High Point says it must be addressed.

• Author: Maley, Frank
• Position: TAR HEEL TATTLER

High Point officials can't do much about the perception that the city, despite a population of more than 90,000, plays second fiddle to Greensboro in Guilford County. But they have moved to stop companies they're recruiting with incentives from using addresses in Greensboro or other places despite being within High Point's city limits.

It's not that companies such as Charlotte-based Bank of America and New York-based Polo Ralph Lauren have been spurning the furniture mecca for what they see as sexier locations--the way some Durham and Morrisville companies insist they're based in Research Triangle Park despite having only a post-office box there. Many of the offending addresses in High Point have been assigned by the U.S. Postal Service.

As cities grow into unincorporated territory, the post office does not always recognize the change. "You can be in the High Point city limits, and your mailing address assigned by the U.S. Postal Service can be two different ZIP codes of Greensboro, Jamestown, Colfax or Thomasville, as well as six different ZIP codes of High Point," says Loren Hill, president of High Point Economic Development Corp.

Take...