CAFR 2016

Broadband Initiative

. The regional partnership plans to take advantage of existing fiber optic cable

infrastructure previously installed for Greensboro’s traffic-light system. The partnership hopes to work

with Internet Service Providers to develop the next-generation of high-speed broadband infrastructure

needed to meet the technological needs of current and future businesses, public institutions, educational

institutions, and local residents at a substantial discount from current market prices. The Piedmont Triad

Regional Council has issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) and is expected to complete the evaluation and

selection process by year-end 2016.

Located in the vicinity of Piedmont Triad International Airport are various major

industrial and business

parks

, with fully developed infrastructure, covering about 700 acres and including more than 50 companies

and approximately 4,000 employees. Existing office and industrial facilities located within 2½ miles of the

airport exit off Interstate Highway 40 include more than three million

square feet of office, office/showroom, warehouse/distribution, light

industrial and hotel space. The FedEx hub at the Piedmont Triad

International Airport should generate more demand for office and other

tenants associated with operations that need to be close to a logistics hub.

Eight tracks of developable land, either with current or future runway

access are being offered, with all utilities to the sites already installed.

In June 2012,

PTIA developed plans

for $350 million in projects including building a taxiway over a future

interstate, buying more land, moving roads, relocating a radar tower and grading large tracts of land. The

work will open approximately 900 acres for aviation-related development. The projects will be partially

funded by the airport with existing revenues, but additional funding will be needed from federal, state and

local assistance with participation from both the public and the private sector. The proposed $34 million

taxiway will run approximately 3,000 feet and will feature a 214-foot wide bridge over future Interstate 73 (I-

73) with construction of the interstate moved up two years by the North Carolina Department of

Transportation to 2014 with an anticipated substantial completion date during the summer of 2017 for both I-

73 and the taxiway bridge. This project will connect the airport to hundreds of acres within a mile of the

runway and will help attract large aviation tenants. This developed area is anticipated to produce nearly

18,500 jobs, $3.2 billion in economic impact and more than $113 million annually in state and local tax

revenue. As of calendar year-ended December 2015, approximately 50 scheduled daily departures at PTIA

carried 842,190 enplaned passengers.

The

aviation industry

is one of the critical business sectors of the Triad’s economic development strategy.

With the ongoing collaboration of the public and private sector organizations and the educational community,

the Triad is poised for strong future growth in aeronautics. Local aviation-related businesses draw heavily

from the aviation workforce training program at Guilford Technical Community College (GTCC) whose

program has grown steadily in recent years. GTCC completed construction of a $10 million facility on a 23-

acre campus at PTIA called Aviation III, to house its aviation management and pilot programs as well as

customized industry training. The addition of the new facility allows GTCC to expand training to

approximately 900 students each semester. GTCC’s aviation program is one of the largest in North Carolina

and serves as a model for other community colleges. The State Board of Community Colleges recently

approved adding a fifth aviation degree to GTCC’s program, specializing in aerostructure manufacturing and

repair technology.