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In
30 years with CT Communications, Troy Barnhardt did more than watch Cabarrus
County grow. As director of network services for the telecommunications services
company, he spent a career weaving telephone wire through some of the county’s
most significant buildings, including Lowe’s Motor Speedway when it opened in
the early 1960s, the massive Philip Morris cigarette plant in Concord, and by
the late 1990s, Concord Mills, the mega mall off I-85 with its mile-long avenue
of stores that is now the state’s top tourist attraction.
The work by Barnhardt and many others like him fostered the growth of Cabarrus
County, where the population exploded by 32.5 percent from 1990 to 2000, making
it one of the five fastest-growing counties in the state. Now retired, Barnhardt
serves as mayor of the small town of Mount Pleasant, one of the county’s few
remaining rural spots.
When Barnhardt, 61, was growing up in the community of Cold Springs in eastern
Cabarrus County, race car driving was considered a bit of an “outlaw thing,”
with dirt tracks attracting crowds on the weekends. “As a child I remember
N.C. 49 being graded and put through our community,” says Barnhardt.
Now, most everyone — race fan or not — knows Cabarrus County as the Center
of American Motor Sports. Although it sits in the shadow of its bigger neighbor,
Mecklenburg, few counties have such a well-formed public persona as Cabarrus.
With the speedway attracting a crowd double the size of just one Super Bowl
three times a year, NASCAR motorsports is more than a weekend pastime. Racing is
now a major sector of the economy and a promise of new jobs ahead.
When political pundits talk of “NASCAR Dads” as the demographic most likely
to impact this year’s presidential election, they are talking about folks like
those in Cabarrus County — blue and white-collar workers with growing
influence and a pragmatic approach.
 Left: Cabarrus
Arena & Events Center has 227,000 square feet of meeting space, and the main
arena can set up to 6,000
Big-City Amenities, Small-Town Charm
Much of the growth in Cabarrus comes from the spillover from Charlotte as
families escape the city looking for better home values and a slower pace of
living. One of those was Jim Williams, an architect who has designed buildings
throughout Japan and across the United States. He chose to live with his family
in Concord when he took the job as lead design architect for Little Diversified
Architectural Consulting, based in Charlotte.
After maintaining a rigorous travel schedule for work and living an expensive
lifestyle in Dallas, Texas, Williams and his wife Shelley wanted a slower pace
where both could spend more time with their children and enjoy more of life’s
simple pleasures.
Their home on Grove Avenue in the historic district of downtown Concord affords
Williams the pleasure of walking with his kids on Saturday mornings to enjoy
breakfast at the Red Pig Barbecue Drive-In. His wife can sit on the front porch
and literally see into the elementary school across the street where the
youngest child is enrolled. The library and bank are an easy stroll away.
“The things that Concord has, so many other communities are trying to
create,” says Williams. “It’s a true walkable community with true
neighborhood schools.”
Concord, the county seat, grew even faster than the county during the 1990s,
almost doubling to 55,977 residents. Kannapolis, the county’s other major
city, is not far behind with 38,000 citizens.
Cabarrus County broke off from Mecklenburg County in 1792 and was named for
Stephen Cabarrus, speaker of the Commons and the man who cast the deciding vote
in the county’s creation.
The City of Concord was founded four years later, and the name means harmony, to
reflect what originally started out as a conflict between Scotch-Irish and
German settlements on where the county seat of Cabarrus County ought to be.
Concord retains its genteel downtown neighborhoods with Italianate, Queen Anne
and Colonial Revival homes under a massive tree canopy. Its downtown includes
such sights as 94 Union Street, the circa 1928 home of textile magnate Charles
A. Cannon, who developed Cannon Mills into a textile giant.
Concord’s downtown has been reborn over the past decade with investments from
private entrepreneurs and the City Council and the steady guidance of the
Concord Downtown Development Corp.
From July 2002 to December 2003, the downtown had a net gain of 19 new
businesses with 95 new jobs gained. A total investment in the downtown surpassed
$2.8 million. “It’s our feeling that the downtown is like the heart of the
body and if the heart is not healthy the body is not healthy,” says Concord
Mayor Scott Padgett.
New must-sees in downtown Concord include the George Washington Bookstore and
Tavern and Union Street Bistro. Developers are also seeking to redevelop the
historic Cabarrus Creamery property and to spend $4.5 million to convert it into
shops, restaurants, offices, townhomes and of course, an ice cream parlor.
