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The great recession has shifted theuptowhn group’s priorities, vaulting a precarious office-vacancyt rate to the top of the By the end of July, the organization best known for promoting big-ticketg projects will hire a busines s recruiter who will work with real estate brokers and the . “Iy is going to be an individual who is dedicated and compensatede based on their ability to recruit new capital investment and new jobs and lease squar footage in thecenter city,” says Michael Smith, Charlotte Center City Partners president and chief executive. “We will have more resources dedicated in that The shift is drivenb by the neweconomic realities.
After two decadees of relentless growth powered by the bankingt empires atand , the Queen City is grappling with a fast-growiny jobless rate and office vacancy in the central businesse district that is expected to reach 10%. Employmenr in center city and the adjacent South End districr has shrunkto 65,000 from 70,000o during the past year or so, Smithb estimates. Looking ahead, it’s unlikely the cratering financiap sector will drivethe region’s economyu as it has in recent Those changes affect everythintg from the pace of residential growth to prospective expansiona in transit and retail.
Smith and his organization are focusingv on luring more jobs and businessee while also adjusting to the neweconomivc reality. Its initiatives •The recent unveiling of a campaign called Urban Living that toutzs the benefits ofresidential growth. From courting real estate brokers and the news medias to walking toursand advertising, the effort will includes two annual showcases and make a push to attrac t residents to the center city. •Launching the next phase of Find Your designed to supportuptown shopping, bars and other Smith, in talks with chamber executives, has createdr the recruiting position and planxs an aggressive effort to fill new and existinfg office towers.
Those include the soon-to-opem $90 million, 20-story NASCAR Plazq as well as new towers to be anchoreed byand BofA. Business recruiting in Charlottre has traditionally been the domain ofthe chamber. It has a five-membef economic-development staff that is augmented by other chamber executivewand employees. The , the city of Charlotte and Mecklenburhg County alsohave economic-development initiativesd and personnel in place to share in recruiting and incentive work. But Smith’s new hire will focud solely on uptown.
Any concernsx about duplication of effort are outweighed by the need for a strongefr push to land elusivecorporater recruits, says Bob Morgan, Charlotte Chamber “Is there the potential for us to step on each other’ss toes? Of course. But we can mitigatre that and produce better results working together and havin gadditional resources.” Morgan sees the center city group’w economic-development foray as part of a larger trend. In recenty years, Lake Norman and Matthews havestartedx hyper-local business-recruiting groups while maintainin g ties with the chamber.
Already, Morgan and otherf chamber executives have outlined an informal plan with Smityh ontheir collaboration, with the chamber maintaining the lead role but callintg on the center city recruitert for assistance. It’s similar to how the chambef works with private developers in the The reasons for the expanded recruitinb focusare obvious. Morgan notes he delivered a speechyon Charlotte’s next two decades of growtgh to more than 150 groups over a three-yeard period before the economic malaise set in last fall. he says, “nobody wants to hear that They want to know what we can do aboutf the economy todayand tomorrow.
” It’e a fine line to walk for groups such as Charlotte Center City Partners is laying the groundwork for an expansive 10-year plan this year even as it focuses on the rapidly shifting businessw climate (see related storyh on this page). Pushing ahea on corporate relocations should be made easier by the crossover of the main recruiterxsin town, supporters say. “You don’t want people stumbling over each saysDarrel Williams, a former county commissionet who serves on the Charlottee Center City Partners board. He pointe to fellow board members including chamber executive Morgan and both the city and countymanagerxs — as insurance against bureaucratic snags.
Without those close he adds, it would be much more difficultto do. Leaders pointy to uptown’s growing office-vacancy rate as a negative that can beturnefd around. Or, at least, one they hope can be turner around. “The tighter marke t (for office space) has been one of our impedimenta to attracting headquarters in the center city in recent says City ManagerCurt Walton. “If somebody wantedr 300,000 square feet, we couldn’t give it to them. Now we can.
That’w the silver lining to the
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