a course called Sunset Ridge and used the condensed geography of New England to knock out 10 courses in five days. From there, they ventured down the Mid-Atlantic into the South, then wound their way across the country. The last leg of the trip had them flying from Seattle to Alaska and then hopping another plane to Hawaii. The young golfers at various times ate canned tuna on crackers, beef jerky and bagels and stopped at Huddle Houses along the way. “I’m still waiting on that Huddle House sponsorship,” Leinbach says with a laugh. Sometimes their attire stretched to gym shorts, tank tops and Converse sneakers; at times they played golf barefoot. (Management at one course asked them to leave since they didn’t all have collared shirts.)

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MOVING ON

The youthful foursome is now working outside North Carolina in varying jobs. “It’s safe to say all of our golf games have declined since taking the trip,” Teddy Leinbach says. Teddy Leinbach: The filmmaker is doing media/ promotional work for La Puente Home, a nonprofit homeless shelter in Alamosa, Colo. Jack Leinbach: The Tulane University graduate is a teacher in New Orleans.

Colin Wilkins: The UNC Asheville graduate is working in restaurants in New Orleans. Hayden Swanson: The Boston University graduate is a refugee youth program specialist at Catholic Charities in Kansas City, Mo.

They stopped to play pickup basketball and film the turtles and bison they saw along the way. They slept in the van or in tents pitched along the road. They pooled their money and bought a 1991 Dodge camper van for the trip, but the vehicle was a lemon and finally caught on fire alongside an interstate in Illinois. The flames engulfed some of their clothes and golf clubs and destroyed Leinbach’s and brother Jack’s driver’s licenses, so Swanson flew back to Durham, picked up another vehicle and drove back to Illinois to resume the trip. “We were lucky we had banked some days early in the trip,” Leinbach says. “We were on a tight schedule the rest of the way but made the 50th course on the 50th day.” The themes running through the film are fresh air, the great outdoors, the thrill of that well-struck shot, and the interesting people they meet along the way. “What’s not to like about golf?” muses one player they found in the Midwest. “It’s the ultimate test of patience and a game that tortures you, but for some reason you keep going.” Adds another, “No matter where you are in the world, you can generally find a golf course, and it’s the most serene place you can be.” In Weed, Calif., they found a man who used to work for ClubCorp managing its portfolio of dozens of high-end clubs.

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(The Dallas-based company sold Pinehurst Resort to the Dedman family in 2006.) Now he’s up with the roosters to mow the greens. “I found this semi-chill job. I live here, work here, have fun here,” he told the visitors while firing up the Toro greens mower. “There is a Volkswagen version of golf, where you can get a great golf experience. It’s a cool message you guys are putting out. Anyone can golf across the country and you don’t have to have a $30,000 club membership.” They split one day surfing and golfing on the California coast and were joined by a local who compared the two sports: “You can get a dopamine rush in both,” the man said. “Surfing is like that; golf is like that. Out of nowhere, you can hit the best shot of your life, you can catch the best wave of your life, and in both you get that flood of feel-good stuff.” Leinbach says his foursome set out to explore golf away from the country club and strip the game of its elitist stereotype. While those boilerplates do, of course, exist, it’s wrong to paint the game with that brushstroke alone. “We saw how a love for a game can bring people together, regardless of background, how golf can inspire, create change and form relationships,” Leinbach says. “We found that money, class, race, gender and other arbitrary distinctions that keep us divided can be broken down with an easy swing of the club.” The film certainly resonated with Kimball, who’s been at Hillandale since 2007 and grew up playing golf on a ninehole public facility in New Lexington, Ohio. “I could play when I was 8 years old and could prove to the owner of the course I could get around in a decent amount of time,” he says. “I watched this film and a lot of it was staring me in the face when I grew up.” In his next breath, Kimball marvels at how healthy golf is at Hillandale, which opened in 1910 as the Durham Country Club. COVID-19 has been hell. But golf courses have been a socially distanced refuge. His driving range business set records, and more than 40% of Hillandale’s rounds are by folks walking the course. “It’s incredible what’s happening with the game,” he says. “If anything good has come out of COVID, it’s that golf has gotten a shot in the arm. If you play the game and get a little hankering for it, it doesn’t let you go.” Teddy Leinbach’s foursome has proof of that in all 50 states. ■ Lee Pace has written about the Sandhills golf scene for more than 30 years. The film 50 Over is available for viewing at fiftyoverfilm.com at a cost of $10. It is also on Amazon Prime.

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A once-isolated mountain county becomes a vacation-home and golf mecca. BY HARRIS PREVOST

Grandfather Golf & Country Club

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ore than a century ago, North Carolina created its 100th and last county from parts of Caldwell, Mitchell and Watauga counties. Named after a Revolutionary War colonel, Avery County was a sparsely populated, beautiful area known for three famous mountains, Beech, Grandfather and Sugar. It’s likely that few people then expected the county to ever become an economic force — why else would former Lenoir Mayor William Newland of Caldwell County push so hard for the split in 1911? Avery’s county seat is named after him. Those three counties surely now must wish they had held on to their property. “Much of our land has slopes greater than 50%,” says Tom Burleson, the 7-foot2-inch N.C. State University basketball legend who has led his native county’s inspection department for many years. “We have some of the highest and most rugged peaks in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Our beautiful scenery and cooler weather attract people in the summer, and our ski resorts attract them in the winter.” Most of all, Avery County has a thriving second-home industry largely built around golf communities and tourism that create one of North Carolina’s most unusual local economies. Because of geographical limitations, there are no four-lane highways, railroad tracks or commercial airports. There is a limited presence of traditional industry and its accompanying employment and tax receipts. But Avery County is rich in private golf course communities with nine total — compared with six traffic lights: Linville Golf Club, Grandfather Golf & Country Club, Linville Ridge, Elk River Club, Diamond Creek, Mountain Glen Golf Club, Linville Land Harbor, and Sugar and Beech mountains. Grandfather, Linville Ridge and Elk River are among the county’s biggest employers. Several courses consistently rank near the top of the N.C. Golf Panel’s top 100 Tar Heel courses. Best estimates are that about 5,500 members reside at least part time at about 2,000 homes and condominiums in the nine second-home golf communities. Including an additional 1,100 houses spread across the county, Avery has about 3,100 homes that are classified as “resort” or second-home properties. Most are valued

at more than $1 million, including many topping $3 million. Avery’s total year-round population of nearly 18,000 has increased by fewer than 1,000 over the past 20 years. Though seasonal homeowners pay property and sales taxes to the county, they make minimal use of most county services. Those property owners don’t have children in local schools except in rare cases. Gated clubs are private, they pay for and maintain

their own roads within their community, and they provide their own security. “There’s not much else we can do here, but we are grateful for what we have,” Burleson says. “Hugh Morton, who owned Grandfather Mountain and helped develop Grandfather Golf & Country Club, gave me a vision for the second-home industry and the good that it would do for the people of Avery County. He was right.”

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▲ A women’s tournament at Linville Golf Club, which started as a ninehole course in 1892. Donald Ross designed a new course in 1924.

With COVID-19 sparking an unprecedented demand for second homes in less congested locations, Avery’s construction business has soared. Permits for new homes and renovations total $120 million over the last year, versus $79 million and $48 million in the two previous 52-week periods. The projects are roughly equally split between new construction and renovations, county officials say. Since many second-home golf club members live in fine houses, their property taxes are significant. The golf courses are also prime real estate, adding a major bump to county tax coffers. The nine properties also make up about 47% of the county’s assessed tax value of nearly $4 billion. They contribute $10.2 million a year to the county, including $1.3 million that goes to eight local fire departments and rescue squads. An increasing number of members are now working adults in their 40s and 50s, mostly from the big N.C. cities. That’s a change from the early days of Grandfather, when retired Floridians looking to avoid the Sunshine State’s sweltering summers were dominant. Now, spouses and children routinely spend summers in the mountains while the working spouse visits for three-day weekends and a full week now and then. Because of the strong tax base, Avery is planning to open an expanded high school in August following a $20 million investment. A $3 million, 5,000-square-foot agricultural-civic center opened last year. It is aimed at boosting the area’s thriving agricultural sector. The county is a big Christmas tree producer and is one of only 14 U.S. counties with an elevation high enough for Fraser firs, the Cadillac variety of holiday trees, to thrive. Local trees are often used to decorate the Biltmore Estate in Asheville and the White House. Because of the second-home communities, Avery’s property tax rates rank among the lowest 20% in North Carolina. Without those residences, local residents would pay nearly $600 a year more at what would probably be the state’s highest rate, local officials say. Many wealthy part-time residents in Avery also regularly provide money for important quality-of-life facilities and programs. For example, a $3.5 million piece of radiation-therapy imaging equip-

