Mega-effort: economic boosters must choreograph their efforts when developing and recruiting companies to industrial sites.

• Author: Blake, Kathy
• Position: SPONSORED SECTION: SPECIAL REPORT: INDUSTRIAL PARKS

Thirty miles southeast of Greensboro, on U.S. 421 near Liberty, 1,500 acres that were once prized for their timber are clear and ready for construction. "Officially, what we're looking for is a couple thousand jobs and a major investment on the site," says Loren Hill, president of High Point Economic Development Corp. "That will have an impact beyond the borders of the site [and] the borders of the county and make a statewide impact." Getting there will require effort from a team that includes High Point, Randolph County Economic Development Corp., Greensboro Partnership, Cary-based Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina Inc., Charlotte-based Duke Energy Corp. and Raleigh-based North Carolina Railroad Co.

What those teammates want for Greensboro-Randolph Megasite is an automaker. North Carolina is the only Southern state without one. Sweden-based Volvo Group, Germany-based Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz and England-based Jaguar Land Rover have kicked the state's tires. While none signed on the dotted line, their interest has revved up economic-development

officials. "In my county, more than one-third of the jobs are in manufacturing, and I believe that our workforce--a skilled workforce--is going to be a key advantage that North Carolina and our site have," says Randolph EDC President Bonnie Renfro. "That's a story to tell. Our target end user for the megasite includes advanced manufacturers in the automotive, aerospace, consumer-products, food-processing, metal-manufacturing and tire-manufacturing industries. [However], we have a particular focus on automotive and aerospace industries."

Greensboro-Randolph is only one swath of North Carolina that has been cleared and prepped as an industrial megasite. These properties offer tenants utilities, transportation, and nearby community colleges and universities whose graduates possess in-demand skills. Industrial sites require a coordinated effort from many players to build, market and fill, but the returns can be big.

EDPNC CEO Christopher Chung says jobs are only a portion of the economic impact that large manufacturers make. "You're going to have the opportunity to attract a large network of suppliers that move in to support an auto-assembly plant. And many of those ... would likely provide well-paying jobs, especially high-tech operations that make everything from transmissions to electrical components to advanced composite materials."

Michael Waiden agrees. In "The Economic Potential...