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I've heard some buzz that the Mayor and Town of Waxhaw are working on bringing some quality employment to the area in the form of a research park and regional employment center. Anyone else heard the details?
Have not heard about this but it would be great if it happened. Sounds like there are some progressive, proactive thinkers in Waxhaw. I hope someone will post with more details!!!
OK, here's an excerpt from the proposal. Pretty exciting ideas here:
Quote:
Proposal:
Create a regional employment center anchored by a research park focused on energy technologies and resource use. The prime example of this type of project is the Research Triangle Park (RTP) in the triangle area of North Carolina (Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill). Other similar projects include the NC Biotech Center in Kannapolis, University Research Park in Charlotte and Ballantyne. Note that the Kannapolis project is located more in the heart of Kannapolis and the University and Ballantyne projects are both more akin to large office parks with other commercial elements interspersed throughout them.
Ideally, the park would consist of a mix of businesses of different sizes. Larger businesses would lend credibility to the project while bringing financial resources and marketing heft. Smaller businesses, which create the most value for the local economy and facilitate the majority of innovation in any industry, would make up the bulk of the project. Elements that create a more hospitable environment for small businesses and entrepreneurs should be key components of this project such as, small business mentoring and counseling. This can be accomplished through working with organizations like the SBTDC, SBA and targeted industry groups.
In light of the overall Charlotte region, a regional employment center of this significance will not only enhance Charlotte’s overall economic picture but, being located on the south side will be an anchor around which economic growth will coalesce in much the same way as the NC Biotech Center in Kannapolis anchors the north side. This project has the potential to begin to bring the regional growth back into balance and provide an economic and employment anchor for the greater Charlotte area. Waxhaw is the only identifiable town center in the south Charlotte area between NC 74 and US 521 and is centrally located in that region. This makes Waxhaw a natural point around which to center economic activity.
Location:
An area of land west of Waxhaw-Marvin road that has, until recently been under development by GS Carolina under the name of Millbridge containing roughly 1,200 acres. In South Carolina, the same developer has an adjoining project named Edenmoor that stretches to SC 521. The SC parcel is believed to be around 2,100 acres. The site is accessed by Waxhaw-Marvin Road on the east, Kensington Road on the north, NC 75 on the South and SC 521 on the west.
Some of the advantages of the site in terms of economic development are that the site is, essentially, in the hands of one entity. The portion in NC is currently owned by Atlas Union, held at a distance by BB&T but both the NC and the SC parcels are controlled by GS Carolina on behalf of the bank. A significant hurdle for economic development projects of any size is the assembling of a parcel large enough to achieve critical mass given that it generally entails working with a number of landowners.
Another advantage is the existing and planned transportation infrastructure. If both the NC and SC portions are developed as a whole, the site has direct access to SC 521 which provides access to I-485. Lancaster County, SC, in cooperation with York County, SC, recently completed a study of the Dave Lyle Blvd Extension project which would connect NC 75 to I-77 via a four-lane divided highway similar to the existing SC 521. Also, a rail line runs along the southern boundary and connects to Atlanta. The use of this rail line is currently freight-service but has historically been used for passenger-service and that use could potentially be re-visited.
Both the NC and SC sites have some initial utility infrastructure already in place and the NC site has 198,000 GPD of contracted sewer capacity with Union County. The status of water allocation in Union County is undefined. However, if the project is developed as a whole, there is the opportunity to work with Lancaster County for water allocation.
Portions of the site are served by Duke Energy which has offered assistance in the area of site analysis and planning.
While Waxhaw’s current population is around 8,000, some estimates project that we will grow to around 35,000 in a region (western Union County and the SC 521 corridor) that is anticipated to grow to around 300,000 within the next 20 years. The demographics of the region indicate a strong workforce that is both highly educated and experientially diverse.
Other advantages include relative proximity to academic resources including UNCC and Clemson, as well as a number of smaller institutions, and access to several airports capable of serving corporate air traffic including the Monroe, Lancaster and Rock Hill airports.
Resources:
Map of project area
TOW Development Reports, December 2007
Stakeholders List
Map of Waxhaw Region
LARTP draft plan: Western Union LARTP - Home
Dave Lyle Blvd Ext study
UCPP: Information Guide
DPZ letter
CBJ article: Perdue seeks regional energy hub
Charlotte Observer article: ‘Green’ will be gold if region acts quickly
WSOC-TV ran a story yesterday about how the energy industry is the growth market in Charlotte. I thought that interesting in connection with Waxhaw's plans to create the energy research park. Imagine the jobs this could pump into the area along the Hwy 521 corridor. It sounds like the Govenor is working behind the scenes...
Quote:
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Siemen's Energy is adding more than 200 jobs to its Charlotte operations. Gov. Bev Perdue made the announcement Thursday.
