Local News

Toyota Racing Development USA Update

The development of the former Cline site at Peach Orchard and Old Concord roads is moving forward.
The purchase of the 89-acre state certified site closed on January 28, 2007 with Toyota Racing Development USA paying $25,000 per acre for a total of $2,233,500. A 35,000-square-foot facility is initially planned to house its NASCAR competition group and chassis engineering operations employing at least 40 people. Toyota Racing Development USA officials have said they would probably sell a portion of the property at a later date for development by affiliated or similar enterprises.

Land clearing is expected to begin this spring with a ground-breaking ceremony tentatively planned for early summer and a construction completion date set for late 2008.

Earlier this month, Rowan County Commissioners requested the Cabarrus-Rowan Metropolitan Planning Organization remove a planned extension and realignment of St. Paul's Church Road through the property in a revised thoroughfare plan.

The Salisbury- Rowan Economic Development Commission was the lead agency working closely with site selection consultants, regional economic developers, company officials, local officials, landowners and others in the selection process. Along with Rowan Jobs Initiative, a groundbreaking and welcoming reception is planned for early summer.

Yadkin River Bridge

The future of the Interstate 85 Bridge over the Yadkin River has received increased focus in recent months. Currently, Interstate 85 will not be widened for the approximate seven mile stretch between the current project South of Long Ferry Road and the US 29 interchange in Davidson County with the roadway remaining 4 lanes and an inadequate 50 year-old bridge staying in place. There is no funding for the bridge and no timetable is in place. The bridge over the Yadkin is considered functionally obsolete and will be at the end of its structural life span by 2010.

The Salisbury- Rowan Economic Development Commission is extremely concerned about the project due to the potential adverse impact with industrial recruitment and the issue of safety. The presence of Interstate 85 in Rowan County is a competitive advantage in recruiting and retaining businesses to the community and if the capacity of the roadway is not increased to meet demand, this factor is diminished or negated. Distribution activities rely on the road to get products out in a timely, efficient manner. The bottleneck of lanes and condition of the bridge has caused traffic jams and is a safety concern.

On March 21, Randy Harrell, Executive Director, addressed the N.C. House Transportation Committee to support the House Bill 292 "Accelerated Yadkin River Bridge Replacement". The Bill is sponsored by Rep. Lorene Coates and Rep. Fred Steen and would authorize the NC Turnpike Authority to construct a replacement bridge and widen Interstate 85 through the seven mile gap. The Transportation Committee Chairperson appointed a sub-committee to address several questions and tighten the language of the proposed legislation.

The Salisbury- Rowan Economic Development Commission will continue to monitor the progress of the legislation in cooperation with the Rowan Chamber of Commerce and other alliances in the future. A united front calling for action on this issue is appropriate and your active support is requested.

Urban Progress Zone                     

The City of Salisbury is applying with the NC Department of Commerce for three Urban Progress Zones (UPZ). As part of North Carolina's Article 3J tax credits program, the UPZ program provides economic incentives to stimulate new investment and job creation in economically distressed urban areas and replaces the State Development Zone program. A UPZ is an area comprised of one or more contiguous census tracts, census block groups, or both, or parts thereof, in the most recent federal decennial census that meet specific poverty level and non-residential zoning criteria.

Zones become effective on the date the zone application is approved, and remain in effect through December 31 of the subsequent year. Municipalities with a population in excess of 10,000 may request the designation of an UPZ.

The three UPZ under consideration are: Downtown , Industrial Ave and Jake Alexander. Click for a full map of each location.

Additional UPZ are being evaluated and may be applied for in the future.

Micropolitan Comparison                                  

Site Selection magazine ranked Salisbury as one of the Top Micropolitan areas for new and expanded corporate facilities in 2006. Salisbury was ranked tied for 60th of the 3,142 counties in the U.S. The Census Bureau classifies 674 counties as micropolitan areas because they have a population under 50,000 and their local economies are largely self- sustaining. Numerous other cities in the Charlotte region and the State of North Carolina were profiled in the article discussing the locational benefits of and ranking micropolitan areas.

Fairgrounds

The Rowan County Commissioners have opened discussion concerning the “highest and best use” of the property owned by the County on Julian Rd currently used as the Rowan County Fairgrounds. The Salisbury-Rowan Economic Development Commission believes that it is extremely important that the Rowan County Commissioners assess the land for future development and not make a rush to judgment.

