Study Mission

Every year, Sacramento Metro Chamber members and community leaders visit an American city to learn about best practices in economic development, workforce development and quality of life issues. For 2007, the Metro Chamber visits Charlotte, N.C., Oct. 2-5.

Report from Charlotte, N.C.
Trip Details| Study Mission Participants| Charlotte Observer

Background
Charlotte, N.C., is the NASCAR capital of the world—a thriving manufacturing hub and a financial center as well. How the region transformed itself multiple times will be studied when 60 business and community leaders travel east as part of the Sacramento Metro Chamber’s annual Study Mission, Oct. 2-5.

“The people of Charlotte know how to help existing business grow and get new ones off the ground. They know how to combine public and private assets to build stadiums and ballparks and other non-essential civic amenities. They know how to take a manufacturing nucleus and make it a world-wide franchise. This all happened because of a singleness of mind and purpose,” said Study Mission Bruce Starkweather of Lionakis Beaumont Design Group. “Some people call it the ‘Charlotte Miracle’— but what they possess is an abundance of strong and visionary leadership.” |More

Below are highlights from presentations to Charlotte Study Mission participants that highlight the region’s economic development strategies, challenges and philosophy.

Six-term Charlotte Mayor, Patrick McCrory, former Duke Energy executive:

• Do you have team to deal with a crisis? At any moment, there can be a crisis—such as a large company leaving town—and if you don’t have a leadership team in place and prepared, you will loose the confidence of the people.
  
• The leadership of the city, the chamber and the business community meet once a month Crisis teams have intervened and worked quickly over a few days’ time to keep big businesses in town.
  
• Study missions help to form those leadership teams.
  
• The city that will be most competitive is the one that has the most choice, a skilled workforce, a diverse economy. It can weather the ups and downs of the economic structure brings.
  
• Talent and business will come when there are choices
  
• Transit – rail, bus, and roads choices are needed. A region can’t wait, need to do all of it now and you can’t stop selling while you build it.
  
• A region needs a choice in housing, suburban and urban and an important sector— 20 year olds—want a social environment.
  
• Need to show what your future is going to look like. It’s a very effective recruitment tool to show the vision for tomorrow. The people in Charlotte are looking toward the future, not just today.
  
• The strength of the relationship between the Charlotte mayor’s office and the chamber is evident. They lean on one another and are both part of the leadership equally.
  
• A regional concept for economic development is to take the “they” out of the equation. Jurisdictions, organizations and stakeholders need to work as one team and not shoot at each other. “Our competition is other regions, not each other.”

Critical Issues

1. Gangs: Worried about the new problem that is emerging. They know they have to deal with it, and this public safety issue will affect economic plan.
   
2. Immigration issue: A region can’t run from politically, it’s a social-economic issue, it can’t be dumped on federal government, but something the business community has to confront.
   
3. 1970s development:  Growing old and needs retrofitting; malls and strip malls are closing, poor design has no long lasting value. How does a region revive the 70s neighborhoods?
   
4. Every city has a business corridor that’s deteriorated and needs redevelopment Government must reinvest in the corridor and show the development community that their investing can be profitable.
   
5. Outlying neighborhoods (8-10 miles from central core) need infrastructure investment, too. Rezoning and demolition of outdated structures is an approach. Charlotte created CWAC—city within a city program to revitalize these areas.                                                      

President, Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, Bob Morgan:

• Charlotte is a high growth area focused on the future. The strategy, Charlotte 2027, envisions what the stakeholders think the region will look like in 20 years and what is being done today to shape that future. It’s an economic development strategic plan, a cluster analysis.
  
• Charlotte is now a financial center, but it historically has been a transportation, trade and manufacturing center. Drivers of the economy now are health care, defense, bio-technology.
  
• Has turned into a hot destination for relocating families and businesses—the next 20 years will be a population boom and not must consider how to move people and products effectively
  
• Charlotte Chamber of Commerce realizes it can best serve large businesses, such as banks, by growing and retaining businesses which are customers of these large companies.
  
• Universities and education play a central role in affecting the business community prosperity. University research is an economic generator.
  
• Ninety percent of the Nextel racing cup teams are located within100 miles of Charlotte . Retaining those businesses drives industry growth and ensures that NASCAR headquarters stays because the sport relies on the businesses to serve the industry.
  
• Young people up and down the Eastern Seaboard are moving to Charlotte because of the whitewater center. It is one of the best workforce dev attractions the region has and draws young professionals before they even have jobs. They move to Charlotte first then then seek a job.
  
• Concentrating a cultural district is part of the region’s economic development plan. Having first-class facilities is important, but keeping them near and centrally located is intentional.

Charlotte Economic Development Director Tom Flynn:

• Objectives are job growth, tax base expansion and increase personal income
  
• Charlotte Chamber of Commerce provides private leadership in public-private partnerships. The leadership is essential for success; public-private partnerships, such as for the NBA Bobcats team and the NASCAR Hall of Fame last for decades.
  
• In arts partnerships, private financing drives multi-use development, which support retail and job growth and encompasses arts and cultural amenities.
  
• Region ties student internships to economic development plan—120 interns receive job skills in sectors of the economy that are part of the regional economic development strategy to grow and retain.

Charlotte Center City Partners Michael Smith (Bobcats Arena)

• The $265 million NBA Charlotte Bobcats Arena seats 18,000 to 20,000 depending on the event and is located near light rail and walkable from downtown. It’s also home to the Charlotte Checkers minor league hockey team and hosts concerts and major indoor events—all told, 144 a year.
  
• A nonbinding referendum asked if voters wanted to build a new arena downtown; 57 percent voted no. (The referendum attracted only 17 percent of registered voters.)
  
• After the referendum, the city’s then NBA team, The Hornets, moved out of town.
  
• The day after the Hornets made the announcement, the mayor of Charlotte announced plans for a new public-private partnership, and the City Council took a proactive approach to continuing redevelopment momentum and locate an arena downtown.
   
• The new arena is operated by the team but owned by the city. The city’s portion was financed by hotel/motel/rental car tax and sale of city assets. Financing was backed by Duke Energy, Bank of America and Wachovia, who underwrote $100 million in exchange for $50 million of sale of uptown real estate.