Biotechnology is Alive and Well

As the lingering effects of the great recession continue to lead to slow job growth (not only in Kannapolis but across the globe) there are some bright spots on the horizon.

UNCC economist John Connaughton recently predicted a net growth of 36,000 jobs in North Carolina this year. While that is much less than what was lost during the last two years, it does provide a positive sign.

What is really interesting, however, is the resilience of the biotechnology and life science sector in North Carolina during the last year. NC Biotech Center CEO Norris Tolson points out in a recent column in the Raleigh News & Observer that, while the state unemployment rate hit 11% last year, biotech jobs actually grew by 1%.

He goes on to predict that, with serious focus, the biotech industry in North Carolina could grow by more than 65,000 jobs over the next decade. I like to think that the hard work occurring in Kannapolis is a critical component of that focus. In fact, I know it is.

There appears to be lots of venture capital still finding its way to biotechnology projects as evidenced by a recent report by online venture capital database VentureDeal. The report showed a steady amount of biotech venture capital and almost no change from the third to fourth quarter of 2009.

One of the keys to remember when thinking about biotechnology as an industry is that it goes well beyond drug development. It crosses into agriculture, medical devices and biofuels. There is a great guide to learn more about the different areas on the NC Biotechnology Center website.

Not only does biotech cross multiple industry sectors, but it also creates other jobs. When you look at this list of top jobs in 2010 from the Wall Street Journal, the following stand out: statistician, biologist, mathematician, accountant and computer systems engineer. All of these jobs have a direct link to the environment being built at the NCRC.

Not only are the types of the jobs we’re working to create on the campus the best jobs of today, but they also hold the greatest potential for the future. One analysis by the US Department of Labor recently ranked biomedical engineer as the number one job based on growth potential over the next decade. Medical scientists, biochemists and biophysics made the top 10.

So, while the recession has been very difficult for so many in our community, I choose to take the long view. We have a budding economic engine in Cabarrus County the likes of which we haven’t seen since the Philip Morris announcement three decades ago. When this economy turns around, we’re going to be perfectly positioned to take advantage.

Good News on the Bio Labor Front

I had the opportunity to attend a very exciting meeting this morning at the Charlotte Regional Partnership. As a part of a larger effort directed by the NC Biotech Center, the CRP helped to commission an analysis of the labor market for biomanufacturing in our region.

The approach was very interesting. The contracted with Biggins, Lacy, Shapiro & Co, a New Jersey-based site selection consultant, to find out how our workforce looked if a large manufacturing interest was looking at our region as a possible location for a 400 job facility. Kannapolis was a specific point used for the report.

Long story short? There are more than 24,000 workers right now in our area that could be easily hired into a biomanufacturing plant. This is great news. To break it down further, the ratio that firms generally look for is 15:1. That is, 15 qualified workers for every job opening that would happen at their facility. Our ration is 30:1, meaning we would have 30 qualified workers for every 1 job at the 400 job facility.

Our strong manufacturing base and the skill sets already here translate well to this industry. We’ve already seen that with Harmony Labs. This report will provide a powerful marketing tool to companies looking at our state and will help tell our story. To read the report, click here.

The Vision of the NCRC and a Call for Patience

I have been a native of the Charlotte region for most of my 40-something years.  During this time I have watched with interest the development (and oftentimes redevelopment) of uptown Charlotte. Or downtown. Or Center City.

This weekend, while reading an article about the residential development in downtown Charlotte, I was struck that while only 8 of the 20 announced developments since the mid-2000s have been built, that downtown economic developers and promoters would have likely been thrilled by the knowledge in 1999 that, by 2010, there would be 8 new significant downtown residential developments.  It’s easy to look back now and focus on the 12 projects that didn’t happen (yet) and lose sight of the 8 that did happen and how they helped transform Charlotte’s urban core.

The parallels to the development landscape in downtown Charlotte and some of the recent talk about the slowdown of development on the North Carolina Research Campus are amazingly close. Can you imagine how excited in July 2003 we in Kannapolis and Cabarrus County would have been to know that by 2009 we would be witness to the removal of more than 6 million square feet of rapidly decaying and obsolete textile manufacturing space (with no public funds expended to do it); the construction of three huge buildings including a one of a kind, state-of-the-art laboratory facility and space to support eight public and private universities doing groundbreaking life science research; nearly $300 million in private investment; and more than 200 people in the biotech industry working in downtown Kannapolis?

