CAFR 2017

To aid more thriving development, the eastern entrance to the City is being enhanced with the attractive Gateway Gardens project, another public/private venture. The $8 million project will be developed in phases, with Phases I and II to include a visitors’ center, parking facilities, children’s garden, pedestrian bridges, a central water feature, heritage plaza and garden space. These phases are being funded with $2.5 million in City bond funds, $2 million in private contributions and a $500,000 grant. The Visitor’s Center, a 5,100 square foot building located on eleven acres, opened in spring 2014, completing Phase I. Future phases of this project will include the Japanese Garden, White Oak Forest, and Special Events Garden. In December 2011, the Gateway University Research Park opened the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering (JSNN) also in east Greensboro. The 105,000 square foot, $65 million building houses the most

significant academic collaboration to date between UNC-Greensboro and NC A&T State University. The program and the building itself were designed to foster interaction among the students and across specialties such as biology, engineering, and technology. The JSNN offers graduate degrees in nanoscience and nanoengineering which is expected to generate as much as $500 million in economic activity. The school has also formed the Nanomanufacturing Innovation Consortium, a partnership between JSNN and area businesses, which has grown to twenty-five members. In June 2014, NC A&T researchers announced that they signed a licensing agreement with a Toronto firm, Xemerge, also located near JSNN, to develop a commercial application for a hypoallergenic peanut developed by the university in research funded with a federal grant. This past year, the research park began construction of a new 72,000 square-foot building on the campus to accommodate space for manufacturing, research and development. A new anchor tenant has plans to move their headquarters to the building in 2018, adding an additional 25 jobs in the molded plastics industry. The City of Greensboro has agreed to fund $1.2 million for the project. VF Corporation, a leader in the apparel industry and one of Greensboro’s largest employers, also partnered with Gateway University Research Park in Greensboro to open a new 8,000 square foot Global Jeanswear Innovation Center that will be home to scientists, engineers, chemists, and designers. The center created an estimated 30 jobs in 2016. Several of the area colleges and universities are also experiencing significant capital construction. In 2016, A&T State University and University of North Carolina – Greensboro (UNC-G) were together approved by North Carolina voters for $195 Million in Connect NC Bond funding. A&T plans to invest $90 million for construction of a new four-story Engineering Research and Innovation Complex (ERIC), while UNC-G is in the design phase of a new $105 million, five-story Nursing and Instructional building. UNC-G also approved the second phase development of a new $51 million student residence hall as the final piece of its Spartan Village student housing development that includes recently completed dormitory renovations and student center. Construction activities also continue at Guilford Technical Community College (GTCC) where plans for $22 million in renovations to build the new Center for Advanced Manufacturing are underway. The school’s transportation and welding programs will be located in the 250,000 square-foot building and will include a flex lab for use by companies for employee training. Overall, the Piedmont Triad region received $355 million in funding from the $2 billion state bond package, approved in March 2016.

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