FVEDC Launches SPHERE Business Center
SPHERE provides shared office space for companies in the fields of Gaming/SImulation and Defense Technology. The center offers 10x10 offices, a shared conference room and a design studio. Rental rates include phone, internet and furniture. Leases can be month-to-month or for extended periods.
Site Selection again names North Carolina No. 1 for business climate
Site Selection Magazine, for the ninth time in 10 years, has named North Carolina No. 1 on a list ranking state business climates. The 2010 rankings came out in the magazine’s November issue. Tennessee was second, Texas third.
One of the factors propelling the Tar Heel state, the magazine says, was the notable round of economic deals announced by the state over the past year by companies such as Siemens (NYSE: SI), Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO), IEM and Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT).
In addition, the magazine says: “The aerospace, data center, financial services and even textile sectors saw new projects in North Carolina, among others. Not all of them will generate job numbers in the hundreds, but they don’t all need to.”
Reacting to the news, Gov. Beverly Perdue says that since taking office, her primary focus has been on creating jobs.
“There’s nothing I love more than convincing a corporate executive of what a great place this is to do business,” she says in a statement. “This shows that the hard work of the past two years continues to pay off – our investments in education to build the workforce of tomorrow, policies that create a more business-friendly climate and our aggressive recruiting." (Triangle Business Journal, November 1, 2010)
Quality Equipment Announces Headquarters
Plans have been submitted and are under review for a 30,059 square foot single story building to be located at 2214 North Main Street (US HWY 401) across from Revels Turf Care business. The building will be the headquarters for Quality Equipment, LLC and will include corporate offices, retail and service operations. Quality Equipment, LLC has retail locations throughout southeastern North Carolina.
Gregory Development Announces Headquarters
Plans have been approved and construction has started on an 8,000 square foot building located at 9541 Industry Drive in Associates Park II off US HWY 401. This building will be used as the new headquarters for the contractor company Gregory Development, LLC and will also have some warehouse space.
Krispy Kreme
Plans have been approved and construction has started for a 10,400 square foot commercial building located at the corner of N Judd Pkwy NE and E Broad Street across from the SunTrust Bank. This building will have a Krispy Kreme with a Drive-Thru and room for up to four more tenants.
South Wake Medical Park
Plans have been approved for Phase 1 of a medical/office park located adjacent to Ashford Commons on the corner of Broad Street (Hwy 55) and Old Powell Road. Phase 1 consists of two one-story 7,200 square foot buildings along Broad Street (Hwy 55).
Raleigh-Cary rises to 47th in metro population rankings
The Raleigh-Cary metropolitan area just keeps moving up the list of largest U.S. metros, according to new estimates generated on Wednesday by Business First of Buffalo, a sister publication of Triangle Business Journal.
The Business First calculations peg the Raleigh-Cary population as of August 4 at 1,173,716 – 47th largest among U.S. metros.
That’s up two spots from the No. 49 ranking that Raleigh-Cary had in U.S. Census estimates released in March. The area comprising Wake, Johnston and Franklin counties was the fastest growing U.S. metro between 2000 and 2009, moving up from No. 59 to No. 49. (Triangle Business Journal, August 4, 2010)
NC Tax Incentives designed to grow interactive gaming & digital media industry
On Thursday July 22, North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue signed into law House Bill 1973 extending tax incentives and credits to stimulate economic growth. An important provision is a tax credit for developing interactive digital media, effective for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2011.
The incentive provides a 15 to 20 percent tax credit for compensation paid to employees and expenses paid to participating community colleges and research universities to develop games and other computer-controlled virtual universe platforms. This is the culmination of active lobbying by organizations such as the Triangle Game Initiative.
The North Carolina legislature has looked for ways to grow sustainable new jobs and expand technology industries in the state. The interactive digital media industry is a good fit. According to the Entertainment Software Association, the $11 billion industry experienced a 10 percent increase in sales during the 2008-2009 economic downturn. (TechJournal South, July 30, 2010)
Raleigh-Cary fifth in job growth since 2005
The Raleigh-Cary metropolitan area gained 22,100 private-sector jobs between June 2005 and June 2010, the fifth best total among the 100 largest U.S. metros.
On a percentage basis, the Triangle metro's 5.71 percent growth – to 409,000 private sector jobs in June – was the fourth best.
By either measure, Raleigh-Cary posted the biggest job gains of any metropolitan statistical area outside of Texas. Source: Triangle Business Journal (July 28, 2010)
Forbes Ranks Raleigh-Cary 33rd for working moms
The Raleigh-Cary area ranks 33rd among the 50 largest U.S. metropolitan statistical areas for working moms, according to a recent study by publishing giant Forbes.
Forbes Woman magazine weighed factors such as how much women earn and the cost of living to determine its rankings.
The Raleigh-Cary placed second in “violent crimes” due to the area’s low crime rate. The eastern half of the Triangle also posted the 14th lowest unemployment rate.
In the other categories, Raleigh-Cary ranked No. 22 for pediatricians, No. 23 for cost of living, No. 37 for women’s income and No. 45 for spending per pupil in public schools. Source: Triangle Business Journal (July 27, 2010)
Raleigh-Cary job market 18th best in U.S.
The Raleigh-Cary metropolitan area posted the 18th best labor-market performance among the nation’s 100 largest MSAs for the 12 months that ended in April.
Data released Wednesday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show that the area comprising Wake, Johnston and Chatham counties had a labor force of 405,100 in April, down by 2,400 jobs from April 2009. Despite the 0.59 percent drop in jobs, Raleigh-Cary fared better than 82 other large U.S. markets.
The Durham MSA, which includes Chapel Hill, does not rank among the 100 largest metros in the United States.
Only three MSAs – New Haven, Conn.; Honolulu and Charleston, S.C. – posted year-over-year job gains in April. The worst performances came from Las Vegas, which lost 4.71 percent of its employment base, and Wichita Kan., where the job market shrank by 4.69 percent. Source: Triangle Business Journal (June 2, 2010)