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ment at Watauga Medical Center in Boone was financed by Linville Golf Club members in honor of a beloved friend. Other beneficiaries include Cannon Memorial Hospital in Linville, part of Boone-based Appalachian Regional Healthcare System; Williams YMCA of Avery County; Lees-McRae College; and various fire and rescue squads. Many institutions would struggle without that support. Local philanthropy “has had a positive impact both in amount and in longevity. Giving is part of our tradition,” says Tom Dale, a retired golf professional in Linville who is chairman of the Appalachian Regional Healthcare board. Donors are also helping to pay for renovations and expansions at Grandfather Mountain’s Nature Museum. “The $7 million project would not be possible without support from our good friends in our local club communities,” says Jesse Pope, the Grandfather Stewardship Foundation president. Each private club has member-funded college scholarship programs for their employees. One seasonal resident at Linville Golf Club set up a program to provide substantial scholarships for every need-based student who graduates from Avery County High School. Linville members contribute $100,000 a year to their employee-scholarship program. Beyond finances, second-home owners commit thousands of volunteer hours to area organizations. Jim Ward, a member of Elk River Club, founded the High Country Charitable Foundation, which focuses on supporting other organizations in the county that help people and animals. “In 2020, we distributed $670,000 to Avery charities, a record for us,” he says. “We use the resources and connections of our club members to raise the money. We are privileged to live in such a wonderful place. I live in Florida in the winter, but my best friends are local residents.” County Manager Philip Barrier says the golf clubs make up nearly 10% of the county’s workforce of more than 8,000. “Before the clubs, we were losing our young people because there were no jobs here,” Barrier says. “Now they can stay and have very successful careers, especially in construction and landscaping.” His son completed an associate degree in engineering and returned home to work for an electrical contractor. Avery’s sales tax revenue increased 26% last year, Barrier says, while “property sales have exploded. I understand all our golf courses had record play this year, too. Our future is bright.” ■ Harris Prevost is a vice president of the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation who started working for Hugh Morton in 1973. He taught accounting classes at Appalachian State University for 41 years. A member of the golf team while attending UNC Chapel Hill, he is a charter member of the N.C. Golf Panel.

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A Triad county rich in history shows hints of accelerating growth. BY MARK TOSCZAK PHOTOS BY MARK WAGONER

n Leigh Cockram’s first day on the job as Rockingham County’s director of economic development and tourism in February 2019, she learned the county planned a presentation the next day to a manufacturer considering adding 100 jobs in Reidsville. The prospect — code-named Project Piedmont — was a big opportunity for a community that has suffered several economic body blows over the past generation. Textile and tobacco jobs, once a mainstay, disappeared as one plant after another closed. “Then we got another punch in the gut when MillerCoors decided to close,” says County Manager Lance Metzler. He was referring to the 2016 Eden brewery shutdown that eliminated more than 500 jobs. “We’re like, ‘We need to do something.’” So that presentation to the interested manufacturer was important during Cockram’s first week on the job. She was experienced in economic development but was new to North Carolina. “She immediately reached out to me,” says Tony Copeland, the N.C. Department of Commerce secretary at the time. (Gov. Roy Cooper appointed Machelle Sanders to the role in February.) Cockram took charge of the pitch. “I remember staying late that night and redoing the entire PowerPoint into a format and a look that I just thought worked,” Cockram says. The effort went well. “You would have never thought it was her first day or second day,” says Metzler, who is Cockram’s boss. “She was very well prepared.” Three months later, Pella Windows said it would invest nearly $20 million in a plant with 124 employees. It was the first win for Cockram and part of a strong reversal in Rockingham County’s fortunes in the last few years. Including Pella, 10 companies announced new investments and added jobs in the county in 2019 and 2020.

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▲ Leigh Cockram and Randy Hunt, Eden’s Main Street manager, review plans for the Nestle Purina plant.

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ROCKINGHAM COUNTY (2019)

POPULATION: 91,010 POPULATION CHANGE FROM 2010: (2.8%) (N.C.: 10%) MEDIAN VALUE OF OWNER-OCCUPIED HOMES: $112,800 (N.C.: $172,500) PERCENTAGE WITH BACHELOR’S DEGREE OR HIGHER: 15% (N.C.: 31%) MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME: $43,579 (N.C.: $54,602) PERCENT IN POVERTY: 18.4% (N.C.: 13.6%) SOURCE: U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

Those companies include diaper manufacturer Ontex, which created more than 400 jobs, and pet food company Nestle Purina, which in September disclosed a $450 million investment at the former MillerCoors site. The pet food plant will eventually create about 300 jobs at wages averaging $42,000 a year, compared with the county’s average wage of about $35,000 a year. Purina’s announcement was the largest economic development investment in the county’s history, based on dollars pledged. In all, the investments from those 10 companies total more than $600 million and will create almost 1,200 jobs. More private-sector jobs should help raise Rockingham’s income levels, which have trailed the state averages. Median household income of about $43,600 a year is about 25% less than the statewide level of $54,600.

Historically, the rural county sitting between Greensboro and Martinsville, Va., found success in textiles and tobacco. Chicago department-store magnate Marshall Field established Fieldcrest in the northern part of the county when he bought seven area mills in 1911. The business grew to employ about 3,000 people in the county before the U.S. textile industry’s collapse in the ’80s and ’90s. In the county’s southern region in Reidsville, tobacco was the dominant employer. James Duke’s American Tobacco bought the Penn family’s Reidsville plant in 1911 and employed about 1,000 people until the mid-1990s, when staffing was drastically reduced. Manufacturing dwindled through a series of ownership changes. The last

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jobs disappeared in early 2020 when ITG Brands moved operations to Greensboro, its headquarters city. The county’s population has stagnated since the 1980s and was estimated at about 91,000 in 2019, down 3% from 2010. The Piedmont Triad’s population grew about 6% during the decade, adding nearly 100,000 people. Upgraded transportation options are spurring growth, however. Highway construction has made for easier access to Piedmont Triad International Airport and the Triad’s Interstate 40/85 corridor, setting the stage for expansions. Rockingham officials say the county has ingredients that N.C. boosters tout when recruiting companies: a workforce with manufacturing experience, a community college, and land and facilities appropriate for large plants and distribution centers. Belgium-based Ontex chose South Rockingham Corporate Park, a project by Greensboro developer Roy Carroll that is adjacent to U.S. 220 and Interstate 73 and 20 minutes from the region’s main airport. The park has also benefited from the county’s expansion of water and sewer utilities along U.S. 220. Development in Virgina should bolster Rockingham County. Just across the state line along U.S. 220 is another industrial park, Commonwealth Crossing Business Centre, that is adding tenants. Suppliers or other businesses that move to the area can support future tenants there, Metzler says. Rockingham County also touts its rivers and opportunities for outdoor activities. Metzler points to a $400 million Caesars Entertainment casino and resort in Danville, Va. — 25 miles from both Eden and Reidsville — that will boost tourism spending in the region. The casino’s groundbreaking is planned later this year with a likely opening in 2023.

It took the county two tries to lure Cockram south from her Virginia home. Metzler first approached her in 2014, when she was the director of business development and strategic initiatives at Danville’s Institute for Advanced Learning and Research. Before that she’d held economic development posts and private-sector jobs in southern Virginia, including two years as founding director of the Southern Virginia Regional Alliance, a regional partnership. Cockram was also busy with her own sportswear company and wasn’t looking for a new job. When the Rockingham economic developer position came open again in late 2018, Metzler again trekked north to Virginia. This time, his pitch was more successful. Her company had revenue in the six figures, but the work of packing and shipping orders, updating social media, and more was wearing on her.

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▲ A downtown statue pays tribute to Reidsville’s “Lucky City” history as a former top producer of Lucky Strike cigarettes, owned by former American Tobacco Co.

“We had a great, very candid conversation around what are the strengths, the weaknesses [of the county],” Cockram says. She did some research and “truly realized that ‘Yeah, I’m interested, because you’re sitting on the cusp of an explosion.’” Cockram, 40, still lives in Martinsville with her husband and two children. Her daily commute to Reidsville is 35 to 40 minutes — less than the 50-minute drive to Danville she made for her previous job. She has closed her former business. Colleagues say she has the key attributes needed in economic development: a knack for managing relationships with local government stakeholders and other local officials and an ability to share a compelling vision with prospective employers. She’s also direct. “She’s very, very smart, really, really bright and really energetic, and about as blunt a person as you’ll ever meet in your life,” says Michael Dougherty, the longtime director of economic development for Eden, in the northern part of the county. “She doesn’t pull any punches at all.” Sometimes, Metzler says, that includes convincing people to understand her vision. “She can be very persistent when identifying an area that

you and I may look at and think, ‘It’s not that great of a place probably to grow,’” he says. “After she goes through a presentation or goes through convincing you or trying to convince you it would be a good location, then, you’ll be like, ‘You know, maybe that is a good idea.’” Her vision for Rockingham County is for more residential, industrial and retail development while retaining its rural character. “Even five years from now, I think it will look different as you drive north or south,” she says. “I think the landscape will change, but I think it will change in a managed-growth pattern so we never really lose that kind of rural, laid-back identity.” To make that vision a reality, there is still work to be done. “What will be our new challenge is the lack of product that will suit the majority of the activity that we’re seeing,” Cockram says. “The lack of building spaces that are modern, if you will, with higher ceiling heights … or shovelready industrial sites.” ■