Kannapolis, too, retains the charm that made it a special place a century ago.
The city lies in both Cabarrus and Rowan counties and was built beginning in
1906 when industrialist James William Cannon bought several farms and built
Cannon Mills Co. Under the management of his son, Charles, Cannon became the
world’s largest producer of sheets and towels.
The company’s influence was so pervasive that at many high school graduation
ceremonies decades ago, Cannon would announce to the entire graduating class
that a job awaited them at Cannon Mills if they applied.
Cannon Mills was sold to Fieldcrest Mills Inc. in 1985 and then to the Pillowtex
Corp. in 1997. Last year, sadly, Pillowtex closed for good, creating the single
biggest layoff in North Carolina’s history.
Those wounds have yet to heal, but Kannapolis is relying on the strengths it
still possesses to rebuild its economy. The city is working to diversify its
employment base and attract new industry with the development of Kannapolis
Gateway Business Park along Highway 73.
Downtown Kannapolis remains one of the largest and best-preserved mill villages
in the South, and shoppers regularly flock to Cannon Village for an afternoon of
shopping for furniture and enjoying the scenic surroundings. Those now include
the Dale Earnhardt Tribute, which was erected after the death of NASCAR’s most
famous driver. The city’s own professional Class A baseball team shares his
memory and name — the Intimidators.
Cabarrus County has three other incorporated towns. Harrisburg, which is closest
to the Mecklenburg County line, is predicted to be one of the fastest growing
areas in the Greater Charlotte region over the next few years. Once the ongoing
I-485 Charlotte loop is completed, the commute from Harrisburg will be even
faster. The town grew by 176 percent between the 1990 and 2000 census to almost
4,500 residents.
The town of Mount Pleasant in the eastern part of the county got started when
the Lutheran Church established a male academy there. The town retains several
mid-19th century building and homes, and has some 1,300 citizens. Then there’s
Midland, in eastern Cabarrus County, which voted to incorporate and become the
county’s newest town in 2000. That year it had just over 2,500 residents.
“We are a suddenly developing community with a lot that has been thrust upon
us in a relatively short period of time,” says John Cox, CEO of the Cabarrus
Regional Chamber of Commerce. “We have some catching up to do, but it’s
tough to wake up one day and have all of the responsibility that comes along
with all of this growth.”
 Right:
A nine-foot, 900-pound bronze statue at Cannon Village in Kannapolis pays
tribute to a hometown hero, the late race car driving legend Dale Earnhardt
Mecca of Motorsports
Even in its few remaining rural areas, growth is happening all around Cabarrus
County. And a good portion of the growth can be attributed to business and
industry locating in this motorsports Mecca.
To understand the environment that business and industry operates in one must
first understand the impact of motorsports on the psyche as well as the
pocketbooks of almost everyone in the region.
UNC Charlotte economist Jon Connaughton says motorsports tourism is worth $200
million a year to the greater Charlotte area. In Cabarrus County, that not only
means visitors spending money, but also the permanent presence of several race
teams that have moved here and built headquarters buildings around Concord
Regional Airport. Those race teams bring employees, high wages and plenty of
star power. Their shops also attract ancillary businesses that work with the
motor sports industry and operate better when they are close by.
Just late last year, Chip Ganassi Racing, which fields three NASCAR teams in the
circuit’s top series, announced it would move its headquarters from
Mooresville to Concord. The company will have 150 employees. Ganassi joins
Hendrick Motorsports, with some 500 employees, and Roush Racing, with about 120,
in the city.
Roush Racing moved to Concord from Huntersville and plans as part of its new $75
million headquarters a museum that’s expected to draw 200,000 visitors
annually. Hendrick Motorsports regularly draws just as many visitors. “Now,
Concord is home to the three large multi-car race teams in the area,” says
Padgett, the city’s mayor.
The combination of Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Concord Regional Airport, which
serves the race teams, and I-85 have made Cabarrus attractive to motorsports
teams.
While motorsports is composed of many small operations and race teams, the
average wage of workers is much higher than in manufacturing and the jobs appear
to be more stable. “There is an intense interest in racing,” says Ewing.
“It’s part of our identity and there is a deep psychological connection to
racing.”
