Economic Development Year in Review 2020-2021

YEAR IN REVIEW ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

PLANNING

2020-2021

OVERVIEW

Greensboro’s Economic Development team, including partner organizations it funds, entered the 2020-21 fiscal year with a challenge: How should it address a business climate characterized by the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic? The goal: Craft and adapt programs and policies to align with the changing needs of industry, businesses and the Greensboro community, while also following the City’s GSO2040 comprehensive plan’s goals and strategies to growing economic competitiveness. Twelve months later, uncertainty still is present and the pandemic persists, but in many respects business activity and development have stabilized. The Greensboro Chamber of Commerce reported above average recruitment and expansion project activity for the year. City Council approved new awards to three economic development projects in Fiscal Year 2020-21 and construction activity either was completed or continued on a variety of City-supported projects. We believe all this will have significant positive impacts on Greensboro’s future economic prospects. Also of note, this past year was a time of transition within the Economic Development Division. Kathi Dubel retired after eight years of service as economic development manager. Marshall Yandle, formerly vice president of the High Point Economic Development Corporation, was appointed as the new manager in May 2021.

OUR PARTNERS

City funding provided to economic development partners $830,500

www.greensboro-nc.gov/EDBS

NEW CITY AWARDS

LT Apparel $1.7 Million Economic Development Incentive for a $57.3 million investment in a new distribution facility at 5955 N. Summit Ave. LT Apparel markets and sells children’s apparel and accessories for brands such as French Toast, Carhartt, and Adidas. The project would bring 116 new jobs. The company has not yet announced its location decision.

Double G Properties LLC $80,000 Urban Development Investment Grant for the redevelopment of 531 S. Elm St. Bourbon Bowl opened at the location June 2021, investing $3.6 million and creating the equivalent of 20 jobs. It features six bowling lanes, a restaurant, bar, and large patio.

IN THE NEWS

LAUNCH GREENSBORO ADDS NEW PROGRAM, PARTNERS WITH TRANSFORM GSO

In its seventh year, the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce’s Launch Greensboro program has added LaunchLab Sustain to its business accelerator series. This program is focused on providing education, connections and support to increase revenue and streamline operations for LaunchLab Growth alums. The first cohort included 39 companies. The free LaunchLab programs, for startups and existing businesses,

provide an intensive immersion experience for entrepreneurs willing to work alongside other participants, experienced mentors, and advisors to build their businesses. Launch Greensboro also announced plans to partner with Transform GSO, a co-work space provider, to expand into 30,000 square feet of flex space at the Gateway Center, 620 S. Elm St. All LaunchLab programs are now moving in.

COUNCIL REVISES INCENTIVE PROGRAM In March 2021, City Council approved changes to its policy used to incentivize industry to locate or expand in Greensboro. Highlights include: increased levels of support for more investment and job creation; a $15 minimum wage requirement for all incentivized jobs; incentives for companies that hire within Greensboro’s Impact Zones or through NCWorks Career Centers; and requirements for strategically-located job fairs.

PAWGreensboro LLC $250,000 Urban Development Investment Grant for the redevelopment of 800 Pastor Anderson Way Developers intend to spend $3.6 million to repurpose the building, in the East Market Street Reinvestment Corridor, into a hub for music makers named RhythmWorks and create the equivalent of five full-time jobs. It will include recording studios, rehearsal rooms, video production, editing capability, podcasting rooms, meeting space, and outdoor performance space. Projected completion is in late 2022.

DGI PROVIDES PANDEMIC SUPPORT

PIEDMONT BUSINESS CAPITAL (PBC) TACKLES EQUITABLE LENDING For the sixth consecutive year, PBC received City funding to provide services and loans targeted at micro-businesses – particularly those owned by women and minorities – facing barriers to capital. This year PBC approved $163,700 in loans to 12 businesses to help create 38 jobs and sustain 174 existing jobs. The loans ranged from $3,700 to $25,000. PBC’s current traditional loan portfolio includes 53 loans made to Greensboro businesses. About 93 percent are minority-owned and about 48 percent women-owned.

In response to COVID-19 restrictions limiting indoor capacity, Downtown Greensboro Inc. (DGI) helped 10 restaurants build outdoor seating areas secured with painted barriers and ornamented with planter boxes. To counteract the pandemic, DGI also created a new commercial with

“Open and Safe”messaging and a 12-week campaign that encouraged downtown business patronage through weekly prizes. It also installed a customized digital kiosk at the Tanger Center for Performing Arts to drive visitors to businesses downtown.

MEGASITE WATER AND SEWER CONSTRUCTION UNDERWAY

Phase 1 construction of water and sewer expansion to the Greensboro-Randolph Megasite began January 2021 and is expected to be completed by spring 2022.

#INVESTEAST GAINS TRACTION The #InvestEast initiative – developed in 2018 to foster investment in east Greensboro – continued unabated. East Greensboro Now reported $50.1 million in commercial building permits within east Greensboro and helped facilitate three commitments for development of priority sites. The organization also successfully deployed and administered $60,133 in matching grants for improvements made to the exterior of commercial properties through its Curb Appeal Improvement Grant Program. Development of Publix’s distribution center in eastern Guilford County has progressed at a rapid pace. In October 2020, Publix announced it would add an additional 1.2 million-square-foot dry grocery warehouse to the 350-acre campus. Project construction is expected to be complete by the end of 2022. The $400 million project was approved for up to $17 million in City incentives in 2018. Publix’s plans call for the creation of approximately 1,000 jobs in its initial phase. PUBLIX DISTRIBUTION CENTER TAKES SHAPE

SYNGENTA CROP PROTECTION EXPANDS IN GREENSBORO After a lengthy evaluation process of viable development sites and a

pandemic-induced delay, in March 2021 Syngenta Crop Protection announced its decision to expand its US headquarters in Greensboro at 410 Swing Rd. The company will be eligible to receive $1.7 million in incentives for investing $68 million in the project and retaining 650 employees who currently work at the facility with an average wage of $107,000. Construction is slated to begin in early 2022. THE FRESH MARKET MOVES DOWNTOWN Specialty grocer The Fresh Market, founded in Greensboro in 1982, moved its headquarters and 248 full-time employees from Green Valley Road to 75,000 square-feet of the Wells Fargo Tower downtown. Greensboro, High Point, and Guilford County governments in an unprecedented and award- winning regional collaboration to keep The Fresh Market in Guilford County. The governments approved a total incentive package worth $708,000. The company will invest $2 million to create 53 jobs paying an average wage of $86,000. In 2019, the Guilford County Economic Development Alliance coordinated with