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BY RICK THAMES ILLUSTRATION BY BOB KAYGANICH

t wouldn’t surprise many to hear that banking titan Hugh McColl Jr. strolled Charlotte’s uptown streets 30 years ago, imagining a stately skyline rising amid acres of surface parking lots. But few could guess who was at McColl’s elbow on many of those walks, quietly but firmly troubleshooting his assumptions. Someone wiser about the city than he, McColl says now. Someone unafraid to tell him, “That’s a dumb idea.” It was the one person in town with the power to upend a bad idea. The fellow who ran the newspaper down the street. Rolfe Neill, publisher of The Charlotte Observer. McColl, 85, is the best known among a handful of civic leaders who lifted Charlotte from its status as a generic Southern city to that of a thriving business center in the 1980s and 1990s. Joining him in the remake was a string of CEOs and a procession of mayors. But no one matched what Neill brought to that exclusive executive circle: an institution with unparalleled reach in the city. Three out of every four adults read the Observer on any given day. Fans, in fact, were fond of saying it wasn’t news until it appeared in the Observer. “Rolfe knew more about everything than I did,” McColl says. “I would be focused on one thing. And he would know about 40 things. And he would know a lot more about what other people thought about something than I did.” Now 88, Neill still keeps up with all things Charlotte. He retains the sharp wit, trim physique and full head of silver hair that distinguished him in crowded community gatherings. But these days Neill is more likely to be found digging in the dirt alongside some excited Scouts or elementary school students. His pet cause is TreesCharlotte, a nonprofit group that aims to replenish the city’s enviable tree canopy. With the help of volunteers, the group has planted or given away more than 35,000 trees since 2012. It also has raised $8 million toward a $15 million endowment intended to keep Charlotte flush with trees for generations to come. “Charlotte’s brand is the tree,” Neill says in an interview near his home amid the towering willow oaks of the Queen City’s Eastover and Myers Park neighborhoods. “That’s what everybody talks about. There’s so many trees! [Visitors] fly in and see them. And, of course, the colors in the fall are spectacular.” It delights Neill to think that trees planted now will shade others long after he’s gone. He wishes he could be as confident about the future of the mighty newspaper he once led. The Observer’s parent company, McClatchy, filed for bankruptcy in February 2020. New York-based hedge fund Chatham Asset Management now owns the Observer and McClatchy’s 29 other newspapers. Chatham is also majority owner of Canada’s largest news chain, Postmedia Network Canada Corp., and

owner of American Media, publisher of the National Enquirer. This Observer is a shadow of its former self. Less than 10 years after he retired in 1997, audiences and advertisers began migrating to the web. While newspapers did the same, legions of new online competitors cut sharply into their revenue. During Neill’s era, the Observer newsroom swelled to 260 journalists. Today’s digital economy supports a news staff onefourth that size. Even so, Observer journalists continue to break big stories and call attention to important community issues. Will the newspaper continue to do so in ways yet to be discovered? Neill is optimistic. It’s easy to see why. For 135 years, the Observer has prodded, cajoled and at times shoved the city in directions that it perceived to be progress. At no time was it more effective than during the 22 years Rolfe Neill led it.

Love story When Neill was named publisher in 1975, Charlotte had big ambitions. He nurtured a newspaper with big expectations to match. Readers got his take on both in his popular Sunday columns, published adjacent to the editorial page. There, he could be both blunt and brilliant. “We were not afraid to be caught loving our community,” Neill says. “On the other hand, we were never intimidated about addressing the community on sensitive topics that we felt needed talking about or taking a stand on. “I think that’s one of the reasons the press is in trouble today and has been for many years. It’s afraid to be caught loving its community. It thinks, somehow, that’s a weakness. There’s a difference between being a booster and being someone who

We were not afraid to be caught loving our community. — Rolfe Neill shows affection and understanding, and says, ‘Hey, we’re part of the community, too. We want to work and live in, and produce for, that community.’” That view worried some in his newsroom, but it endeared Neill to McColl and other civic leaders who eventually came to be called simply “The Group.” They included First Union CEO Ed Crutchfield, Duke Power CEO Bill Lee, and former Mayors John Belk and Harvey Gantt. They saw in Neill someone who shared their aspirations for Charlotte. So they confided in him,

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Charlotte Ballet, a revived Charlotte Symphony and more. “I jokingly say we saved the symphony six times,” McColl says. “Rolfe was always in those meetings and having good suggestions. … He was an integral part of everything like that.”

Big city lights

▲ Neill was born in Mount Airy and grew up in Columbus, Ga., where he delivered the Ledger-Enquirer newspaper.

and they listened closely when he responded to their ideas. At the same time, they accepted Neill’s terms, which he also dictated to the various community boards on which he served. “I would say, ‘Y’all need to understand that I will work [as] hard as I can for you,’” Neill says. “‘But if there is a conflict, the paper will come first. And I can’t keep anything out of the paper because I’m on your board.’” McColl attests to that. “Rolfe never took off his reporter’s hat,” he says. “He was always curious. Always asking questions.” Those CEOs, however, got out of bed every day thinking about their companies. McColl was building one of the nation’s biggest banks. Bill Lee was elevating Duke to be a global leader in peacetime nuclear power. John Belk was modernizing his department-store chain. Neill, on the other hand, woke up and pored over the Observer, cover to cover. His reporting instincts told him what to expect next. That made him uniquely positioned to alert other civic-minded CEOs to an opportunity or threat. Michael Marsicano was invited to some of those conversations after arriving in 1989 to become executive director of Charlotte’s Arts & Science Council. “Rolfe was the glue that held that group of leaders together,” says Marsicano, now CEO of Foundation For The Carolinas, which oversees more than $2 billion. Together, they took on transformational projects: a revitalized Fourth Ward, Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, Charlotte Convention Center, Discovery Place children’s museum,

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Considering how well Neill related to Charlotte’s corporate giants, it is surprising that he once couldn’t imagine himself covering business as a journalist. That changed after Neill took his first job at the Observer in 1957. At that point, the Mount Airy native had graduated from UNC Chapel Hill, served two years in the Army and spent a year realizing that small-town life at The Franklin Press weekly newspaper in the N.C. mountains was too slow. The Observer hired him to open a bureau in Gastonia. One year later, he was offered a promotion as “business editor” at the newspaper’s downtown office. It was a one-person department, so he was also the business writer. Neill went home and told his first wife, Rosemary Boney. “She said, ‘Business editor? You hate business,’” Neill recalls. “I said, ‘Well, I thought maybe I could learn something about it because I sure don’t know anything about it.’” He started reading The Wall Street Journal. (It’s still his favorite national newspaper.) He wrote briefs about new companies, covered textile club luncheons and profiled people. Business news, he discovered, was a good fit. He connected well with people in business. Higher-ups took notice. When the Observer’s parent company, Knight Newspapers, purchased The Coral Gables Times in 1961, Neill was invited to manage the south Florida paper. There, he learned how to run a business. The 5,000-circulation newspaper operated in the shadow of a giant Knight paper, the Miami Herald. The Times was losing money. Neill eyed a weekly “shopper” its staff produced, called The Guide, filled with pages of store ads and personal classifieds. Nothing journalistic about it. “I thought, ‘Well, we’ll close The Guide and save some money,’” Neill says. But he first spent a week going door-todoor, asking people if they had ever heard of it. In telling what he heard back, Neill kicks his voice up an octave for dramatic effect. “‘Oh, I love that!’” Neill says. “That’s what I heard at nearly every door I knocked on.” Lesson learned. Ads were content, too. The Guide would stay. And under Neill, both it and the Times ultimately became profitable. Neill went on to run another nearby Knight paper, the Miami Beach Daily Sun, before a headhunter snatched him in 1965 to be assistant to the publisher of The New York Daily News. It was then the nation’s largest newspaper, with Sunday circulation of more than 4 million. It was and remains an irreverent tabloid with big headlines and lots of photos. Its staff was also

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heavily unionized, suspicious of outsiders and slow to change, Neill says. One evening, as he worked as night managing editor, Neill picked up some type prepared for the front page. “A whistle blew,” Neill says. “I had violated union rules. I was a nonunion person doing union work. ‘Violation!’” After more than four years in New York, he was ready to leave when his former employer circled back for him in 1970. Knight Newspapers had just purchased a tabloid as part of its deal to own the Philadelphia Inquirer. The sister publication Philadelphia Daily News beckoned readers with big headlines and eye-popping photos. It called itself “The People Paper.” But its journalism was lacking, Neill says, and it ran a distant third in a circulation battle with the Inquirer and still bigger Philadelphia Bulletin. Knight asked Neill to be its executive editor and turn things around. He started by demanding more respect. The Daily News and Inquirer were in the same building, but nothing outside mentioned the tabloid. This suited the Inquirer just fine. “The first thing I did was, I got our name on the front of the building,” Neill says. “We used blue in our Page 1 logo. So now there’s this big blue sign on the front of the Inquirer building. It just drove [the Inquirer] crazy.” Neill hired David Lawrence to be his managing editor. Lawrence would later become Neill’s executive editor in Charlotte, then go on to be editor and publisher of the Detroit Free Press, and finally publisher of the Miami Herald. “Rolfe was stunningly competitive,” Lawrence says. “He worked hard to get to know the community. And if you are the No. 3 newspaper in the City of Brotherly Love, what are you going to do to stand out? Part of that is, you better get to know the community better than anyone else, certainly your competitors.” Sports was a bright spot for the Daily News staff, and Philadelphia was a huge sports town. Neill and Lawrence came up with “The People Paper Homerun Payoff.” If someone hit a home run, readers who picked the correct player and inning could make some money. More than 45 years later, newspaper readers in Philadelphia still play the game. Neill reveled in taking his newspaper new places. It showed again when the city’s volatile and corrupt mayor, Frank Rizzo, got into a feud with another politician. Each accused the other of lying. “‘What would you think,’” the city hall reporter asked Neill, “‘if I could get Rizzo to take a polygraph?’” “I said, ‘I would think that was the greatest thing possible,’” Neill recalls, “‘and I would wonder, how would you pull it off?’ He said, ‘I’ll just ask him.’” He did. And Rizzo agreed to take the test, adding: “If this machine says a man lied, he lied.” The headline on the next day’s front page: “Rizzo lied, tests show.” The story ran with a photo of Rizzo strapped to the polygraph and the mayor’s quote in bold type: “If this machine says a man lied, he lied.”

