EDUCATION, INDUSTRY AND AEROSPACE, OH MY! Guilford County's economic growth trends upward with expansions, revitalization and innovative spaces.

• Author: Cunnane, Julie
• Position: REGIONAL REPORT: GUILFORD COUNTY

Guilford County is set to knock growth expectations out of the ballpark as the region leverages its strengths in advanced manufacturing, aerospace and even the arts.

With new downtown revitalizations in Greensboro and High Point, the expansion of area universities and the addition of jobs by local and incoming industry, the county's economic growth is trending upward and looks to continue to do so, according to local officials.

DOWNTOWN GREENSBORO

Performing arts

Downtown Greensboro is growing and will soon have more cultural offerings to boost the already vibrant area.

The first season at the Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts in spring 2020 will feature six Broadway shows, including the everpopular "Wicked." The venue has already sold $12,000 in initial season memberships, and public season ticket sales will be released June 1.

"Of the first six spectacular shows, four of them are in the top 10 on Broadway right now," says Matt Brown, managing director of the Greensboro Coliseum Complex and the new Tanger Center.

In addition to the Broadway season lineup, the center will host 150 live performance events, bringing an estimated 337,000 to 400,000 people downtown. A new Hyatt Place hotel opened, and a Hampton Inn is under construction due to the increased traffic for performance events like these.

"First-run Broadway productions are appealing to people who come and make an overnight stay," Brown says. "[Tanger] has become the economic generator for revitalizing downtown."

Revolution Mill: Kontoor

Growth continues north of downtown at Revolution Mill, a mixed-use development complex where one of Greensboro's longtime companies, VF Corp., signed a five-year lease for its spinoff clothing company Kontoor Brands Inc., a jeanswear company that carries Lee, Wrangler Jeans and other brands.

"This is an exciting next step in our work to establish our jeanswear organization as an independent, publicly traded company," said VF Corp. President and CEO Steve Rendle in a press release. "Kontoor Brands --a creative variation of the word 'contour'--is a compelling company name that will preserve each brand's unique identity while also providing the opportunity to evolve the company in the years ahead."

Kontoor Brands houses merchandising, design and product development as well as innovation functions in the new office space with 125 employees.

Revolution Mill is a live-work community development with offices, event space, apartments, restaurants and an outdoor community space. Developers are working with the city to extend the greenway in front of the project so people can ride their bikes 15 minutes to downtown.

DOWNTOWN HIGH POINT

Local attractions

High Point's city limits span over four counties: Guilford, Forsyth, Randolph and Davidson. High Point is in a perfect spot to pull nearby residents downtown for work and play.

A flagship growth project in downtown High Point is the multiuse BB&T Point Stadium, which seats 4,400 with a standing room capacity of 5,000. The High Point Rockers, a local independent Atlantic League baseball team, celebrated the opening of the stadium with its inaugural game May 2. The stadium, a $36.1 million investment, is also equipped to host soccer, football and lacrosse games, as well as other events such as festivals and concerts.

Additional commercial projects worth more than $80 million will follow, such as office space, restaurants, a hotel and retail shops in addition to some residential and mixed-use properties.

Located adjacent to the new stadium in the former Adams Mills hosiery complex is Plant Seven, an incubator for furniture designers, makers and entrepreneurs.

Plant Seven is an initiative of HP365, a nonprofit collaboration led by the High Point Chamber of Commerce and funded by a $1.5 million North Carolina grant and supporters in the community. The Plant Seven space boasts both a 3D printing lab and the second-largest materials library on the East Coast. It will also offer a cafe, retail shop and galleries for events or exhibitions

The initiative nods to the area's history of furniture manufacturing in a new-age, collaborative way by supporting the sharing of ideas and skills with year-round programming, access to advanced technology and shared resources.

"We're looking at creating an urban style of living in downtown," High Point Mayor Jay Wagner told WFMYTV in September. "We want to attract more jobs to our downtown. We want more life and vitality in our city."

Attracting visitors for major events...