Eyewitness News found it to be part of a much bigger trend. On average, the energy industry is creating more than 1,000 jobs a year in Charlotte, and 104 energy companies have offices in Charlotte now.
Would the property need to be rezoned to allow for this? Millbridge is a residential community.
The information I posted came from a recent Town Council meeting. It is my understanding that the Council was onboard with the proposal and that the "stakeholders" would meet in mid-June.
I think this property, when it defaulted back to the bank, probably no longer falls under any of the Millbridge covenants. Maybe someone from GS Carolina will comment.
Also, my understanding is that only 1/3 of this property is actually in the Waxhaw city limits. The rest is across the state line into SC along the 521 corridor at Kensington/Jim Wilson Rd. This is thousands of acres that was never developed by Millbridge.
Before there was to be a Millbridge development, this property was considered the most likely location for commercial development in the Waxhaw area. Hwy 75 at Hwy 521 has long been discussed as as a potential connection through SC to I-77 at Dave Lyle Blvd.
If they could get this park in the works, I can see that opening up a whole new commercial development area between Waxhaw and I-77. I'm really excited by this idea. Union County and Waxhaw need to work on bringing some breadth to their tax bases, and the Waxhaw area desperately needs some quality employment options for this very educated population of residents. This would be a good thing for Waxhaw and the region.
Waxhaw Research Park (South Charlotte Regional Employment Center)
Below is text regarding the proposal that was presented to the Waxhaw Board of Commissioners at their regular meeting on May 12, 2009. The concept was enthusiastically received and formal action will be taken at a Special Called Meeting/Work Session on May 19, 2009.
Where we are is that a concept package will be drafted by DPZ (www.dpz.org), working in conjunction with town staff and various local economic development entities. This package will be presented to a variety of stakeholders on June 18, 2009 at an event that will be hosted in Waxhaw's historic downtown and will include a bus tour of the site. Potential stakeholders are elected officials from both states as well as people from the economic development community, private industry and academia.
The level of interest in and excitement about this concept is high and the town is making a bold move to capitalize on that interest in an effort to gain a commitment from this key group of stakeholders to pursue the project. Any assistance in the area of getting significant stakeholders on the ground in Waxhaw on June 18 would be a great help. The date, by the way, was chosen because Governor Perdue is scheduled to be in Charlotte that day and we're hoping that there will be enough buzz and excitement about this that she will choose to join us.
You can contact me via this forum or the following phone/emails:
Town Hall: 704-843-2195
Creative Plus (my office): 704-843-5040 mayor@waxhaw.com dgardner@creativeplus.com
A community is more than residential and retail…
Background:
The Town of Waxhaw incorporated in 1889, making the town 120 years old this year. For much of this time, our town was a relatively compact Main Street-style community in a rural setting. More recently, the last decade in particular, has seen rapid growth as the City of Charlotte has been in a strong boom cycle. In recent years, the town’s population has been a moving target but is currently somewhere in the 8k range. This growth surge has been almost exclusively residential and retail uses. This growth pattern is not unlike the growth occurring throughout western Union County, creating the beginnings of what could become another sea of suburban sprawl – the very thing that many of our new residents tell us they had hoped to leave behind. The reason for choosing Waxhaw as their new home is that, to date, we have maintained our small-town charm and an identifiable character.
Quality employment is essential to maintaining a balanced economy as well as for maintaining good quality of life in a region. Providing real employment choices within the community gives our residents the option of working locally rather than having to travel outside of our community for work. Union County currently has over 90% out-migration for jobs with a higher percentage in the western portion of the county – the portion I refer to as the Waxhaw Region which includes western Union County and the SC 521 corridor.
In this time of economic uncertainty and hardship, it is incumbent upon community leaders to identify means of stabilizing our local economies to be better prepared to withstand future economic downturns and to capitalize on future growth periods.
During Governor Perdue’s last visit to Charlotte, she spoke about the potential for Charlotte to become a regional energy hub and referenced the public/private partnership that launched the Research Triangle Park (RTP) over 50 years ago. RTP was a revolutionary project that has grown to be a strong economic force in the triangle region and created a working model that has been emulated throughout the state and the nation. Charlotte has in place a number of elements that would be supportive of such a direction including several large energy companies as well as a growing base of small energy-focused start-up companies that are taking advantage of our society’s growing awareness of our energy use and its impact on our environment and economy.
Location:
The subject property is an area of land west of Waxhaw-Marvin road that has, until recently been under development by GS Carolina under the name of Millbridge containing roughly 1,200 acres. In South Carolina, the same developer has an adjoining project named Edenmoor that stretches to SC 521. The SC parcel is believed to be around 2,100 acres. The site is accessed by Waxhaw-Marvin Road on the east, Kensington Road on the north, NC 75 on the South and SC 521 on the west.