Rizzo called Neill and told him: “You’re the worst thing that ever happened to Philadelphia, and I’m going to run you out of this town.” He didn’t. Meanwhile, the Daily News’ circulation grew from 150,000 to 250,000. Both of its bigger competitors lost readers. Not surprisingly, Knight Newspapers returned with a new proposal. Was Neill willing to move to Charlotte to become publisher of the Observer? It would be an experiment. A general manager traditionally led the business side of a Knight newspaper. But Knight had merged with Ridder Publications to form Knight Ridder in 1974. Ridder newspapers had publishers. “I thought, ‘What the hell does a publisher do?’” Neill says. “And my memories of Charlotte were from the ’50s when I worked there as the business editor.” That Charlotte of the mid-’70s couldn’t have been more different from Philadelphia or New York. People in the Queen City were more buttoned-down. Social life centered on church and country clubs. No liquor by the drink. Alcohol with dinner required a brown bag. Neill doesn’t drink. “My drink of choice is industrial-strength Coca-Cola,” he says. But he enjoyed the cosmopolitan atmosphere of large cities. “I thought, ‘I’m not sure I want to go back there.’ So Rosemary and I said, ‘Well, if we don’t like the job, don’t like the town, we’ll move and do something else.’”

Fresh ambition But the town had changed during the 15 years they’d been away. North Carolina National Bank (later Bank of America) and First Union (later Wachovia) were on the rise. Duke Power (later Duke Energy) had just brought online its first nuclear power plant. The city’s mayor, John Belk, had some big ideas for the city’s future. The Observer also had a lot more going on. Its headquarters at 600 S. Tryon Street had been demolished, and in its place stood a spacious new facility. The building’s 350,000 square feet covered an entire block. Other businesses had moved to suburban sites, but Knight elected to stay in support of a decaying downtown’s dream of revitalization. Neill sensed new energy, ambition. Yes, he could see himself becoming part of this Charlotte. “When I left Charlotte in 1961, everyone wanted to be like Atlanta,” Neill says. “I came back and nobody wanted to be like Atlanta.” Charlotte was out to make a name for itself. By coincidence, Neill was quickly handed a way to do the same. An executive of a major Observer advertiser, Ivey’s department stores, was named chairman of the 1977 United Way campaign. He, in turn, asked Neill to head up the “major gifts” division. It solicited contributions from large companies and wealthy individuals.

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▲ An office tower now fills the former Observer space after its demolition in 2016. Neill’s key colleagues in Charlotte included Bob Burns, center, and John Luby.

“I had never raised a nickel in my life,” Neill says. “I decided, well, instead of getting myself a team of 25 or 30 people to call on [donors], I would do it myself. And it was a very good way to get to meet who was running Charlotte. “That just seemed to lead to other things. Mainly things like building a new convention center, building Discovery Place and, later, the Blumenthal [Performing Arts] Center.” Cliff Cameron, who then headed First Union, came up with the idea of a CEO group in 1983. Cameron had seen a similar idea in action in Pittsburgh, according to a 2009 Observer story. “I don’t remember the first project where I was invited to come and be part of this discussion,” Neill says. “But I went, and out of that emerged the so-called Group. [It] was four or five people who had the biggest companies. I gave them the same little sermonette about [how] my first loyalty had to be with the paper.” Neill says he understands why this circle of executives was sometimes viewed suspiciously. “I think, properly, that people thought, ‘What is this? Why is this secret? Who are they? What do they represent?’ And, of course, we were all white men. … That was an issue for [many] and should have been for us. Except, if you were going to operate on the basis of CEOs, there weren’t any women CEOs. And minorities? No minorities.” McColl says members of the group guarded their discussions to prevent speculators from snapping up land needed to carry out their ideas. “The truth of the matter is, we were only trying to do something good for the city,” McColl says. “We never were trying to do something good for our companies. None of us, including Ed Crutchfield,” who was McColl’s business rival. “The four of us

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really were trying to support things that we thought were good for our city and would lift it.” Neill says he remained loyal to the paper even as he led industry and government leaders to the Observer newsroom to talk out issues with the editor or the editorial board. Fannie Flono was among the local news editors who sometimes fretted at seeing Neill sitting on a reporter’s desk. He hung out with powerful people in the community. What if he alerted them to stories not yet published? What if he pressured a journalist to pursue a story? “That was going through a lot of people’s minds at the time,” says Flono, who was politics editor for many years. “But you know, I really can’t think of a time when he actually did that. “He would kind of chat up people and, in the course of a chat, convey the notion of a story idea. But if you didn’t want to do it, you really could challenge him. Or, at least I could.” Flono appreciated Neill’s willingness to back up his newsroom. She was the first Black woman at the Observer to be politics editor. Sometimes, white male politicians in Raleigh and elsewhere openly questioned her credentials. “I was having a much longer relationship with these people than they had had before with a Black female,” she says. “Rolfe would always back me up when there was a complaint. He told them: ‘She’s the woman in charge, and that’s just the way it is. It has nothing to do with me. And I trust her implicitly.’” The journalist in Neill drew him to the newsroom. But he had little need to worry about its work. When Editor David Lawrence moved on to Detroit in 1978, Neill hired another strong editor, Rich Oppel, a Florida native and former editor of the Tallahassee Democrat. Under Oppel, the Observer dramatically expanded its cover-

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age of outlying counties, a move that dearly mattered to Neill. In 1981, it opened a satellite newsroom in Rock Hill, S.C., for the launch of a regional tabloid section that came with the main newspaper. Similar tabloids were started in Gaston, Union, Catawba, Iredell and Cabarrus counties. Oppel’s newsroom rewarded that growing number of readers with award-winning journalism. In 1981, the Observer took on the Carolinas’ then-biggest employer — the textile industry. Journalists documented how more than 100,000 area workers had been exposed to invisible cotton dust that led to a deadly disease, byssinosis, or brown lung. The series was awarded journalism’s highest honor — the Pulitzer Prize Gold Medal for meritorious public service. The newsroom was awarded a second Pulitzer Gold Medal in 1988 following a lengthy investigation that ultimately toppled the PTL Club television ministry of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker. (That same year, cartoonist Doug Marlette won a Pulitzer for work that appeared in both the Observer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.) The PTL coverage was an especially arduous assignment, extending more than a decade. The Bakkers and their staff used their national daily broadcasts to launch boycotts of the Observer, attack its journalists and pressure its parent company, Knight Ridder. PTL clearly was a fraud, Neill says. Still, he cautioned editors not to overplay a relatively minor story or ignore positive aspects of the ministry. “I kept saying, ‘I think y’all are on to a great thing here. But let’s be careful about how we do this. We have plenty of time.’ For one thing, there was never anything in the paper to the effect of whatever, quote, ‘good things’ PTL was doing. They were sending food or clothing overseas.” Ten days after Bakker resigned in disgrace in March 1987, Neill got the last word in a column. Mostly, he condemned. PTL stole millions of dollars from contributors and paid hush money to a young woman, Jessica Hahn, to keep quiet about a sexual encounter with Bakker. But Neill also signaled respect for the dignity of the fallen ministry’s dazed followers. “Let us concede that under Jim Bakker, PTL built a Christian theme park that delights and satisfies millions,” Neill wrote. “The Bakker ministry has brought sunshine to some dark spots, be it the loneliness of a pregnant teenager or the bitterness of a man behind bars. . . . The issue isn’t whether Bakker does good — he does — but whether it’s morally permissible to occasionally flimflam folks in the name of higher purpose. My King James version says no.” That same year, Neill moved on to a different set of contributors — patrons of the arts. He urged Charlotte voters to approve a $15 million bond issue toward the construction of a major downtown performing arts center. He even joined a city manager’s task force for the effort. “There is no debate about whether we need a new facility,” Neill wrote in a column. “Ovens Auditorium was never a decent concert hall and is now aged out as a building as well.”