The Great Recession has changed our real estate market and it has impacted development projects across the country, from downtown Charlotte to New York City’s World Trade Center site to yes, Kannapolis and the North Carolina Research Campus.

What hasn’t changed in Kannapolis is the vision. Over the past several years we have spent a lot of time talking about buildings, and rightfully so. But we’re moving into a phase of the maturity of the Campus where the science is starting to take flight. Scientific papers are being published. Scientists are being recruited on a daily basis.  Real scientific discoveries are starting to develop and emerge.  This growth in the business of the Campus (more so than the development of the Campus) is what will sustain the project over time.  It is the science and the discoveries that will lead to more buildings, more private investment and more jobs.  The transformation of our local economy is indeed occurring – just not in the five years we had originally hoped.

Even if we never witnessed another brick being laid on the North Carolina Research Campus, we as a community and a region are incredibly fortunate to have seen what has occurred to date.  We are already incredibly far ahead of the game.

The satisfying part of all this is that the North Carolina Research Campus is still in its infancy and there are no plans to stop (or even slow) its continued development once our national and global economy recovers.  There will certainly be plenty more bricks to be laid on the Campus and lots more jobs to be created; but more importantly, there will be real scientific breakthroughs in the areas of nutrition, food productivity and disease research.  We must remain patient and do our part to continue to support this great vision.

Groundbreaking on the Kannapolis Parkway

Rendering of the new PBH headquarters.

A few short years ago, I felt like I was at a groundbreaking every other week as our economy seemed to race in a constant state of overdrive. Obviously, things slowed way down last year. Which is why the groundbreaking yesterday for the PBH headquarters was so much fun.

Their new facility will be located across from Caremoor Retirement Center, and from what I understand construction should take about 15 months (but don’t quote me on that). Here are some excerpts from the official news release (email me if you’d like to see a full copy):

The groundbreaking for the new PBH Corporate Center on Kannapolis Parkway held Wednesday, February 17, will allow the managed behavioral healthcare organization to gain cost savings and efficiencies by moving all staff under one roof. PBH is the Local Management Entity (LME) for mental health, development disability and substance abuse services in Cabarrus, Davidson, Rowan, Stanly and Union counties. Its headquarters is located in Cabarrus County. Currently, PBH staff is spread across five locations in the Concord area…

Dan Coughlin, Chief Executive Officer of PBH, said, “The building will give staff the ability to use technology to gain effectiveness, be more productive, and  reduce costs on building rent. In addition to these gains, the new building will allow PBH to offer employment opportunities for consumers on a small scale, and both providers and consumers will have use of and benefit from a state-of-the-art training facility.”

The building was designed by Entasis Design, Inc. of Kannapolis and will be built by Edifice, Inc. of Charlotte.

From left: Bryan Knupp, Edifice, Inc., general contractor; Todd Meckley, Entasis Design, Inc., architects; Dan Coughlin, PBH Chief Executive Officer; Betty Babb, Chair of the PBH Board of Directors; Bob Misenheimer, Kannapolis Mayor; Pam Shipman, PBH Chief Operating Officer; Eric Coulson, Entasis Design, Inc., architects; and Gary Creed, Edifice, Inc., general contractor.

Building the Scientific Community

On Friday, Mike Legg, Irene Sacks and I had a fantastic lunch with Mike Luther and Sheetal Ghelani from the DHMRI. It was a catch up meeting about the DHMRI and their activities, and I walked away very impressed.

As someone with a non-scientific background, it is very easy for me to get caught up in buildings and land when I think about the NCRC. As in, cool! Another building is starting! That’s huge news!

In fact, for the past year, the activities at the DHMRI have been way cooler than another groundbreaking. And not only cooler, they have been more important.

The DHMRI is working with public and private institutions to help them solve problems and get new products to market. These institutions range from start-ups to major universities.

Yes, they have snazzy equipment at the DHMRI. But more than that, they have the ability to help scientists both here in Kannapolis and others from across the globe solve complex problems. (That’s right. They can do work remotely.)

In short, the DHMRI is the foundation for the scientific community that is the cornerstone of the transformation here in Kannapolis. As they grow and prosper, so does the NCRC.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love buildings. I think they’re great. And I especially love the high quality buildings constructed on the Campus.

But the work at the DHMRI – which we often don’t think about because they’re hidden away in a highly secure lab building – is what really matters in the long run. In the end, the NCRC will be about people, not buildings.

If you want to know more, check out their site at http://www.dhmri.org/about.html.

