Perspectives: Economy

Partnership Raleigh’s goal is to employ young adults aged 17-21, providing experience, training and life skills

( ) corners of the country, strong housing demand, nonstop investment from both national and international firms and a supportive government, the Triangle region is set to emerge from the pandemic stronger than ever. As the competition heats up, the question will be whether the businesses and public sector in the region will move quickly enough to capitalize on its momentum and maintain its position as one of the most attractive locations in the United States to do business. The likely answer to that, given the Triangle’s track record, is yes. But authorities must also ensure that growth is equitable. As housing values soar, affordable housing concerns are emerging as lifelong Triangle residents are priced out of their communities. According to Harvard University’s The State of the Nation’s Housing 2021 report, a disproportionately large share of households struggling with housing affordability are those with low incomes and people of color.

Perspectives: Economy

Jimmy Randolph

CEO – Sanford Area Growth Alliance Job growth is very strong here right now. We have a major Caterpillar facility here that manufactures skid-steer loaders. They recently announced they’re adding 200 more employees. Abzena Holdings will be siting a contract manufacturing facility here in our second shell building. We do have a significant presence in food services and they are hiring as well. I would say that our challenge moving forward is continuing to meet the workforce needs. We are exceptionally well-positioned to do that because of our proximity to the Research Triangle. We’re just 15 minutes from the I-540 outer loop around Raleigh at Central Carolina Enterprise Park and we draw from a workforce of close to half a million within a 40-minute commute.

Nicole Thompson

President & CEO – Downtown Durham, Inc. We’re seeing a lot of startups in our Downtown area. We’ve got BioLabs NC that’s 100% leased with a waiting list. There are only four or five of these biolabs across the country. Longfellow Real Estate Partners is converting office space into lab space at its Durham Innovation District in Downtown, and SLI Capital and Trinity Capital Advisors are constructing a 200,000-square-foot class-A office/lab space at the Roxboro at Venable Center. With Google coming in, that will put more attention on class-A office space for IT and financial services. And of course, Downtown Durham will always remain a space for small entrepreneurs, whether it be locally owned retail, bars and restaurants or artists or tech-based.

Professional

Services:

The Triangle demonstrated extraordinary resilience to the negative impacts of the pandemic, with uninterrupted investment flows directed primarily to its tech and life sciences industries. With its unabated growth, Raleigh-Durham has become a natural haven for professional services companies.