CAFR 2016

VIII

North of downtown Greensboro, a $100 million redevelopment project continues on the historic 45-acre

Revolution Mill

campus with target completion in the third quarter of 2016. Notable as the first flannel

textile mill in the South and registered on the National Register of Historic Places, the mixed-use site will

include 142 apartment units, 240,000 square feet of office space, two restaurants and 40 artist studios. The

planning concept is to create a live-work-play community that supports the culture of arts in Greensboro. The

massive historic restoration project will also connect the campus to Downtown Greensboro via the City’s

Greenway trails. The project takes advantage of State historic preservation tax credits to aid in financing the

investment. In April, 2016 Revolution Mill announced that LT Apparel Group, a New York based apparel

designer and marketer, will be its first major tenant. The company plans to make Greensboro its headquarters

for the design and artwork for Adidas and Carharrt children’s lines. Greensboro’s largest microbrewery, Natty

Greene’s, also plans to locate a new $14 million brewery production facility and restaurant at Revolution

Mill. This is expected to create 27 new jobs by the end of 2018.

Other developments completed in 2016 include a $14 million 300,000 square foot speculative industrial

building at the

McConnell Center

industrial park in Greensboro. The City of Greensboro is extending a

$600,000 loan as part of the City’s shovel-ready site program designed to encourage industrial and

commercial development. With construction completed, the site is available for tenant occupancy with the

option to expand the building by another 128,000 square feet.

In an effort to manage the growth in consumer shopping patterns using PC’s and mobile devices

Corporation

, one of Greensboro’s largest employers, announced plans to double the size of its technology-

oriented Village at North Elm location and increase the number of employees at the facility from 155 to

approximately 300 in 2015. With a focus on technological innovation within the apparel industry, VF Corp is

also partnering with Gateway University Research Park in Greensboro and opening a new 8,000 square foot

Global Jeanswear Innovation Center that will be home to scientists, engineers, chemists, and designers. The

center will create an estimated 30 jobs by the end of 2016.

Other retail construction projects include more than $2.5 million in ongoing improvements to

Red Cinemas

(formerly Carousel) northwest of downtown to create luxury theater rooms as an anchor for a planned $50

million development surrounding the theater. The proposed development will connect to the City’s Greenway

and include a multi-story retail building with restaurants and office space, a nine-story residential tower and

multiple parking decks. Two rooftop terraces are planned with a view of downtown.

Several of the area

colleges and universities

are also experiencing

significant capital construction

In 2016,

A&T State University and University of North Carolina – Greensboro (UNC-G) were together approved for

$195 Million in Connect NC Bond funding. A&T plans to invest $90 million for construction of a new

Engineering Research and Innovation Complex (ERIC), while UNC-G is in the design phase of a new $105

million, four-story School of Nursing building. UNC-G also approved the second phase development of a

new $48 million student housing project, in addition to recent project completion of a student center and

dormitory renovations. Construction activities also continue at Guilford Technical Community College

(GTCC) where plans for $17 million in renovations to build the new Center for Advanced Manufacturing are

underway. The school’s transportation and welding programs will be located in the 242,000 square-foot

building and will include a flex lab for use by companies for employee training. Overall, the Piedmont Triad

region received $355 million in funding from the $2 billion state bond package, approved by North Carolina

voters in March 2016.

In keeping with Council’s strategic focus on spurring economic improvement, the City solicited proposals to

develop strategies for economic development in Greensboro that will result in new jobs, investment and

business opportunities. This challenge is part of the $1 million grant received by the City from the U.S.

Department of Commerce and Economic Development Administration’s

Strong Cities, Strong

Communities (SC2) program

last fall. Greensboro was one of three cities nationwide to receive the grant.

The transformative economic development plans for Greensboro were received and checks awarded to six

recipients in September 2015. The first place award of $500,000 was presented to a local team of educators