Public Art

Mike Legg and I had the opportunity to be part of the recent Cabarrus Arts Council retreat that learned more about the public art program in Charlotte and explored the possibility of creating public art opportunities locally. It was fascinating to hear about the program in Charlotte, which is managed by the Arts and Science Council. Many other cities across the U.S. have public art programs as well.

The value of public art comes in many subtle forms – enhancing urban design and the pedestrian experience, increasing accessibility and exposure to art, and making a place more engaging where people want to live, work, or visit. Public art is an investment in the long term vibrancy of a community. Public art can make an appearance in many places – plazas, greenways, parks, sidewalks, transit stops, buildings,  embankment walls – and ways – benches, fountains, tree grates/guards, lamp posts, murals, gates, etc.

While it is exciting to have access to the growing arts and culture in Charlotte, what are the possibilities of enhancing the beauty, culture, and history of Kannapolis with public art? Could our future greenways, civic buildings, and other public investments include a component of public art to create lasting impact? The City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County both have ordinances that dedicate 1% of public building project budgets to the public art program. That means that a $1 million building would include $10,000 committed to public art. One potential project that is currently being explored here for public art is the Transit Center that is being constructed on Ridge Ave as a joint project between City of Kannapolis and City of Concord.

It would also be great to see elements of public art pop up with private development as well – churches, banks, large developments, retail areas, etc.  This is just one way to create a better built environment in Kannapolis.

For the public art walking tour in Charlotte, click here. For more information and examples of public art, just google it!

Small Business & Entrepreneur Resources

Last week I attended a quarterly meeting for the Business Resource Roundtable for Cabarrus and Rowan Counties. This is an informal group of small business service providers – organizations that serve as resources for small business growth in the region. It is organized by Barbara Hall, director of the Small Business Center at RCCC, and helps to keep each agency updated about what others are doing. Here are some highlights:

• The Five Ventures annual business plan competition and conference is coming up April 13. This is an opportunity for early-stage, high-growth businesses to compete for awards and resources to grow their businesses. The deadline to enter is February 16. If you are not in the competition, attending the conference is a great way to hear about new business ventures and network with other entrepreneurs and service providers.
• Self-Help, a community development lending institution with an office in Charlotte that serves the region, has received funding to provide loans to small businesses that are unable to find financing from traditional banks. They are looking for small businesses ready to invest these funds!
• The Centralina Workforce Development Board has an incumber worker training program that helps existing businesses upgrade the skills of their workers to position the company for modernization and expansion. The grants are competitive and the deadline for the next round is May 24. For more information, click here.
• SCORE, the group of retired small business executives that helps existing small businesses, will be starting a marketing and sales seminar. Although the group is based in Charlotte, they are available to come up to Cabarrus and Rowan Counties for counseling visits.
• The Department of Commerce is working with the local SBTDC to offer Biz Boost, a program for companies with 10 or more employees to help them grow and create jobs. The companies work with the SBTDC on areas such as marketing, financing, and strategy development.
• The Small Business Center is offering two entrepreneur training programs to help people develop their business strategy and business plan: REAL (Tuesdays Feb 16 – Apr 13), and FastTrac (weekly, Mar 22 – Apr 7). The SBC also launched the Business Connector, a database that links the people who make purchasing decisions at the NC Research Campus to local businesses.

Small business and entrepreneurship are very important to our local economy, and we all need to do what we can to help them grow. For a more comprehensive overview of small business resources, click here and here.

All Aboard!

Late last week federal and state officials were in Durham, NC to announce the award of $520 million to the state of North Carolina for improvements to the rail corridor between Charlotte and Raleigh to support the implementation of high-speed rail. North Carolina also received another $25 million from the rail line improvements from Raleigh north to Virginia. The Commonwealth of Virginia received $75 million for improvements between Richmond and Washington DC.  These improvements are all part of the Southeast High-Speed Rail Corridor Project.

This new federal investment represents a major leap forward in making high-speed rail a reality in North Carolina. According to state and federal officials, the project is expected to create or maintain 4,800 jobs in the state’s private sector.  For more information, see Governor Perdue’s press release and the high-speed rail fact sheet included with the release.

This new funding is part of $8 billion set aside in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) reserved for high-speed rail projects across the nation.  Some of the other recipients include Illinois/Missouri, Florida and California.   This investment will fund nearly 30 rail line projects intended to improve rail speed and service between the largest cities in North Carolina – including the existing stop in Kannapolis.

What does this mean for our City?  Several things.

