Economic Development February Recap

New and Expanding Metrics since Oct. 1, 2019:   

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Project Metrics

Recent News and Events

Marketing & Public Relations

Seven Reasons Why Both You and Your Wallet Will Love Raleigh, N.C.
Raleigh pairs an easy lifestyle and low cost of living with endless activities and abundant opportunities, making it one of the country's fastest-growing cities. The Ascent from The Motley Fool shows why moving to Raleigh could improve your life and help you save more money. 

NC State and Delta Partner on Commercial Application of Quantum
Delta Air Lines has announced it will be the founding industry partner to join the IBM Q Hub at NC State, as part of a multi-year collaborative effort to explore the capabilities and potential commercial applications of quantum computing. Read more in the Digital Journal here. 

The 10 Best Cities in the U.S. to Move to Right Now
Choosing where to live is one of the most personal, stressful, and meaningful choices you can make. That’s why Curbed cast a wide net to put together a list of where you should live in the U.S. in 2020. The cities were chosen were based on a list of criteria—walkability, park access, diversity, housing costs, job opportunities, and more—that together add up to that essential, but elusive, trait: livability. Read the article to see why Raleigh made the list.

RollingStone Covers Raleigh's Music Scene
The Triangle, as it’s called, has become a hotbed of independent music recently, with artists from across the country flocking to the area, driven by its cheap rents and ample service jobs. Read the new RollingStone article to learn more. 

IBM and NC State Are Leading the Development of a New Quantum Ecosystem
IBM and North Carolina State University are leading the massive amount of research that will be needed to create the full quantum computer ecosystem. Nextbigfuture interviewed Dan Stancil, executive director of the IBM Q Hub. He talked about the research partnership with IBM Q Hub and NC State.

Five Cities Where Homes Could Make A Good Investment in 2020
To get a sense of which markets across the country would be best for buying a home strictly as an investment, Curbed conducted a meta-analysis, looking at metro-level real estate studies by the Urban Land Institute, Realtor.com, and the National Association of Realtors. Raleigh is listed as one of five metros with affordable areas attractive to homeowners. 

Glassdoor Ranks Raleigh for Jobs
North Carolina’s capital city is No. 1 on the “Best Cities for Jobs in the US,” according to a new report from employment and jobs website Glassdoor. Read more.

Municipal Updates:

Apex

Town of Apex Electric Utilities Dept. Receives “Excellence in Workforce Development” Award from ElectriCities
The Town of Apex Electric Utilities Department recently received the “Excellence in Workforce Development” award from ElectriCities. The award honors communities that promote a workforce plan to attract, develop, and retain the necessary human talent to provide safe, reliable power and lead public power forward. Read more.

Cary

Wake County, Raleigh Approve Multi-million Dollar Sports Complex for Cary Towne Center
Both the Wake County Board of Commissioners and the Raleigh City Council have approved the use of tourism taxes to fund construction of a multi-use, indoor sports complex at Cary Towne Center. The 239,000-square-foot complex would take up five of the 38 acres in the mall's redevelopment and include flexible space for multiple basketball or volleyball courts, locker rooms, storage, meeting spaces, and a capacity for 4,000 spectators. The rest of the space could be used for restaurants, stores, hotels, or offices. Read more.

Epic Games Takes on Nike Exec as New President
The former chief digital officer for Nike is coming onto the Epic Games team as its new President. After a little over 5years at Nike, hee and his family are very excited about the opportunity with Epic games and to move to North Carolina. Read more.

Kinston Health Care Company Purchases 22.9 Acres for Senior Living Center
Britthaven, Inc. paid $6.75 million for 22.9 acres of vacant land with plans to build a 70,000 square-foot nursing home. Future phases of the site could feature a collection of office buildings. Read more.

Triangle's First Roundabout Interchange Opens in Cary
This month marks the opening of the Triangle's first completed roundabout interchange - serving 540, via Morrisville Parkway in west Cary. Read more.

Garner

300,000 Square Feet of Class A Office Space Coming to Garner
The Town Council unanimously approved a project that will bring 300,000 square feet of Class A professional office space—with some limited retail and restaurant space—to an approximately 22-acre site at the southwest corner of East Garner and Jones Sausage Roads. The new Eastern Wake Innovation Center  will be the largest office park project in Garner’s history. Garner-based Direct Distributors, Inc., and the Trustwell Property Group are teaming up on the project. Read more.