Voters approved the bonds by a 2-1 margin. In 1993, Blumenthal opened with three state-of-the-art theaters and an $18.4 million endowment. One year earlier, however, a crisis threatened that happy ending. The Charlotte Symphony, a centerpiece in plans for the Blumenthal, was in danger of dissolving. Musicians and management were deadlocked in salary negotiations and its board was out of money. In a sternly worded column, Neill urged the Arts & Science Council to appoint a study group to help rescue the symphony, as well as other promising but fragile arts groups. Neill also dressed down the symphony’s musicians, management and board. “We’re but a year distant from the opening of the [Blumenthal Performing Arts Center], whose chief renters are all symphony-connected,” Neill wrote. “We put at risk symphonydependent arts groups such as Opera Carolina, the Oratorio Singers and the N.C. Dance Theatre [now the Charlotte Ballet].” The symphony’s management, he wrote, had been tyrannical (“management can’t seek to break or gut the union”), musicians’ demands impractical (“Are these guys for real?”), and the board’s financial decisions careless (“didn’t have a realistic plan”). “How about the board of the symphony itself?” he continued. “It’s bloated with 50 members, some of whom have been there since Beethoven was composing, and it’s not sufficiently diverse culturally or racially.” One month later, Neill was named to head a “save the symphony” task force. He recruited Crutchfield, Lee, McColl and Gantt to be members. Their work helped to break the deadlock and keep the symphony playing. It also inspired the Arts & Science Council to launch still another fundraising campaign. This campaign would seek to raise $25 million toward an endowment to support nonprofit arts groups. To head that, the council enlisted someone who had never led a major arts fundraising effort: Hugh McColl. McColl raised $26.8 million. “It was the largest endowment [campaign] any arts group had in the United States at that time,” he says. In years to come, McColl would give or help raise more than $100 million for arts causes, as well as restore a burned-out church on North Tryon Street to be the McColl Center for Art + Innovation. Five months before he retired, Neill thanked McColl in a column for sparking the revival of 11 blocks just north of Trade and Tryon streets. “Nobody is on record as daring to dream as big as North Tryon Street has become,” Neill wrote. “The Blumenthal, Discovery Place, Spirit Square, Museum of the New South and the main branch of the public library. Now that’s a cultural district of distinction.” What most readers didn’t know was how much Neill had contributed to all that. “Rolfe and I used to walk together,” McColl says. “We would

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▲ At Charlotte’s ImaginOn children’s library, leaders honored Neill with sculptures featuring quotes from his columns.

walk through the neighborhoods. So when we were thinking about things, we actually knew what we were talking about. We had been on the ground and looked at things as they really were. “He challenged everything. And so you couldn’t get away with self-aggrandizement for the corporation or whatever. He never took off that hat — being publisher of the paper.”

Library tribute Two worlds. Neill seamlessly stepped in and out of both. In 2005, some wanted a way to celebrate his career. They raised money to erect a sculpture. “The Writer’s Desk” is strewn playfully in multiple pieces across the plaza of ImaginOn: The Joe & Joan Martin Center in downtown Charlotte. Children often can be seen running in and around them: giant hand stamps, typewriter keys, a sharpened pencil and a tower of books topped by a quill that swivels in the breeze. Etched in Italian marble are several passages taken from scores of Neill’s columns. “We did not inherit the land from our ancestors,” reads one line from a column. “We borrowed it from our children.” Former Charlotte City Council member Cyndee Patterson helped plan the sculpture. “[We wanted] an art piece that honored him but that was not a typical sculpture,” says Patterson, now president of Charlotte nonprofit Lee Institute. “We wanted a way to represent his words.” Each of the hand stamps bears a message: SEE THE TRUTH,

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SPEAK THE TRUTH, HEAR THE TRUTH. Foundation For The Carolinas CEO Marsicano says that sums up Neill. “He’s just frank and candid, and he tells it the way he sees it,” says Marsicano. “It’s not that he’s not gracious in the way he tells you how he sees it. He is.” The region is much bigger now. The CEOs of many of those homegrown companies have sold or gone global. And there are many, many groups at civic tables. “It’s an entirely different landscape,” Neill says. “It’s a more time-consuming job to knit all that together.” It’s also harder to read all about it. As the Observer’s coverage of local news has shrunk, no other media outlet has come close to matching the reach it once had. Will we see another era when readers can rely on a single news source to monitor everything from zoning meetings and art exhibits to last Sunday’s sermon? Neill longs for the day. “The era of the Observer was the era of a large, well-funded news organization that could cover a lot of things for the whole community and get it done,” Neill says. “Somebody, I hope, is going to come up with the printed newspaper in a different form, but that reflects its completeness and its ability to inform and unite a community.” ■ Rick Thames was executive editor of The Charlotte Observer from 2004-17. He is the Knight-Crane Executive in Residence and visiting professor of journalism at Queens University of Charlotte.

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The hope for local news News Deserts and Ghost Newspapers: Will Local News Survive was the title of a 2020 report by Penelope Muse Abernathy, Knight Chair Emeritus in Journalism and Digital Media Economics at the UNC Chapel Hill Hussman School of Journalism and Media. Local news may never achieve the heights seen in Rolfe Neill’s heyday. But this excerpt from the report reflects hope that new approaches can revive journalism.

hanks to the establishment in recent years of hundreds of local digital news sites and ethnic media outlets, the number of independent owners and operators of for-profit local news organizations is growing in this country. All this raises the possibility of a resurgence of locally owned news outlets. (North Carolina examples cited in the News Deserts report include The Charlotte Post, a mainstay in the Black community [that] the Johnson family bought in 1974; QCityMetro.com, an online hyperlocal news site started by former Charlotte Observer Deputy Managing Editor Glenn Burkins; and the Spanish language La Noticia, which Hilda Gurdian started in 1997. The latter distributes 73,000 print copies weekly in Asheville, Charlotte, Greensboro and Raleigh.) Because decisions can be made locally, without consulting layers of corporate bureaucracy, independent owners and operators have much more strategic flexibility than managers of corporate-owned newspapers and can respond much more quickly to the changing needs and expectations of residents and businesses in their community. However, like most small-business owners, they typically measure revenue in the low millions or hundreds of thousands of dollars and often have slim profit margins. So the founders, owners, publishers and editors have to be both creative and disciplined in their approach if they are to achieve long-term financial sustainability. Until the 1970s, most newspapers were locally owned and operated. Though the number of independent community-based newspaper owners has declined by a third since 2004, there are still about 2,400 surviving independently owned newspapers. Roughly half are located in the country’s suburbs and rural areas. Many are the only consistent and comprehensive source of news for their communities. … The owners of independent newspapers usually live in the communi-

▲ Les High

ties they cover, eat at the same restaurants, shop at the same stores and attend the same events as all other residents. They put down roots, in contrast to the publishers and editors of news organizations that are part of large chains, who are often transferred from property to property every few years. As a result, the fate of these independent news operations and the communities they serve is tightly intertwined, for better or worse. Publishers of small newspapers that managed to survive have had to be especially creative in coming up with ways to diversify their revenue. With Facebook and Google collecting a majority of the digital revenue in most markets, many independently owned newspapers still remain tethered to the print edition, still relying on print advertising and subscription revenue to pay the bills. But they are increasingly looking for ways to evolve beyond publishing a print newspaper. The most successful community newspapers have aggressively sought to diversify their revenue sources by sponsoring events, creating e-newsletters and podcasts, and establishing in-house digital agencies to assist local businesses with their advertising and marketing needs. Many surviving independent newspapers in the country are family-owned and -operated, such as the twice-weekly News Reporter in Whiteville, with a circulation of 10,000. The paper, which serves residents in one of the poorest N.C. counties, received the Pulitzer Public Service Medal in 1953 for exposing the infiltration of the Ku Klux Klan into local police and fire departments. Les High, the grandson of that courageous publisher, is the editor and publisher. He has tried a range of tactics to increase revenue

and profitability, including offering videography and web design for local businesses, creating lifestyle magazines and charging for digital subscriptions. He hangs on, despite profit margins in the low single digits, out of a commitment to the community. “The economy, health, education — we know there are a lot of quality-of-life issues here in Columbus that will affect our future,” he says. “And if we don’t cover them, no one else will.” In March, High created the Border Belt Reporting Center with a three-year, $495,000 grant from the Winston-Salem-based Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust. It will hire journalists to produce in-depth online stories on education, poverty, mental health and other issues facing Bladen, Columbus, Robeson and Scotland counties in southeastern North Carolina. Some stories will be published in collaboration with five newspapers in the region. High will be interim editor while remaining publisher of his paper. “We’ll provide context and analysis of these issues and highlight the influencers who seek to bring about change,” he says. The Reynolds Trust is “excited to support the work of the Border Belt Reporting Center to understand the challenges facing southeastern North Carolina and to tell community-driven stories about opportunities for change,” said Adam Linker, director of programs. Formed by a Reynolds Tobacco heiress in 1947, the trust had assets of $564 million as of August 2019. Its mission is to “improve the quality of life and health of residents with low incomes throughout North Carolina,” according to its website. A P R I L

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RIDING A REBOUND The COVID-19 pandemic slowed North Carolina industrial and business development efforts, but the virus couldn’t stop them. Businesses finished 2020 at a record clip, setting them up for a strong run this year.

After ringing in the new year with all cylinders firing, North Carolina’s economy was slammed by the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing a sudden and complete halt in the second quarter of 2020. But by summer, industrial development experienced a renaissance, finishing the year on a high note in a variety of sectors, including advanced manufacturing, warehousing and logistics,

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pharmaceutical manufacturing and food processing. “[It was] very much a tale of two halves,” says Christopher Chung, CEO of Raleigh-based Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina. Chung recalls the optimism of economic developers as 2019 came to a close. It was a banner year in business recruitment, and plans were in place to push that momentum into 2020.