1. Kannapolis = Rail. Kannapolis has always been a “rail city.”  Since the onset of Cannon Mills at the beginning of the 20^th century, the railroad and the mill were critically dependent upon the other.  Kannapolis (as we know it) would not exist if it were not for the existence of the railroad.  Generations of Kannapolis residents have grown up with the railroad being the transportation and economic backbone of the community.  The further investment in rail improvements as announced last week continues to be important to Kannapolis and the surrounding communities.
2. Long Standing Local Support. This appreciation and support for rail travel, rail commerce and rail safety has never wavered locally.  About a decade ago, the Kannapolis City Council reached an agreement with the N.C. Department of Transportation Rail Division to support its “sealed corridor” program.  This effort aimed at significantly improving rail safety throughout the state.  This program involved closing a number of crossings in the community (Ebenezer Road, Plymouth Street, C Street, etc.) in an effort to reduce train/vehicle conflicts and to reduce travel time between Raleigh and Charlotte (and beyond).  The changes were painful and politically unpopular locally but the correct decisions were made.  The enticement to the local community was that several rail improvements would occur over time.  Some of the smaller, safety improvements have occurred, some have not.  However I strongly believe that the success in securing ARRA funding is a result of hard decisions made be entities like the Kannapolis City Council over the past decade or longer.
3. Rogers Lake Road Overpass? The Rogers Lake Road Overpass (formerly Universal Street) is priority number 1 on the rail project list for Kannapolis. With the City’s recent construction of the Rogers Lake Road extension to Kannapolis Parkway, this corridor has the potential to be a true east-west thoroughfare which is sorely lacking in our City.  The bridge is critical to this becoming a reality.  With help from our congressional delegation in Washington, we were successful in securing a $950,000 federal earmark for this proposed overpass (this occurred well before the high-speed rail funds were announced).  This funding will pay for engineering/design and environmental planning work on an overpass structure at this location. While it initially appears that no funding for this overpass is included in the $520 million ARRA plan for North Carolina, this is not finalized.  Regardless, it appears that both the State of North Carolina and the Federal Government are committed to a rebirth of passenger rail travel.  This likely means other funding opportunities will likely arise to help pay for this much needed bridge.  This intersection is among the most congested peak hour rail road crossings along the corridor. (NOTE: planned short-term improvements to this intersection are slated to begin this summer)
4. A New Train Station = State Commitment. The NCDOT Rail Division, the City of Kannapolis and Cabarrus County participated in the construction of the new Kannapolis Train Station which ensures that Kannapolis will remain a vital participant in passenger rail transportation for North Carolina and the eastern U.S. for many years to come.  Confirming this commitment, a new platform canopy for the Kannapolis station appears to have been included in the $520 million High-Speed Rail ARRA application.
5. NCRC and Increased Ridership. Perhaps most importantly, the high-speed rail initiative will ultimately create far more ridership options for Kannapolis residents and its workforce than currently exist.  Most notably, employees and visitors to the North Carolina Research Campus (NCRC) will be the big beneficiaries of high-speed rail due to the strong education and research link between the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill and Kannapolis.  Currently one of the daily trains from Raleigh (the Piedmont) arrives in Kannapolis around 9:30 AM and the return train to Raleigh leaves Kannapolis at around 6:00 PM.  The other daily train (the Carolinian) departs Kannapolis at about 8:00 AM and arrives in Raleigh about three hours later.  The return trip from Raleigh on the Carolinian departs around 4:50 PM and arrives in Kannapolis at about 7:45 PM.  Unfortunately the Carolinian originates in New York City and is sometimes late so it is a bit less reliable for those in Raleigh wanting to get back to Kannapolis/Charlotte.  However, the rail improvement plans include adding a mid-day train between Raleigh and Charlotte.   This mid-day train will allow for more flexibility for the visitor or worker at the NCRC.  For example an NCRC researcher can leave Kannapolis at 8 AM for a lunch meeting at a campus of one of the NCRC parent universities and then catch the new mid-day train back to the NCRC.  Presently, that researcher would have to wait until at least 4:50 PM to depart Raleigh – perhaps later if the train is delayed from the stops in NYC, Philadelphia, Washington DC, etc.

Ridership has been steady in Kannapolis since the Train Station opened in 2004, but it has not seen any dramatic spikes in growth.  That all could change in the next several years. There are several factors I believe will contribute to increased ridership in Kannapolis over the next several years (some are unique to Kannapolis): (a) The Charlotte station moving from N. Tryon Street to downtown Charlotte (scheduled for 2012), which will make Kannapolis the “northeast Charlotte” station; (b) reducing the rail travel time from Raleigh to Charlotte closer to 2 hours (the ARRA funding will help get us there); (c) congestion on the interstates continuing to increase and outpace needed highway improvements (which is probably a given); and (d) the  mid-day train becoming operational which will offer lots of convenience and flexibility to the business traveler – most notably for the NCRC visitor and/or employee.