You don’t have to tell that to Richard Mynatt, president of Ben Mynatt
Chevrolet Oldsmobile Cadillac. Mynatt supplies all of the cars to Lowe’s’
Motor Speedway, a Chevrolet-sponsored track, including the pace cars, emergency
vehicles and vans for tours. “There’s that old saying, ‘Win a race on
Sunday, sell a car on Monday,” says Mynatt of the love affair between
Chevrolets, Fords and Pontiacs and race fans.
Mynatt’s sister, Cyndie Mynatt Childress, is president of the auto
dealership’s Pontiac, Buick and GMC division, and was named Time magazine’s
Quality Dealer of the year for the state last year.
Richard and Cyndie’s parents, Ben and Grace Mynatt, purchased the Chevrolet
dealership in Concord in 1976 and grew it to a megastore that sells every make
and model of General Motors automobile and light and medium-duty truck.
Along the way, says Richard Mynatt, his parents instilled in he and his sister
the importance of giving back to the community. Today, Mynatt serves on several
boards, including Barber-Scotia College, while Cyndie is president of the
Cabarrus Chamber of Commerce and Grace Mynatt is chair of the Cabarrus County
Board of Education. “The growth in Cabarrus County has been really good for
us,” he says.
The importance of the business of racing can’t be overstated in Cabarrus.
NASCAR selected Cabarrus County as the location for its NASCAR Research
Development Center, a $10 million facility that opened in January 2003 and
focuses on research into safety, competition and cost containment in motorsports
racing. The 61,000-square-foot facility is the first of its kind to be operated
by a motor sports sanctioning body.
The center studies issues ranging from carbon-fiber driver’s seat to designing
soft walls around racetracks to absorb the impact of a crash. The center also
studies what is permissible on cars that compete in sanctioned contests. The
facility employs 20 technicians and administrative employees but it could
eventually double its workforce. NASCAR has said the new center will generate
$100 million in product development and future investment.
But racing isn’t all of what Cabarrus County is about. It’s also home to
S&D Coffee. Though it might not carry the name recognition of Starbucks or
even JFG, S&D continues to grow and is now the largest coffee supplier to
McDonald’s Corp. and the exclusive coffee and tea supplier to Wendy’s
International Inc. and Ryan’s Family Steak Houses Inc. The company is
privately held by the J. Roy Davis Sr. family.
In 2000, S&D added a third high-tech roaster and boosted the facility’s
capacity to 100 million pounds of coffee per year. It now employs some 400
people at its Concord headquarters and another 400 in route sales jobs.
Philip Morris USA is the county’s second-largest employer with 2,900 employees
working in a 2.4 million square foot facility, all under one roof. The facility
is located on a sprawling, 2,100-acre campus just down Concord Parkway from
S&D Coffee. Philip Morris is considering constructing two new buildings and
has asked the county to consider incentives for a $140 million upgrade in its
equipment that will make the plant the most up-to-date technologically of any
cigarette manufacturer.
Granite Quarry-based F&M Bank has saturated the market in Rowan County and
after 95 years there plans to grow into Cabarrus County with its first Cabarrus
branch office. The bank, with $375 million in assets, is headquartered in
Granite Quarry.
Likewise, Technologies Edge has found fertile ground for growing its technology
services among municipal governments and agencies, which rely on the latest
technology to do their jobs better. The Cabarrus County Sheriff’s
Department’s web site offers the department a new means of communicating with
citizens by giving them an avenue to correspond about issues with bail, warrants
and meeting with inmates. The department’s video conferencing system also
helps with training and provides connection to other agencies during times of
crisis.
Technologies Edge has performed as the City of Concord’s IT arm for the past
seven years, establishing the official city web site and deploying a citywide
Geographic Information System that allows for the city’s first ever network of
maps.
CM Black Construction Co. Inc., run by the father and son team of Emmitt and
Clinton Black, has been called upon often when growth meant constructing a new
building. Some of the more significant projects in CM Black’s portfolio
include the CT Communications corporate headquarters visible from I-85, the
NASCAR Research and Development Center, S&D Coffee’s warehouse and roaster
building and Barber-Scotia’s Honor’s Complex.
New and Expanding Industries
Although it boasts a highly diversified economy with many promising avenues of
growth, Cabarrus County was dealt two severe blows over the past three years
when misfortune struck two companies that had been among the pillars of the
economy.
The Pillowtex shutdown came 18 months after a decision by New York-based Corning
Inc., facing a drastic drop in demand for optical fiber, halted production and
furloughed 800 employees at its Cabarrus County plant in Midland.