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“We were sitting at around 200 active projects right before the pandemic,” he says. “But in March, April and May, about a quarter of those projects were tabled.” And during that three-month period, between 20% and 30% fewer new projects were on the horizon statewide compared to those same months in 2019. In the early throes of the pandem-

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ic, which disrupted travel, canceled in-person meetings and prevented the regular due diligence that site selection requires, economic development teams scrambled. “Picking an industrial site for a billion-dollar manufacturing plant isn’t something that can be easily done virtually,” Chung says. “Of course, we held conference calls by video, submitted drone footage of a site and tried to move the ball as far down the field as we could, given the limitations.” Despite the setbacks, success stories started sprouting statewide by early summer. They signaled that a recovery was underway, thanks to state and local economic development teams finding ways to cement relationships, welcome new companies and expand existing ones. “Beginning in June 2020, and pretty much every month since then, project activity has been growing,” Chung says. By fall, the volume of new economic development business had crested 2019’s record-setting wave. It was 70% more in December 2020 than the year prior. “November is when we started hearing about [COVID] vaccines coming into the market, and I believe the companies focused on making commitments in late 2020 with the belief that by the time they were ready to open new facilities, business would be more normal,” Chung says. North Carolina celebrated a major development in October 2020, when Asheville claimed the largest prize western North Carolina has ever seen. Aircraft engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney, a division of Waltham, Mass.based Raytheon Technologies, announced a $650 million investment that includes a 1 million-square-foot factory and 800 jobs. Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College is developing a curriculum specifically for the plant, where it will open workforce-training classrooms. “Aerospace is important to us here in the west, as it is to all of North Carolina,” says Clark Duncan, Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce’s senior vice president of economic development. Evendale, Ohio-based GE Aviation,

which has had a Buncombe County factory for more than 40 years, continues to help attract other aerospace and aviation companies to the region. “We are confident the arrival of Pratt & Whitney will attract even further growth in the aerospace industry, including all the different types of supply chain and auxiliary services that would support a facility like that,” he says. After a pandemic-induced pause in early 2020, construction is underway on Pratt & Whitney’s plant, where turbine airfoils will be produced. It’s at Biltmore Park West, newly developed land near Interstate 26. The company is on an aggressive timeline; it expects to start hiring this fall. “[It] is a huge feather in our cap and one of those bright spots in the aerospace sector for 2020,” Chung says. Nestled against the state line with Virginia north of Greensboro, Rockingham County has long been tied to textiles and tobacco. But two recent highway upgrades are driving its economy in new directions, and they’re already paying large dividends. U.S. 29 is slated to become Interstate 785 from Greensboro to Danville, Va., and the Rockingham Bypass, also known as Interstate 73/74, is on the map, says Leigh Cockram, the county’s director of economic development and tourism. “On a map, changing the white highway sign to a blue interstate sign really does enhance our appeal and, quite frankly, how people view us,” she says. Rockingham County’s 2020 industrial development boom started in May, when Belgium-based disposable hygiene-products manufacturer Ontex opened its first U.S. factory in the county’s newest industrial site — South Rockingham Corporate Park. It was a $96 million investment that’s expected to create 409 jobs. Two pet food producers followed Ontex’s lead. St. Louis-based Purina, a subsidiary of Switzerland-based Nestle, announced a $450 million factory in Eden in September. Three months later, Italy-based Farmina Pet Food USA announced it would locate its North American headquarters — a $28.5

million investment that’s expected to create 129 jobs — in Reidsville. But even during a boom, industrial growth can come with challenges. Infrastructure needs, land availability, building inventory and a ready workforce, compounded by threats of future disruptions, such as pandemics, are part of the complicated times we live in, says Ted Abernathy, managing partner of Shallotte-based development consultant Economic Leadership. He puts North Carolina among the states well-positioned to thrive despite these challenges. “North Carolina has one of the best business climates in the country, and although nobody’s labor market is great right now because we don’t have enough workers, North Carolina is competitive,” he says. Abernathy adds that along with workforce development, North Carolina needs to improve its infrastructure — site development, building inventory and broadband internet access. “I think we look good in general, but we’re uneven,” he says. “Parts of our state need better internet access, and in terms of building and site inventory, we’re still pretty low in some areas.” Cabarrus County has maintained a pipeline of active projects. But that success means it’s running low on available sites and buildings, says the county’s economic development organization’s executive director Page Castrodale. “In terms of land where someone can build, we don’t have many options left in the county, and space is at a premium right now,” she says. “So, we feel fortunate to have the Grounds at Concord, a newly developed site in Concord.” For decades, Concord was home to a Philip Morris cigarette factory, a 3.5 million-square-foot behemoth that stood on 500 acres and employed thousands of workers at a time. It was vacated in 2009 and demolished a decade later, giving way to Grounds at Concord, a 1,300-acre industrial site that’s already attracting companies. One is Tempe, Ariz.-based Carvana, an e-commerce platform for buying and selling used cars. It opened a $30 million inspection and reconditioning plant that created

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more than 300 jobs. And China-based cabinet-maker GoldenHome International announced a capital investment of $86 million a year ago to establish its North American headquarters here, creating more than 250 jobs. Castrodale and her team got creative to foster this success during the pandemic. “Before, when we had a client in town, we would have a room full of 20 or 30 people,” she says. “And now we have to educate them on who we are as a community. And we have definitely seen an increase in virtual site visits, which I think will continue into the future.” Industrial vacancies are down 60% over the last three years in Fayetteville, says Bob Van Geons, president and CEO of Fayetteville Cumberland Economic Development Corp. He credits a robust workforce for attracting business across the county, which is home to a portion of the U.S. Army’s Fort Bragg. “With our large military population, we’ve got a ‘light’ blue-collar workforce ready to get to work, and that, along with our accessibility and buildable land, we have a pretty potent mix for attracting investment,” he says. The pandemic forced more people to spend more time at home. And most of them turned to online shopping to purchase items that they needed and

wanted. Van Geons says that increase in e-commerce has created demand for large warehouses among online retailers and logistics companies. While his 2021 goals include expanding building inventory, including a new spec building that is ready to open, the state Commerce Department recently announced that Phoenix-based Dansons U.S., a global manufacturer of consumer goods, will build a 260,000-square-foot distribution center in Fayetteville. It’s a $28 million investment that will bring 118 jobs. Less than a three-hour drive to the northwest of Fayetteville, Davie County Economic Development Commission President Terry Bralley also is working to attract companies. With most existing manufacturing space occupied, he’s relying on spec buildings and graded industrial pads to entice businesses to locate at the county’s newest industrial park, Davie Industrial Center in Mocksville. “It is important for our industrial parks to have spec buildings because in today’s world, companies want to be in production within 90 days of moving in, and they need a building that is virtually complete and ready to go,” he says. Business is booming for companies already working in Davie County. Bralley points to Ashley Furniture Industries Inc., which announced it was building

a factory and distribution center in Advance in 2012. Those continue to grow, spurred in part by an increase in home furnishings sales. The Arcadia, Wis.based company, which is the country’s largest furniture-maker, announced it was adding 100 employees to its 1,600-person Davie County workforce last May. Bralley says Davie County welcomes more growth, as long as it can meet infrastructure needs, its tallest economic development hurdle. “In rural communities, it’s expensive to run roads and water and sewer lines to industrial parks,” he says. And the pandemic underscored the need for better connectivity to high-speed internet countywide. He has made expanding it his top priority. “If we’re going to continue distance learning for our kids, and our businesses are going to let their employees work from home and continue operating in a virtual world, we need fiber broadband,” he says. Money from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will help Davie County plug it. Yadkinville-based telecommunications provider Yadtel received a $2.3 million ReConnect Program grant to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises network to businesses and residences across Davie and two other counties in October. Like much of North Carolina, Johnston County is on the fast track to

Nash County’s Whitaker Business and Industry Site offers companies easy access to Interstate 95.

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more growth. The N.C. Office of State Budget and Management estimated its 2020 population at more than 211,500, a more than 25% gain from 2010. “We’ve done recent studies that anticipate us being as high as 300,000 within the next 10 years,” says county Economic Development Director Chris Johnson. And thanks to being at the intersection of three major interstates — 70, 40 and 95 — and proximity to Research Triangle Park, the county has become a hub for manufacturing, life sciences and technology, though it still holds fast to its agricultural base. As they did statewide, Johnson says COVID-induced restrictions and stay-at-home orders hit hard in Johnston County, impacting its small businesses, restaurants and retailers. But a recovery is underway there, too, thanks to strong

ties to several industries, including food processing, manufacturing and pharmaceuticals. Barcelona-based pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturer Grifols, for example, announced a $350 million expansion and 300 more jobs at its Clayton therapeutics factory last summer. Johnson credits much of the local pharmaceutical manufacturing sector’s success to Johnston County’s membership in the Research Triangle Regional Partnership, a 12-county economic development consortium that collaborates to recruit advanced manufacturing, technology and life-sciences companies. “We’re fortunate that we’ve got about a dozen pharmaceutical manufacturers in our region,” he says. “Companies do their research and development in the Research Triangle Park and look to the halo counties for placement of manufac-

turing facilities. And we feel like we’re well-positioned to meet their needs.” Economic Leadership’s Abernathy says the work done by Johnston and other counties is the reason for North Carolina’s reputation as a positive business climate and its ability to attract businesses that work in high-wage sectors such as aerospace, pharmaceuticals, technology and life sciences. He encourages them to keep striving. “I think we’re well-positioned and likely to remain well-positioned for further growth and prosperity as long as we continue to focus on workforce development, infrastructure and enhancing our business climate,” he says. ■ — Teri Saylor is a freelance writer from Raleigh.