Assume for a moment that we do achieve two hour (or less) rail trips from Raleigh to Kannapolis.  It currently costs $46 round trip.  It now takes two and a half hours (assuming no traffic delays) by car.   Now assume gas is $4.00/gallon which is quite possible again.  Also factor in two hours of quiet time with your coffee and newspaper, or better yet, productive time; laptop with an air card and blackberry in hand….and the hidden benefit of you helping to improve our air quality through the use of mass transit.  You be the judge.

All in all, the ARRA funding for high-speed rail is very good for North Carolina, very good for the environment and very good for Kannapolis, the NCRC and the Charlotte region.  If there was ever a project where environmental stewardship and economic development meet – this might be it.

North Carolina JOBS Commission

Lt. Governor Walter Dalton was in Kannapolis on Friday at the N.C. Research Campus. He is the chair of the JOBS Commission (“Joining Our Businesses and Schools”), which is a group formed by the N.C. General Assembly to make recommendations on how to better link public education and the needs of the businesses in the state. The meeting included panels of business leaders and education leaders. Some of the comments that were made echoed the presentations made at the recent Kannapolis City Council retreat.

Kenny McDonald, VP of Economic Development Services with the Charlotte Regional Partnership, pointed out three key talent challenges that we face as a region:

• Creating places that allow us to attract talent from U.S. and abroad. At the City Council retreat, we discussed the importance of human capital recruitment, and that establishing a strong quality of life and sense of place are critical to making Kannapolis attractive to talented workers.
• Preparing educated individuals and an entrepreneurial culture. Another topic at the City Council retreat was economic development, and the need for Kannapolis to foster an entrepreneurial culture and to develop and attract a well-educated workforce – these are the foundations of growing a strong economic base.
• Preparing specialists capable of solving multi-disciplinary problems. The future workforce needs a wide range of skills and a deep knowledge base. Increasingly, jobs and the problems we face are multi-disciplinary – meaning that you may need different types of degrees or at least an understanding of different fields to be able to tackle work and business challenges. Locally, the N.C. Research Campus is designed to achieve the multi-disciplinary work and collaboration needed for the future. For example, the MURDOCK study being conducted by Duke University, brings together experts with experience in fields such as radiology, cardiology, proteomics, and clinical research.

Scott Lampe, CFO of Hendrick Motorsports, echoed McDonald’s comments and noted that at his company, while they have a variety of jobs from retail operations to licensing to performance racing, what makes their company successful is the process of creating leaders and entrepreneurs. As a community, that should also be Kannapolis’ goal – for us to work together collectively to make this a place that can grow and attract leaders and entrepreneurs. Those are the types of people who create jobs, increase local wealth, and give back to our community.

John Cox, CEO of the Cabarrus Regional Chamber and Cabarrus Economic Development, used the acronym TINKER when it comes to workforce development needs – Think, Innovation, Nurture, Knowledge, Entrepreneurship, and Research. As our future workforce, our kids need to develop or experience all of that through their school years.

As a city government, we have limited direct influence on our educational systems. (Did you know there are 3 school districts in Kannapolis?) However, it is important for us as community leaders to support and encourage the advancement of education and workforce development in the Kannapolis area – it is the essential ingredient to our future prosperity.

Council Retreat Summary

Last week we wrapped up an intensive 2-day retreat with City Council that covered several different topics about the future of our community and what kind of strategic investments are needed. Each one of those topics could be a separate discussion on this blog. The topics included:

• Quality of Life – newcomers survey, visual enhancement/beautification, parks & recreation, recycling, historic preservation/heritage districts, and a music festival
• Infrastructure – water/sewer, streets/transportation/stormwater
• Public safety – fire department needs, police headquarters
• Planning & development – development standards, signage, tree preservation, open space
• Economic development – facade grant programs, downtown & corridor redevelopment, human capital recruitment, business incubator, tourism development
• Finance & budget – revenue outlook, fund balance goals, debt service level

Each of the presentations are posted on the City’s website for your viewing pleasure.

The minutes from the retreat should be available in the near future by going to the Kannapolis WebLink site (click on Administration, City Council, Minutes, 2009).