The county-owned fairgrounds could tie in with the Summit Corporate Center which is located across Julian Rd and the North Campus of Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, located just north of the site. County Commissioners have said the site is too valuable to retain as fairgrounds and that major industrial or commercial projects could bring jobs and sales tax may be better suited to the location. A 50 year, $1 a year lease held by the Rowan County Agricultural and Industrial Fair Association expires in November.

Recently some of the non-fair events have garnered discussion by the County Commissioners and press coverage. The County Commission has directed that marketing of the site begin immediately and it has been listed with the Salisbury-Rowan Economic Development Commission for sale. Additionally, the Rowan County Manager has been directed to start looking for other property that could be used as a fairground.

Safety Award for Invista

On March 14, 2007, N.C. Commissioner of Labor Cherie Berry honored Invista with the Carolina Star achievement award for safety. The award recognizes safety criteria attainment and an ability to control safety and health hazards in the workplace. Additionally, injury rates at the business must be at least 50 percent below the state rate for the industry. Invista is the first business in Rowan County to obtain the award after completing an extensive self-review, application and OSHNC on-site review.

Invista has over 600 full-time and 225 contract employees at the site off Statesville Blvd (U.S. 70) producing and distributing industrial products such as filament yarn, polyester chip and multiplex cordage.

More information on the program is available from the NC Department of Labor website http://www.nclabor.com/osha/star/star.htm.

Industrial Revenue Bond Approved

The Rowan County Commissioners unanimously approved the issuing of $11.9 million of bonds for Taylor Clay Products Inc through the Industrial Revenue Bond Financing program. The bonds combine and refinance two previously approved industrial bond packages, one approved in 1999 and one in 2006. Approval by the NC Department of Commerce and the Local Government Commission is also necessary before the bonds can be issued.

The program, administered by the NC Department of Commerce provides low-interest loans through tax-exempt bonds to qualifying industries. The bonds are an incentive to assist new and expanding industry while seeing that North Carolinians get good jobs at good wages. The regulations governing bond issuance are a combination of federal regulations and North Carolina statutes.

Please contact the Salisbury- Rowan Economic Development Commission with your additional questions on the program.

Upgrade at the EDC offices

The Salisbury- Rowan Economic Development Commission strives to remain competitive with its business resources. Some of the primary devices utilized in economic development efforts include the computers and presentation equipment in the Board Room and are in the process of being upgraded. Technology changes rapidly and it is imperative to keep equipment current to remain competitive.

Get to know the EDC

Jeanie Moore was appointed to the board of the Salisbury- Rowan Economic Development Commission in 2003 by the Rowan County Commissioners and currently serves as Treasurer. She is Vice President of Continuing Education for Rowan-Cabarrus Community College (RCCC), responsible for Continuing Education, Pre-College Studies, New & Expanding Industry and Focused Industrial Training and Small Business Center activities. Jeanie is RCCC’s primary contact with Economic and Workforce Development partners in the region and coordinates local and regional biotechnology initiatives for the College.

She is actively involved in the community and serves on the Economic Development Board of the Centralina Council of Government, Rowan County Chamber of Commerce Workforce Alliance, Rowan-Salisbury High School Task Force and numerous other initiatives. Jeanie received her B. A. from Greensboro College, M.A. from Appalachian State University and has completed course work at UNC at Greensboro. Jeanie is a native of Rowan County and has been married for 32 years to Jack Moore. They have two sons who reside in Winston- Salem and Chapel Hill.  

Since March 1999, Randy M. Harrell has been employed as Executive Director of the Salisbury-Rowan Economic Development Commission.  Prior to his present position, he was employed as Executive Director of the Elizabeth City-Pasquotank County Economic Development Commission from 1987 to 1999. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Education from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and a Master of Science in Education from Old Dominion University. He also received a certificate of Advanced Studies from Old Dominion University. In addition to Randy’s college degrees, he has successfully completed course requirements at the University of Oklahoma, University of NC at Chapel Hill, and The NC Rural Economic Development Institute.

Randy is a past president and former board member of the NC Economic Developers Association, a past member of the NC State Economic Development Board (Governor appointee), a former board member of the Southern Economic Development Council, a past Chairman of the NC Economic Development Advisory Committee and is a former trustee for The College of the Albemarle in Elizabeth City (Governor appointee). He is a past president of the Rotary Club of Salisbury. Presently, he serves as chairman of the Economic Development Advisory Committee of the Charlotte Regional Partnership and is a member of the Executive Governing Board.  Randy and his wife, Gin, of 37 years reside in Salisbury.  They have one son, who is married and lives in Clayton, and one grandson.