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CENTRAL CAROLINA ENTERPRISE PARK, WELL-CENTERED, SHOVEL-READY.

CENTRAL CAROLINA ENTERPRISE PARK (CCEP) – MARCH 2021 • CCEP is a well-positioned NC Dept of Commerce Certified Site for industrial development, centrally located between Atlanta and Washington, DC in central North Carolina. • Located in Sanford, NC, the 260-acre CCEP is one of nine Certified park-sized sites in North Carolina. • Sanford, NC was recently named the #5 U.S. Micropolitan Area by Site Selection Magazine. The City of Sanford has an Open for Business Agenda, which offers streamlined permitting. •

Perfect for manufacturing and distribution facilities, CCEP lot sizes range from 10- to 30-acres, are shovel-ready with infrastructure, and can be adjusted to incoming companies’ needs.

• Existing projects include Audentes Therapeutics, an Astellas company, who purchased a 117,000 sq. ft. shell building in February 2020, bringing $109M capital investment and 209 jobs. Two build-to-suit projects are underway, and Shell Building II is approaching contract.

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CCEP is adjacent to U.S. 1, a four-lane, divided high-speed highway, similar to an interstate. Only a 15-minute drive to I-540, both RDU International Airport and Raleigh’s urban core are accessible in 40 minutes. The Raleigh Executive Jetport and Triangle Innovation Point are also in close proximity.

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Future projects include a 117,000 sq. ft. Industrial Shell Building III in development, with additional buildings being planned.

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CCEP boasts exceptional infrastructure, including water and sewer service and extensions; Broadplex fiber service up to 10GB per second; power and natural gas service; and new roads, walking path, signage, lighting and landscaping.

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There are 496,000 workers and 1.43M in population within a 40-mile radius of CCEP, including Research Triangle Park, Fort Bragg and Pinehurst. CCEP is also within 45 minutes of three Tier 1 Research Universities and minutes from award-winning Central Carolina Community College.

Central Carolina Enterprise Park Jimmy Randolph, Sanford Area Growth Alliance 919-774-8439

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FUQUAY-VARINA. A DASH MORE. Fuquay-Varina is open for business. As one of the fastest growing communities in North Carolina, Fuquay-Varina is positioned for new investment, growth, and development. The Town of Fuquay-Varina values business growth and economic development, which is why it has developed the Fuquay-Varina Business Park. THE SITE Fuquay-Varina Business Park is a 35-acre industrial site 14 miles south of Raleigh. Located at 1599 Dash Drive, this North Carolina Certified Site is strategically situated for manufacturing firms looking to locate, relocate, or expand into a growing market. The site is owned and operated by the Town of Fuquay-Varina and has heavy industrial zoning in place. LOCATION Fuquay-Varina is in southern Wake County and part of the Research Triangle region. The area is frequently ranked as one of the best places to live and best places to do business. The Town’s population has grown nearly 400% since the year 2000. TRANSPORTATION The Fuquay-Varina Business Park is located less than one mile south of US Highway 401. The Southeast Extension of the I-540 Triangle Expressway, which is expected to be completed in Summer 2023, will add additional connectivity just a few miles north. To keep up with rapid growth, the Town of Fuquay-Varina has made more than $33 million in transportation improvements in the past five years, with even more in the pipeline.

FUQUAY-VARINA BUSINESS PARK

INFRASTRUCTURE All utilities are at, or immediately adjacent to, the Fuquay-Varina Business Park. Its providers and partners are: • Electricity: Duke Energy • Natural Gas: Dominion Energy • Water & Wastewater: Town of Fuquay-Varina • Fiber Internet: Ting

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT As Fuquay-Varina experiences transformational growth, so does its workforce. More than 70% of the town’s population is active in the workforce, with 43% of residents over the age of 25 having a bachelor’s degree or higher. Wake Tech Community College’s Southern Campus is minutes from the Fuquay-Varina Business Park. From highly technical skills to broader professional development, Wake Tech works closely with employers on customized training programs to support business success.

Alyssa Byrd Economic Development Director 919-753-1031 134 N. Main Street, Fuquay-Varina, NC 27526

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NASH COUNTY SHOVEL-READY SITES. Nash County, North Carolina is a thriving community located between the Research Triangle region and Interstate 95. Nash County offers a diverse workforce, affordable living and doing business, and a great place for your next business location. Corporate giants like Pfizer, Cummins Engines and Honeywell Aerospace are

among the county’s impressive industrial base and county leaders want other companies to know that Nash County is Open for Business. The emergence of the coronavirus has impacted the need to increase cold storage and shipping capabilities for the food and life science industries, according to national site

location consultants. They say Nash County is well positioned to serve these needs thanks to it’s location to the Research Triangle and proximity to all I-95 major markets. The following are the county’s three premier industrial properties, which are competitively priced at $20,000 per acre to attract new jobs and capital investment:

Located on U.S. Highway 264, the county’s newest 340-acre park is 25 minutes to Downtown Raleigh, 40 minutes to the Research Triangle Park and 45 minutes to the Raleigh-Durham International Airport. The county recently completed an access road and infrastructure throughout the entire park which features a 62,500 square foot shell building that is expandable to 100,000 square feet.

The 142-acre county-owned site is adjacent to I-95 and the property recently completed a rigorous site evaluation certification program through Duke Energy. The property was evaluated by a national site location consultant and certified as a Duke Energy Site Readiness property. The site is an excellent location for distribution, cold storage and logistics, located immediately on I-95. It’s the perfect site for navigating the entire East Coast I-95 corridor, sea ports and the new CSX Carolina Connector intermodal rail facility. The Whitaker business park is home to a cluster of businesses — largely in the food processing industry — including The Cheesecake Factory, Poppies International (Belgium) and Nutkao (Italy). For businesses looking to locate within an established business park, Whitaker B&I Center is the ideal choice. The 63-acre Whitaker B&I Center is located on I-95 and five minutes to the new CSX Carolina Connector Intermodal rail facility. The property is designed to meet the needs for buildings ranging from 45,000 to 500,000 square feet.

120 W. Washington Street Nashville, NC 27856 252-462-2027 econdevelopment@nashcountync.gov

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GROW WITH SAMPSON COUNTY. 120-acres available, ranging from 5-acre to 67-acre lots Sampson Southeast Business Center is a light industrial park located in Clinton, NC. Utilities are on-site. The park is home to many great companies, including: • Schindler • DuBose Industries • DuBose Strapping • DuBose National Energy Services • Hog Slat • Coastal Agro-Business • HillCo Transport • Universal Forest Products Sampson County is also home to Enviva, Smithfield Foods, Prestage Farms, Star Communications, Sampson Regional Medical Center, Sampson Community College, and much more.

PROXIMITY MATTERS! ROADS • I-40 – 16 minutes • I-95 – 30 minutes • Hwy 421 – 1 minute • Hwy 701 – under 3 minutes • Hwy 403 – under 3 minutes • Hwy 24 – under 5 minutes PORTS • Wilmington – 70 minutes • Morehead City – 135 minutes AIRPORTS • Raleigh-Durham International (RDU) – 70 minutes • Wilmington International (ILM) – 70 minutes • Fayetteville Regional Airport (FAY) – 45 minutes Clinton-Sampson Airport • (CTZ) – 6 minutes

SAMPSON SOUTHEAST BUSINESS CENTER, CLINTON, NC

Sampson County is a community where companies thrive and work ethic is strong. The County is in eastern North Carolina, an hour drive between Raleigh and Wilmington, and neighbors to Fayetteville and Goldsboro. The County is home to eight municipalities, full of hospitality, small-town charm, and opportunity.

RAIL • CSX and Norfolk Southern transload facilities – 45 minutes MILITARY BASES • Fort Bragg – 56 minutes • Seymour Johnson – 48 minutes • Camp Lejeune – 104 minutes REGIONAL LABOR FORCE • Over 420,000 – 45 mile radius

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910-592-8921 406 County Complex Rd. Suite 130 Clinton, NC 28328

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ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, A GREAT LOCATION FOR INDUSTRY. A part of North Carolina’s Piedmont Triad, Rockingham County is experiencing exciting growth. With two interstates flanking both sides of the County, a regional workforce capable of meeting all employment needs, and a favorable cost-of-doing business environment, it is no wonder that companies like Pella, Ontex, Purina, and Farmina have recently chosen to locate new facilities within our borders.

Leigh Cockram, Director Rockingham County Economic Development, Small Business, and Tourism 336-342-8138

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Kinston

KINSTON’S GOT GAME

+ TALKING POINTS

A successful downtown rebirth was hit hard by the pandemic. Leaders expect a solid rebound.

KIN S TO N

20,035 POPULATION

MILES SOUTHEAST OF RALEIGH

DOWN EAST WOOD DUCKS LOCAL MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL TEAM

▲Locals peruse the Lenoir County Farmers Market on Tuesdays and Thursdays on downtown Kinston’s Heritage Street.