Some of the advantages of the site in terms of economic development are that the site is, essentially, in the hands of one entity. The portion in NC is currently owned by Atlas Union, held at a distance by BB&T but both the NC and the SC parcels are controlled by GS Carolina on behalf of the bank. A significant hurdle for economic development projects of any size is the assembling of a parcel large enough to achieve critical mass given that it generally entails working with a number of landowners.
Another advantage is the existing and planned transportation infrastructure. If both the NC and SC portions are developed as a whole, the site has direct access to SC 521 which provides access to I-485. Lancaster County, SC, in cooperation with York County, SC, recently completed a study of the Dave Lyle Blvd Extension project which would connect NC 75 to I-77 via a four-lane divided highway similar to the existing SC 521. Also, a rail line runs along the southern boundary and connects to Atlanta. The use of this rail line is currently freight-service but has historically been used for passenger-service and that use could potentially be re-visited.
Both the NC and SC sites have some initial utility infrastructure already in place and the NC site has 198,000 GPD of contracted sewer capacity with Union County. The status of water allocation in Union County is undefined. However, if the project is developed as a whole, there is the opportunity to work with Lancaster County for water allocation.
Portions of the site are served by Duke Energy which has offered assistance in the area of site analysis and planning.
While Waxhaw’s current population is around 8,000, some estimates project that we will grow to around 35,000 in a region (western Union County and the SC 521 corridor) that is anticipated to grow to around 300,000 within the next 20 years. The demographics of the region indicate a strong workforce that is both highly educated and experientially diverse.
Other advantages include relative proximity to academic resources including UNCC and Clemson, as well as a number of smaller institutions, and access to several airports capable of serving corporate air traffic including the Monroe, Lancaster and Rock Hill airports.
Proposal:
Create a regional employment center anchored by a research park focused on energy technologies and resource use. The prime example of this type of project is the Research Triangle Park (RTP) in the triangle area of North Carolina (Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill). Other similar projects include the NC Biotech Center in Kannapolis, University Research Park in Charlotte and Ballantyne. Note that the Kannapolis project is located more in the heart of Kannapolis and the University and Ballantyne projects are both more akin to large office parks with other commercial elements interspersed throughout them.
Ideally, the park would consist of a mix of businesses of different sizes. Larger businesses would lend credibility to the project while bringing financial resources and marketing heft. Smaller businesses, which create the most value for the local economy and facilitate the majority of innovation in any industry, would make up the bulk of the project. Elements that create a more hospitable environment for small businesses and entrepreneurs should be key components of this project such as, small business mentoring and counseling. This can be accomplished through working with organizations like the SBTDC, SBA and targeted industry groups.
In light of the overall Charlotte region, a regional employment center of this significance will not only enhance Charlotte’s overall economic picture but, being located on the south side will be an anchor around which economic growth will coalesce in much the same way as the NC Biotech Center in Kannapolis anchors the north side. This project has the potential to begin to bring the regional growth back into balance and provide an economic and employment anchor for the greater Charlotte area. Waxhaw is the only identifiable town center in the south Charlotte area between NC 74 and US 521 and is centrally located in that region. This makes Waxhaw a natural point around which to center economic activity.
Resources:
Map of project area
TOW Development Reports, December 2007
Stakeholders List
Map of Waxhaw Region
LARTP draft plan: www.lartp.org
Dave Lyle Blvd Ext study
UCPP: Information Guide
DPZ letter
CBJ article: Perdue seeks regional energy hub
Charlotte Observer article: ‘Green’ will be gold if region acts quickly
Would the property need to be rezoned to allow for this? Millbridge is a residential community.
Yes, Millbridge is currently zoned for high-density residential development as is Edenmoor, the SC portion of the site. Any portion of the original site that is redirected to this concept or any other would require a rezoning as well as going through the proper process to change any covenants that are attached to the property. Any plan to do anything with the property other than the current high-density residential would require an appropriate transition from the existing residential (which is, fortunately, mostly located along Kensington Road on the north side) to any other uses.
Wow this is exciting news.....how long would it take to get thsi project started?
Good question! We're about to find out... Actually, depending on who steps up and how aggressive they are, it could happen very quickly. The NC Biotech campus in Kannapolis went from concept to ribbon-cutting in three years. Of course, they had David Murdock write a big fat check...
This project has the potential to get off the ground very quickly due to a number of factors ranging from the unique advantages of the site to the current heightened focus on stabilizing the economy. If this goes, my completely uneducated guess would be in the 3-7 year range although some activity at the site would likely begin much sooner.
In fact, I hear that there are already some small energy firms that are scouting Waxhaw looking for a place to relocate...
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Waxhaw Research Park (South Charlotte Regional Employment Center)
