Economy & Downtown
Chapel Hill's downtown has long benefited from its proximity to a captive audience of University students without cars. While downtowns around the country have been failing, ours has survived fairly well. However, we have seen an increase in the number of chain stores locating downtown, and instability in the Downtown Economic Development Corporation. In the near future, we will see new Town-directed development on two major parking lots have a big impact.
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Carrboro's downtown has also done better than many towns of comparable size, thanks largely to the presence of Weaver Street Market and progressive shoppers from the rest of the county. The Board of Aldermen has been addressing the evolution of the downtown, and have established a number of community resources in the downtown area including free wireless Internet access, and a low-power radio station.
This press announcement has been making the rounds today:Walmart Submits Plan for Northeastern Chatham County Location
Posted Date: 3/2/2012
Chatham County received a site plan today for a second Walmart location in Chatham County, a 148,400-square-foot, full-service store off of US 15/501 just south of the Orange County line. Walmart's official statement said that the store will be part of its Buildings Sustainable Value Network, with a focus on energy-efficient design and operations.
"Walmart's announcement of a second store in the county means approximately 300 new jobs and we need every one of them," said Commissioner Chairman Brian Bock. "Given how many of our residents must commute outside the county to work, often for long distances, this is very good news."
According to Walmart, the average hourly wage for its regular, full-time employees in the state is $12.39 per hour, as of October 2011. This does not include benefits. Walmart's statement said that more details on job opportunities will be available toward the end of the construction phase.
Chapel Hill 2020 will offer the special topic presentation "Tourism as a
Community-Based Economic Development Strategy" by Laurie Paolicelli,
executive director of the Chapel Hill-Orange County Visitors Bureau. The
public is invited to the presentation to be held at noon Wednesday,
Feb. 22, in the Council Chamber of Chapel Hill Town Hall. The public
event will be aired live on Chapel Hill Government TV-18 and streamed on
the Town of Chapel Hill website at http://www.townofchapelhill.org/index.aspx?page=1850
According to the NC Department of Commerce, visitors traveling to
and within the state of North Carolina spent a record $17 billion in
2010, supporting more than 40,000 North Carolina businesses and directly
supporting 183,900 jobs all across the state. State and local tax
revenues generated as a result of visitor spending total more than $1.5
billion annually.
North Carolina ranks as the 6th most visited state in the United
States. How does Chapel Hill build upon the state's status as a top
destination for visitors? What challenges does the local hospitality
industry face in light of the current economy? What new developments are
taking place? These topics and more will be discussed.
Date:
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 - 12:00pm to 2:00pm
Location:
Council Chamber, Chapel Hill Town Hall
Chapel Hill 2020 Special Presentation: State of the Community
A special presentation will be given on the topic of the state of
the community. The speaker will be Aaron Nelson, Chapel Hill-Carrboro
Chamber of Commerce President and CEO and Foundation Executive Director.
For more information on this presentation, see the "State of the Community" News Release.
These special presentations are a part of the Town's Chapel Hill 2020
process:
The community and the Town Council have asked for a new
Comprehensive Plan to reexamine the vision for Chapel Hill and to plan
together for our community's future. The new planning and visioning
document will create a framework for the community to guide the Town
Council in managing Chapel Hill's future over the next 10 years.
Chapel Hill 2020 is a plan that involves Chapel Hill, every
community, every race, every age, every culture, every corner. What is
in Chapel Hill 2020 will directly affect you -- your values, your
ambitions, your family, your future. You have made Chapel Hill your
town, and we want to hear from you. Check the blog for the latest ... www.2020buzz.org
For more information about Chapel Hill 2020, visit chapelhill2020.org.
Date:
Monday, February 6, 2012 - 12:00pm to 2:00pm
Location:
Council Chamber, Chapel Hill Town Hall
A few days ago we heard that the Ram's Plaza strip mall has been sold to a real estate development/management company, The Kalkow Group. This is can't be unrelated to the Town's recent completion of the draft Ephesus Church Road/Fordham Boulevard Small Area Plan. (In fact, it may even have been anticipated by the Town, I admit I didn't follow the process very closely.) A recent Chapel Hill News article shows how closely they are tied together...
On Monday, the Downtown Partnership posted its vision for Chapel Hill on 2020 Buzz, the official blog of the Chapel Hill 2020 process. The vision apparently stems from a meeting that the Chapel Hill 2020 Outreach Committee had with members of the Chamber of Commerce and the business community before Thanksgiving.
The vision isn’t so much a vision as it as wish list. It calls on the town to expedite the review process for development downtown and provide for a whole host of a uses-by-right in the area so that new development downtown wouldn’t need any approval on top of building permits, zoning complains and certificates of occupancy. It also talks about building some new streets (especially in the north-south direction) downtown, making some changes to the way Chapel Hill does it zoning and ensuring regional transit is centered in the area.
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