Charlotte Region Hails Bold Plan to Establish Research Campus on Site of Former Textile Mill

Charlotte Region Hails Bold Plan to Establish Research Campus on Site of Former Textile Mill

Facility Seen As Economic Development Driver For Region And Across North Carolina

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Sept. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- The Charlotte Regional Partnership, which promotes the 16-county Charlotte region as the premier choice for businesses considering expansion or relocation, today hailed plans to build the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis on the site of the former Pillowtex textile plant.

The plans, announced Monday by industrialist David Murdock and state commerce and education officials, call for a cluster of world-class research centers focused on health and nutrition, as well as related initiatives to spur the economic transformation of a region that has been hit hard by the decline of traditional manufacturing industries such as textiles and furniture.

"The plans announced today are a major step in the diversification of our region's economy, which has been going on for many years," said Ronnie L. Bryant, president and CEO of the Charlotte Regional Partnership. "Manufacturing will always be an important contributor to the region's prosperity, but the growth of our knowledge-based economy will be critical to our ability to compete in the global marketplace in our lifetimes and our children's lifetimes."

Bryant pointed to other research initiatives currently under way, including the bioinformatics complex at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and a motorsports testing and research complex currently being planned in conjunction with UNCC's motorsports engineering program.

"Research facilities like these are engines of economic development, providing a wide range of benefits from jobs to spin-off entrepreneurial businesses to the development of a highly trained and educated workforce," Bryant said. "For any city or region, such wellsprings of intellectual capital are an essential precondition to greatness."

Plans for the North Carolina Research Campus include a Dole-N.C. State Institute for Advanced Fruit and Vegetable Science, a Dole analytical lab, a UNC Nutrition Institute, an incubator for start-up companies, and a girls science high school, according to published reports.

Murdock, who owns Dole Food Co. and Castle & Cooke Inc. developers, recently announced plans to build a vegetable processing plant in Gaston County, also part of the 16-county Charlotte USA region.

"David Murdock's decision to bring hundreds of jobs here, and his vision for transforming a dying textile community, speak volumes about his commitment to Charlotte USA and his faith in the future of our region," Bryant said. "We share that faith and pledge our support in making that vision a reality."

About the Charlotte Regional Partnership

The Charlotte Regional Partnership is a nonprofit, public/private economic development organization created in 1991 to market and promote the Charlotte region as a highly competitive location for new and expanding businesses. The Charlotte region encompasses 16 counties in and around the City of Charlotte.

Source: Charlotte Regional Partnership

CONTACT: David Coburn of Luquire George Andrews, +1-704-552-6565, or
Mobile, +1-704-906-9372, or coburn@lgapr.com

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