2009

LENOIR COMMUNITY COLLEGE ESTABLISHED IN KINSTON IN 1958

1 IN 52.7 RATIO OF KINSTON HIGH SCHOOL VARSITY PLAYERS WHO MAKE THE NBA, WHICH ESPN SAYS IS UNRIVALED,

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inston has soul and funk, fine cigars and beer, Chef & the Farmer, basketball greats, murals of James Brown and okra. It has sushi eaters and axe throwers, historic houses with rainbow colors and white picket fences. And now it has a Starbucks. The green giant of dark roasts whipped up a venti-sized buzz last summer, just as many eateries and watering holes had ground to a halt in the pandemic. Cars wrapped around the building on opening day by 5:30 a.m. Mayor Don Hardy, who posted pictures of the line on his Facebook page, views the starred crown logo on Kinston’s outskirts as another jewel in the city’s crown. “We’re slowly trying to get back to where we were or better,” says the 39-year-old mayor, reflecting on a virus-vexed year. “I think we’re in a better position than some other folks throughout our state.” He’s quick to run through other corporate names with a presence — and a payroll — in the area. DuPont has had a plant northeast of Kinston for nearly 70 years and now produces the Sorona polymer used in clothing, carpet and other fabrics. The 2,500-acre North Carolina Global TransPark has a cluster of aerospace and logistics companies. Aircraft Solutions USA is building a $100 million plant to recycle aircraft parts and other materials, bringing about 475 jobs. It’s set to open by June 30. COVID-19, for all its disruptions, has had some positive side effects. The virus gave Kinston a shot in the arm with West Pharmaceutical Services launching a $19 million expansion. The company manufactures rubber components, such as vial stoppers and syringe plungers, for vaccines ▲Mayor Don Hardy and treatments. The project will add 90 jobs to its existing staff of 425.

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COURTESY OF BRANDON POTTER, CITY OF KINSTON

MOTHER EARTH BREWING FOUNDED

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▲Whiskey Pig Craft Butchery and Deli, Chef & the Farmer and Mother Earth Brewing are staples in Kinston’s downtown drink and foodie scene.

“We’re in a good position to move forward, to become a thriving city in the east, to be a leader,” Hardy says.

COURTESY OF LOGAN CYRUS AND THE NC RURAL CENTER, BRANDON POTTER

Fruits of fame

ardy grew up in this city of about 20,000 that serves as the H seat of Lenoir County. It’s an on-the-way-to-the-beach stopover along U.S. 70, roughly halfway between Raleigh and the Crystal Coast. But in the past decade, it has become a destination unto itself. Foodies from across the country have made pilgrimages to Kinston for a seat at Chef & the Farmer, the restaurant popular chef Vivian Howard and her husband, Ben Knight, opened on West Gordon Street. It hurtled to fame when Howard, who grew up on a farm outside town, became host of the award-winning PBS series A Chef’s Life. “Naive but determined,” she writes on her website, “I opened Chef & the Farmer in 2006 with the hope that our restaurant might light a spark in our little town and help transition some of eastern Carolina’s displaced tobacco farmers into food farmers.” Howard, 43, brings a modern rendition to classic Southern dishes, with more than 60% of her ingredients raised within a 90-mile radius of Kinston. The restaurant closed for several months during the pandemic and is now open for dinner on Wednesday through Saturday. Howard permanently shuttered the Boiler Room Oyster Bar across the street. That building now houses Jay’s 108, a sleek,

▲Kinston’s Lions Water Adventure is a popular attraction for families.

dimly lit restaurant specializing in sushi, gourmet burgers and a diversity drink menu that includes sake. Opened in October by chef Jay Shin, the restaurant plays homage to the town with a sushi dish called the Kinston, which consists of shrimp tempura, spicy mayo, bluefin tuna, avocado and eel sauce. Shin also owns restaurants in Goldsboro, Greenville and Mount Olive and makes his presence known in town by his white Lamborghini. Stephen Hill, the founder of Mother Earth Brewing, Kinston’s renowned beer maker, leases him space. “I called him up and said, ‘I have space, will you come?’ He took it right away, and it’s doing gangbusters.” As for Mother Earth, it gave birth to Kinston’s craft beer aficionados in 2008, two years after Chef & the Farmer set down roots. Hill, a 59-year-old scion of a wealthy family, and his son-inlaw, Trent Mooring, moved into a renovated brick building that dominates the corner of Heritage and North streets. As the name suggests, Mother Earth is big on the environment: A rooftop solar array powers the taproom, and the insulation is made from recycled blue jeans. It was the first U.S. brewery to earn a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold certification. In recent years, Hill has enlarged his organizaiton in Kinston with the opening of a distillery, Mother Earth Spirits, and the Mother Earth Motor Lodge, a groovily refurbished two-story motel. It features 21st-century comforts with 1960s decor. A classic midcentury sign, featuring an arrow studded with lights, still stands. But a modern crisis has kept the parking lot less than full. “COVID has hurt a lot, but that’s statewide. COVID is just a bad word,” he says. Bookings have dipped at his other hotel, The O’Neil, a seven-room luxury inn located inside the former Farmers & Merchants Bank, built in 1924. He says the pandemic guzzled 20% to 25% of business at the brewery taproom, while

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Kinston

▲ Sculptor Thomas Sayre created art installation “Flue” using earth-casting — a process of casting reinforced concrete — at the former Brooks Tobacco Warehouse site.

▲ Lenoir Community College, founded in 1958, has enrollment of 2,693.

beer sales across the state have increased. “We’re all very hopeful that when this goes away, Kinston will shine again,” he says. In the pre-pandemic days, Scot Elden, owner of a gift shop and food-service venue called Upstairs at the Market, says the crowds from across the nation would descend on Kinston. “During the summer, there was just all kinds of foot traffic. I mean it was just incredible,” he says. “And you knew why they were here: They were spending the night at Mother Earth Lodge and they were eating at Chef & the Farmer.” Chef & the Farmer and Mother Earth cultivated a rebirth in downtown Kinston. Across several blocks west of Queen Street, you can get stir-fry at Laughing Owl Restaurant, calzones at Sugar Hill Pizzeria, fried pickles at Mad Hatter, pecan-smoked pork at Whiskey Pig Craft Butchery and Deli, and you can hurl axes at Ironclad Axe Throwing Co. Shawn Stengele, 42, and his wife, Audrey, opened the venue — which also offers beer, wine and arcade games — on July 1, despite the pandemic. “We managed to pay our bills,” Stengele says, “and were able to create five jobs.” The Stengeles also have an axe-throwing business in New Bern. “We fell in love with the [Kinston] building,” he says. “It’s right here in the heart of downtown. If you’re coming to Kinston, this is where you’re coming.”

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Bryan Mims is a writer and reporter at WRAL-TV in Raleigh.

COURTESY OF BRANDON POTTER, LENOIR COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Soul, cigars and saloons

Queen Street was long known as The Magic Mile, where tobacco warehouses loomed large and people came from across eastern North Carolina to shop and eat. Those spacious warehouses didn’t just echo with the tobacco auctioneer’s voice; they hit the notes as music and dance halls. They were popular stops for jazz bands in the ’30s, ’40s and ’50s. As the Big Band era faded to the Doo-Wop age, the likes of Chubby Checker, Fats Domino, Ray Charles and James Brown put on shows where heaps of tobacco took center stage in late summer. Kinston, bounded on the south by the cypress-lined Neuse River and surrounded by flat farm country, has the feel of a Mississippi Delta town. At the corner of South Queen and Springhill streets, a colorful mural is splashed on a brick wall: “Celebrating Our African American Music Heritage.” Across the street and cozying up to the river lies Kinston Music Park, with its interpretive signs about the area’s virtuosos. The “Godfather of Soul” himself, James Brown, hired several musicians from Kinston to join his band. One of them, Nathaniel “Nat” Jones, was the band director. Kinston is a city whose atmosphere is humid with music history and tobacco heritage. Now it has a humidor that would make any cigar aficionado light up. Manhattan Cigar Lounge opened Nov. 14 on Queen Street. “It was intentional,” says owner Nicholas Harvey, 42, who’s also Lenoir County’s assistant superintendent of schools. “I wanted to open in 2020 so I can look back years and years from now and say something cool came out of 2020. It’s to go along with the breweries and the downtown eateries.” The lounge has leather sofas, chessboards, flat-screen TVs and walls decorated with pictures of well-known Kinston athletes. This city has got game. It’s home to eight players who were either drafted or played in the NBA. Cedric Maxwell, Charles Shackleford, Jerry Stackhouse, Reggie Bullock and Brandon Ingram are among the local basketball phenoms who made it big. Kinston is like that: Young people pursue their passion and take on the world, only to discover that they can go home again and pursue their happiness. At Jay’s 108, Travis Harper, 28, is tending bar. He has a bushy, reddish brown beard juxtaposed by a neatly parted haircut. He grew up outside town, and his footloose ways had him traveling the world throughout his 20s. Now he’s returned to Kinston with plans to open a “little hole-in-the-wall” downtown saloon in May. He’ll never fully suppress his wanderlust, but he’s ready to settle down in a town that keeps upping its cool quotient. “I want to be a part of it,” he says. “We do need some young people coming in with new ideas and new things.” A school administrator selling cigars. Families throwing axes. A Lamborghini-driving sushi connoisseur. Top it off with a white chocolate mocha from Starbucks, and you’ll get a taste of this eclectic community called Kinston. ■

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