3 BIG Year End Gets For Charlotte
I’ll drink to the end of 2009. I think most of us will, still, it was far from all gloom, and 2010 looks considerably brighter.
2nd Tallest in Charlotte- Duke Tower
WE could argue on the order, but I think these are the biggest 3 stories in 2009, really coming together in the last 45 days.
Bank of America hires its new CEO from within, Brian Moynihan, who is NOT a New York guy and has promised to keep Bank of America in Charlotte.
The Bank will focus on its balance sheet- doing the things they do well, better. In a city that prides itself on its “Can Do” independent spirit, it was welcome news that BOA was able to repay it’s TARP loan early and with interest in December.
Finance is one of the kingpins of Charlotte business, so it was good to see Wells Fargo settle in, make a huge contribution to our non-profit sector, and get stronger as the year progressed. I look forward to getting to know them better. However, the headline this year is still that Bank of America, one of the giants, re-committed to Charlotte. That will reverberate through the years.
Now if BOA can get their short-sale procedures in line and out of last place when it comes to us Realtors… I’ll be real happy.
North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue likes Charlotte.
This is big news. She is here all the time. I’d been noticing that- I never saw the prior Governor in Charlotte (though I am sure he came) when the Charlotte Business Journal recapped the year in an excellent article out Friday. Not only does she like Charlotte, but Governor Bev Perdue has become the classic Closer on many big deals moving companies to Charlotte. She just started this past year, 2009, and here is the lineup of business expansions or re-locations announced in 2009.
GMAC- A 200 employee expansion at GMAC moves Uptown
The Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America- NAC A hired 1000 folks in htelast half of 2009 and had an awesome mortgage modification weekend in November.
Electrolux AB- Relocated North American Corporate Headquarters adding over 700 jobs over 5 years. Largest announcement in 20 years.
Siemens Energy- Expanding with 226 engineering jobs in Charlotte
Zenta -Will add 1002 Jobs over the next 5 years, and hundreds in the first quarter of 2010
Husqvarna -OK this just happened, moving its North American Headquarters and 160 jobs, averaging $79,453 this year.
Not Bad. I can’t wait for the chamber to release our job creation numbers for 2009. After 3 quarters, the Chamber reported Charlotte was ahead of 2008’s pace by 25 %.
Thanks Gov! Thanks for the attention to the #1 Business Community in the state. She knows, to get NC going, you have to get Charlotte going!
South Tryon Cultural Center Opens
Firebird at the Bechtler Museum Charlotte NC
The Knight Theater and Harvey Gantt African-American Cultural museum opened in the fall, the Bechtler Musem of Modern Art opened January 2. Still to come is the Mint Museum later this year. This may be the largest “Cultural” opening in any city in the US in 2009-2010. Charlotte’s commitment to the arts is well known in artistic communities and development communities, perhaps Charlotte will become better know among art patrons and the big following hey have.
The NASCAR Hall of Fame opens in May, and is expected to draw 800,000 in in the first year, just a few blocks from the South Tryon Cultural Center. How’s that for irony
So whats left to do? What are the big issues facing Charlotte in 2010?
High Unemployment- for years our unemployment numbers were below, sometimes well below national numbers. Today they are higher than the national 10% rate at just below 12%. These need to come down, the sooner the better.
The city will also have to turn around a lot of the negative press the city got in the 4th quarter stemming from the Wachovia takeover. Charlotte leaders focused too heavily on the past in Finance- despite the fact that Charlotte has a very diversified economy. Then the loss of one of the major banks was seen, by some, as a mortal wound to the 2nd largest financial center in the US. Well both were wrong- the loss of Wachovia is far from fatal, we have a diversified economy and energy sector is probably the industry of the future, which will coordinate nicely with the large financial presence here. Last but not least, we are adding jobs as you can see above, so there has been no fatal blow here.
A year from now, some of the same critics will be able to write about the remarkable turnaround of Charlotte NC- another “Come-Back” kid from the South.
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Smart buyers and quality Buyer Agents make great deals happen in Charlotte. Call me at 704-351-1519, and I’ll get you started.
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