Those two major setbacks are a major reason why the unemployment rate in
Cabarrus County stands at 8 percent. “Obviously the backlash of the Pillowtex
layoffs is still with us,” says Maurice Ewing, president of Cabarrus Economic
Development.
But plenty of good news has come recently. “Since the first of 2004 we have
had about $85 million worth of projects go through our incentive process,”
says Ewing, who explains that the county’s economic development program offers
businesses a portion of their property tax back over time as an incentive to
locate or expand in Cabarrus County.
One project is Perdue Farms Inc., which already has begun an expansion to its
chicken processing plant in Concord, adding $14 million in new equipment and
adding 100 jobs to a workforce of 410.
Another project is Stanley Works, which is completing a $13 million addition to
the toolmaker’s distribution center in Kannapolis. The project will add
another 100 jobs.
And National Tour Inc., which makes transporter trailers for hauling race cars,
is moving to Concord from California and will grow to 200 employees within five
years. “All told, we are looking at 500 new jobs and all of them have
materialized since the start of the year,” says Ewing. “We are very
confident that we’re headed in the right direction.
“We haven’t gained 3,500 jobs like we lost (from Pillowtex) but we are
seeing pretty big chunks of jobs in NASCAR and in retail,” adds Concord City
Manager Brian Hiatt.
Although salaries there generally aren’t as high as in manufacturing, Concord
Mills employs some 3,500 people with another 1,000 part-time workers during the
holiday season.
Through difficult times with mass layoffs, the community has rallied to help
those affected by plant closings. And Rowan-Cabarrus Community College has been
on the front lines retraining workers to gain the skills they need for new jobs.
When Pillowtex announced its layoffs, state and local officials went to work to
help the business community absorb the workers, creating a JobLink Resource
Center at Plant 4 in Kannapolis. The building that once hummed with looms
weaving towels and sheets now functions as a satellite office for the Employment
Security Commission and nine federal agencies as well as a recruiting site,
computer lab and registration center for classes at Rowan-Cabarrus Community
College.
Within a few months of the announced layoffs, the college had admitted as many
as 800 displaced Pillowtex workers, who enrolled in classes in adult basic
education or to earn their high school equivalency certificate. Another 200 were
bound for college degrees.
Rowan-Cabarrus Community College serves students recently graduated from high
school to those seeking to prepare for a better job. The college has a north
campus located in Salisbury and a south campus located in Concord.
Barber-Scotia College, which was founded as Scotia Seminary in 1867 for
African-American women to become teachers and social workers, is located in
Concord. Barber-Scotia College, as it came to be known in 1932 when it merged
with Barber Memorial College of Alabama, began granting bachelors degrees in
1945. The college is historically related to the Presbyterian Church (USA).
Just as in higher education, residents in Cabarrus are privy to one of the
region’s most lauded hospitals for medical care. NorthEast Medical Center
began when Charles A. Cannon wanted a way to ensure healthcare for his many
workers at Cannon Mills. The original “sick house” was replaced by a public
hospital in 1935.
The hospital has grown to a regional medical center with an extensive inpatient
and outpatient network. The hospital has 457 acute care beds, a comprehensive
mix of outpatient services and 26 clinics. NorthEast offers an extensive array
of acute care services, including a designated Comprehensive Community Cancer
Center, open-heart surgery and neurosurgery.
The hospital employs more than 3,200 people, rivaling Concord Mills as the
county’s largest employer. “It’s interesting that the hospital started by
Charles Cannon to take care of Cannon Mills, once the county’s largest
employer, is now the county’s largest employer,” says Cox of the chamber.
NorthEast Medical Center has been designated as one of the nation’s 100 Top
Hospitals for two consecutive years, based on clinical quality, operation and
financial indicators, by Solucient, a national healthcare database company.
Further, NorthEast is the only magnet hospital in the Charlotte region, and one
of only 58 in the country, chosen by the American Nurses Credentialing Center
for excellence in nursing. Out of 6,000 hospitals in the country, only 102 have
achieved this designation.
Lots to Do Beside Racing
Residents of Cabarrus County enjoy the diverse economy, ample opportunities for
education and outstanding healthcare, but those are the benefits of living here.
Those who come to visit Cabarrus County see the more public face, which is
mostly about racing. “We are a lot more than racing, but racing is what we are
known for,” says Cox.