Raleigh

Hotel & Office Tower RFI Period Still Open
Raleigh City Council has approved the release of a Request for Information (RFI) for a convention center hotel and an office/mixed-use building. The goal of the RFI is to seek interested developers for the hotel and office/mixed-use sites. . Innovation, quality design and construction, and sustainability are important value to the City for this transformational project. Read more.

Brewgaloo Named #1 Best Beer Festival
Brewgaloo, downtown Raleigh's annual local beer festival in April, was named #1 Best Beer Festival in the US from USA Today’s 10 Best. Those who attend the festival enjoy beers from more than 100 North Carolina breweries paired with bites from 50 food trucks and vendors, all to the sounds of live music. The Raleigh festival is the largest of its kind in the state and the second largest in the U.S. This year’s event will take place April 24-25. Read more.

Impact Partner Grant Cycle Opens, Info Sessions Scheduled
The City of Raleigh’s Office of Economic Development is accepting applications for  the Impact Partner Grant through April 15. The Impact Partner Grant provides up to $25,000 of funding to organizations that  serve under-represented entrepreneurs and small businesses in Raleigh by developing, implementing, and scaling new or existing programs and resources. Two information sessions will be held on March 10 and 11 for interested parties. Read more.

Building Upfit Grant Sees Increase in Applications
The City of Raleigh’s Office of Economic Development and Innovation closed the third round of Building Up-fit Grants on Feb. 24 after receiving 10 applications. The next cycle of the Building Up-fit Grant opens Monday, April 6 and is available to small businesses who are seeking to expand their business by increasing the tax value of a commercial property. Exclusions apply. Read more.  

Boutique Hotel Opens in Downtown Raleigh
The Longleaf, formerly a Days Inn located in Raleigh’s northern gateway, opened in February as a boutique hotel. The hotel has vintage décor and maintains the original architecture from the days in which it was a motor lodge.The new hotel features an additional 57 hotel rooms and  a lounge serving coffee and drinks. Read more.

Tech Consulting Firm Hylaine Opens Raleigh Office
Hylaine, a technology-consulting firm headquartered in Charlotte,  announced the opening of its new office on Six Forks Road in Raleigh. By the end of 2020, the company expects the Raleigh office to have 15 to 20 employees. The firm provides project-based solutions for mid-market to Fortune 500 companies. Read more.

Live & Local Spring Fest Planned for April
Hillsborough Street Live & Local Spring Fest 2020  The festival will take place along Hillsborough Street in Raleigh directly across NC State University on Saturday, April 18 from 12-7 p.m. It will be produced by Artsplosure, and the Raleigh Arts Festival, Inc., in partnership with Live it Up! Hillsborough Street. The event will feature live music, art, food trucks, along with children and community activities. There’s even an opportunity to volunteer! Read more.

Raleigh Small Business Connect
The City of Raleigh, in partnership with the Carolina Small Business Development Fund, Women’s Business Center of NC, Raleigh Chamber, and Wake Technical Community College, will host the third annual Raleigh Small Business Connect on May 12 at the McKimmon Center. Interested attendees can expect sessions on access to capital, marketing, and an opportunity to hear personal experiences from local small business owners in Raleigh. More information coming soon – see last year’s details here.

Rolesville

Rolesville Awarded over $4.8 Million in Transportation Grant Money to Improve Main Street
The Town of Rolesville has been awarded funding from the Locally Administered Projects Program (LAPP) under CAMPO to complete two projects to enhance and revitalize Main Street. One grant project will re-create US Hwy 401 Business and includes streetscape improvements, crosswalks, new sidewalks, more. . The other project will improve the Burlington Mills Road/Main Street intersection by realigning Burlington Mills Road. The grant provides 80% of the total project costs while the Town contributes 20%. Read more. 

Charlotte-based Developer Announces Plans for 70-acre Mixed-use Destination
A Charlotte-based developer, Crosland Southeast, has announced plans for Wallbrook – a proposed 70-acre community with retail, restaurant, and medical office space, as well as more than 100 new homes, located at the intersection of Main Street and Burlington Mills Road. The site was identified by the Town of Rolesville in its Main Street Vision Plan as a catalyst site for spurring economic development. Read the TBJ article to learn more.

Recent Rankings

For a full list of rankings, please download the Raleigh/Wake County Rankings Flyer.