CAFR 2017

centers and $29 billion in market capitalization. It has reportedly grown to more than 4,000 employees in the Triad. Also since October 2012, Deere-Hitachi Construction Machinery Corporation has been in the process of expanding its neighboring Kernersville location with the goal of adding 340 jobs by the end of 2016 and investing more than $97 million in a new facility. The company manufactures and distributes excavation equipment for the mining and construction industry. Coupled with nearby Caterpillar, Inc. in Forsyth County, expansion in heavy equipment manufacturing is noted in the region. In June 2015, Winston-Salem based Reynolds American completed a transaction to acquire Greensboro-based Lorillard Inc. under a complex $27.4 billion merger. The negotiations also provided for Imperial Tobacco Group PLC , (ITG) to acquire Reynold’s brands of Maverick, Kool, Winston and Salem. However, with the loss of the Newport brand to Reynolds American, ITG laid off 375 workers in 2016 from its existing 1,100 person facility in Greensboro. Cone Health received State approval in 2016 for plans to pursue a $100 million project to relocate the standalone Women’s Hospita l to a 196,000 square foot, 6-story new construction addition on the south side of the existing Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital. The groundbreaking for this “hospital within a hospital” project occurred in 2017, with the new facility to open in 2019. The capital investment plan also calls for $38 million in renovations of operating suites at Wesley Long Hospital, which should be completed in 2018. These projects continue to ensure long–term sustainability and transform health care services for the community and add to the substantial investment Cone Health made in its North Tower project, which opened in June 2013. According to Business North Carolina Magazine, Cone Hospital ranked as the third best hospital in the State in 2016. The ranking identifies organizations that excel in patient satisfaction, safety, and low readmission and mortality rates for common conditions and procedures. The Greensboro area economy continued to gain strength overall in 2017. Home sales have improved, with 8.4% more homes sold in the Triad through Q2, 2017 compared to the same time prior year. Average home prices in the Triad rose to $192,918 in August, 2017, up 4.7% from August, 2016 (NC Realtors Association) There were 22.8% more homes under construction in Q1, 2017 than in Q1, 2016. Housing starts also improved, with a total of 810 across the Triad in Q1, 2017 - a 27% jump from the prior year. Total inventory of finished vacant new homes held steady at a 2.3 month supply (Metrostudy). Real estate foreclosures in Greensboro totaled 502 in April 2017, down 23% from the same time last year (RealtyTrac). The number of residential building permits authorized in the Greensboro-High Point Metro area increased 15.3% for YTD through August 2017 versus the same period in 2016. (U.S Census Bureau). Unemployment continued to fall in Greensboro with the average unemployment rate through July 2017 at 5.0%, down from 5.2% in the previous year. (US Bureau of Labor Statistics). The most recent Census Bureau data indicates that Median Household Income in Greensboro rose to $45,064, up slightly from $44,934 in the previous year. In the Triad region, the average apartment vacancy rate was 6.0% , down from 7.5% at the same time last year (Real Data April 2017) There are currently 9,721 hotel/motel rooms throughout the City comprising 84 hotels. Receipts from the City’s 3% occupancy tax totaled $4,075,208 in FY 2016-17. The Tourism Authority receives 20% of the City’s 3% occupancy tax, with the balance dedicated to debt service related to War Memorial Coliseum complex improvements. A portion of the County’s 3% occupancy tax is remitted to the City for tourism development activities. In FY 2015, the Coliseum Complex completed $24 million in capital improvements financed by 2012 Limited Obligation Bonds and funded by Hotel/Motel occupancy tax collections. The venues renovated at the Coliseum Complex include the Arena, Special Events Center, Greensboro Aquatic Center (GAC) and an auxiliary building that houses the Greensboro Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. The projects consisted of replacing and realignment of arena seating, widening concourse areas and concessions, scoreboard and lighting updates, new

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