And while a shopping destination may be the top tourist attraction in the state,
Concord Mills doesn’t hesitate to trade on the racing theme with a racetrack decor
and a newly opened recreational speedway for shoppers.
Concord Mills has become the de facto epicenter of NASCAR. The concept of
shopping mixed with entertainment takes on a whole new meaning for race fans who
can often spot race team crew members eating lunch in the massive food court.
“Concord is the kind of place where if you want to carry around a Sharpie you
can get a lot of autographs,” says Cox.
The $240 million mall opened in September 1999 and last year overtook the Blue
Ridge Parkway to become the No. 1 tourist attraction in the state with more than
15.3 million visitors in 2003.
The area along Speedway Boulevard and I-85 surrounding the mall, which is owned
by The Mills Corp. of Arlington, Va., is now teaming with hotels, restaurants
and attractions.
The mall’s nearby neighbor, Lowe’s Motor Speedway, moved up on the
most-visited-tourist-attractions list by three spots to the No. 12 ranking with
1.25 million visitors a year.
Concord Mayor Padgett was at the first race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in 1960,
and the retired elementary school principal has worked at races ever since
selling tickets and other activities. “You know the old country song,
‘I was country when country wasn’t cool. That’s the way it is with
racing,” says Padgett. “Now it’s OK to admit it up front that you are a
fan.”
Along with the speedway, there are plenty of other venues that compliment the
county’s identity as a motor sports destination. Kannapolis is the hometown of
the legendary Earnhardt, who was killed in a crash on the final laps of the 2001
Daytona 500.
In October 2002, thousands of fans made a pilgrimage to Kannapolis to be among
the first to view the Dale Earnhardt Tribute, a nine-foot-tall bronze statue
done by Arizona sculptor Clyde Ross Morgan. The statue is located in downtown
Kannapolis at the Dale Earnhardt Plaza on Main Street.
Not far from the race track is Reed Gold Mine, the site of the first documented
gold find in the United States. The rock found by a 17-year-old boy in 1799 fund
in a creek bed in what is Midland today actually was a 17-pound nugget of gold.
The discovery launched America’s first gold rush.
With so many attractive venues to offer visitors, Concord is embarking on a
long-awaited plan to build a convention center to attract mid-sized groups
looking for regional areas to hold meetings. The city hopes to soon break ground
on a $15 million, 80,000-square-foot convention center near the speedway and
Concord Mills. At the same time, developer John Q. Hammons Hotels Inc. will
build a 300-room, full-service hotel connected to the convention center. The
city is giving Hammons four acres for the hotel and will build a parking
facility. The total development will overlook Rocky River Golf Club, the
city’s outstanding public golf course, and will be valued at $50 million. It
is expected to generate 250 jobs and open in 2006.
The new convention center will provide enhanced ability to market the
county to convention groups and will compliment the Cabarrus Arena & Events
Center, the region’s newest exhibition center that opened on N.C. 49 in 2002.
“It’s really exciting to have these new venues,” says Ann Sternal,
executive director of the Cabarrus County Convention and Visitors Bureau. “It
makes us a destination for visits in new and different markets.”
Cabarrus County already has proved itself to be a popular destination with a
growing number of visitors each year. In 1997, direct spending by visitors to
the county was $120 million. That figure climbed 30 percent by 2002 to $164
million. At the same time, the county’s ability to host more visitors has
grown from 900 hotel rooms in 1999 to 1,609 hotel rooms in 2003.
The CVB recently launched a new promotion aimed at race fans called “Pitt Pass
Cabarrus.” It is the county’s first national advertising campaign aimed at
attracting visitors during times other than the crowded race weekends,
encouraging them to come see the sites, visit the race team headquarters, and
even take a lap in a race car around Lowe’s’ Motor Speedway.
There’s never been a better time to check out all there is to enjoy in
Cabarrus Center, Sternal likes to say. And if you are like lots of folks, you
just might engage the brake and stay.
Airport
Helps the Economy Take Off
All
things bound for the racetrack don’t necessarily roll on wheels. At just 10
years old, Concord Regional Airport has earned its wings as the state’s
fourth-busiest airport, and its growth has been fueled by serving NASCAR and the
motorsports industry.
The airport is just minutes from Lowe’s Motor Speedway and it is critical in
preserving and growing the region’s relationship with NASCAR. Outside the
airport’s entryway, checkered flags join those with the airport’s logo,
making some of the airport’s most frequent visitors feel welcome.
Every year, 75,000 planes take off and land at Concord Regional Airport, behind
only Charlotte-Douglass International, Raleigh-Durham International and Piedmont
Triad International airports, making Concord Regional the busiest
non-commercial, non-military general aviation airport. There are some 90 planes
based at Concord Regional Airport valued at more than $200 million.
A full 65 percent of the business is from race teams, their drivers and owners
and businesses taking part in NASCAR through sponsorships. Between 25 and 30
race teams use the airport regularly, and drivers Ken Schrader and Rusty Wallace
even own their own hangars on site. “NASCAR would not be in Cabarrus County if
not for the airport,” says aviation director Dick Lewis.
In their constant quest for speed, NASCAR drivers and their teams use the
airport to maintain their rigorous travel schedules, which include flying out on
Thursday nights and returning home on Sunday night after races 10 months a year,
plus additional appearances for sponsor events or other appointments.
While the race cars and most of the equipment travels around the country in
18-wheelers, the drivers, their mechanics, brake guys, engine specialists, body
experts and others — including their families and business associates — all
fly to races. “These guys need aviation. Without it they would leave out of
here and never come home,” says Lewis.
Roush Racing, Hendrick Motorsports and Chip Ganassi Racing all have their race
team headquarters on site at the airport, and Hendrick and Ganassi keep their
planes based there for team flights. But Roush Racing’s team aircraft is a
727, too large to land at the Concord Airport.
So work is under way to lengthen the runway from 5,500 feet to 7,400 feet to
accommodate larger planes. The $13.3 million project is set to wrap up by
mid-2005 and will add increased safety and allow aircraft to travel nonstop to
the West Coast because the longer runway will allow planes to carry more fuel.
“The airport has been a magnet for economic development,” says Concord Mayor
Scott Padgett, noting the number of business parks that have developed around
the airport.
Many private corporate customers on business and chartered flights have found
Concord’s airport an attractive hub. Concord-based S&D Coffee has a plane
based there, and executives from Philip Morris with business at the huge Concord
plant are among the airport’s large base of corporate business. In Concord
they find less hassle than landing at Charlotte Douglas, the nation’s 16th
busiest. Business executives landing in Concord can be in a rental car within
five minutes on their way to appointments.
The airport gives the city another tool when negotiating to bring industry to
area. “Racing has made the airport happen and created an extraordinary amount
of activity there,” says Maurice Ewing, president of Cabarrus Economic
Development. “The city can’t keep up with all the growth that the market is
demanding.” -- Laura Williams-Tracy
Little
Town Builds a Big Future
His
business is hydraulic engineering, but four terms as mayor of Harrisburg made
Carl Parmer a town builder. The town of 6,000 people — as of say, yesterday
— is a magnet for people who want to escape busier, more urban places to a
13.5 cent tax rate, plenty of new convenience businesses, and an even bigger
selection of new homes.
The town of Harrisburg had 4,750 residents in the 2000 census and by 2010 it’s
expected to double to 10,000. “Based on housing starts, we are adding 25 new
houses a month,” says Parmer.
The opening of Charlotte’s outer loop, I-485, has made the commute from the
southwest corner of Cabarrus County an even faster drive. Along the way, new
residents find a less urban way of life and a lower cost of living.
Even Parmer, who commutes to Charlotte two days a week to work with his son in
the family business, found the town’s lure was strong enough to move him from
an elected position to a paying job.
Parmer, 71, was elected mayor of the town in 1993. He served almost four
two-year terms before leaving to devote more time to his thriving business. When
the town lost its first town manager, Parmer was persuaded to do the job of
building the town that he had done as mayor. Only this time he’d get paid.
Since he’s been on the job as town administrator, town hall has moved into new
space in the newly created Town Center, a 95-acre development by J&B
Development. The center is privately developed, and the town purchased half of
the new building’s first floor. The town plans to lease out other half to make
the mortgage payments.
“We’ve moved into a nice new facility revenue neutral,” says Parmer. At
the same time, there’s a new downtown encircled with a planned 372 townhomes
and condos. When the project is complete it will add almost $350 million to the
tax base.
Growing the base of jobs in the area is the next challenge for Palmer and the
town, which has changed remarkably since he arrived 35 years ago. “All of the
services that we once had to drive to Concord or Charlotte for are here now,”
he says. “We’re making it a place where people can live and work too.” -- Laura
Williams-Tracy
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