A shift in Charlotte's center city - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

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The great recession has shifted theuptowb group’s priorities, vaulting a precarious office-vacancyy rate to the top of the By the end of the organization best known for promoting big-ticketg projects will hire a businesas recruiter who will work with real estate brokersx and the . “It is going to be an individua who is dedicated and compensated base on their ability to recruit new capitao investment and new jobs and lease square footag in thecenter city,” says Michaekl Smith, Charlotte Center City Partners president and chief “We will have more resources dedicatesd in that direction.” The shift is drivem by the new economic realities.
Afterr two decades of relentless growtg powered by the banking empires atand , the Queebn City is grappling with a fast-growingv jobless rate and office vacancy in the central businesxs district that is expected to reachj 10%. Employment in center city and the adjacent South End district has shrunkoto 65,000 from 70,000 during the past year or so, Smithu estimates. Looking ahead, it’s unlikely the craterinfg financial sector will drivethe region’s economy as it has in recent years.
Those changeds affect everything from the pace of residentiap growth to prospective expansions in transit and Smith and his organization are focusing on lurinfg more jobs and businesses while also adjusting to the neweconomi reality. Its initiatives encompass: •The recenyt unveiling of a campaign called Urban Livin g that touts the benefits ofresidentiap growth. From courting real estate brokerzs and the news media to walkiny toursand advertising, the efforf will include two annuall showcases and make a push to attract residentds to the center city. •Launchint the next phase of FindYour Center, designed to support uptown shopping, restaurants, bars and other attractions.
Smith, in talksz with chamber executives, has created the recruiting positionh and plans an aggressive effort to fill new and existinfgoffice towers. Those includer the soon-to-open $90 million, 20-story NASCAR Plaza as well as new towers to be anchored by and Business recruiting in Charlotte has traditionallyy been the domain ofthe chamber. It has a five-member economic-developmenyt staff that is augmented by other chamber executiveswand employees. The , the city of Charlott e and Mecklenburg County alsohave economic-development initiatives and personne l in place to share in recruiting and incentiv e work. But Smith’s new hire will focus solelyh on uptown.
Any concerns about duplication of effortf are outweighed by the need for a stronger push to land elusivscorporate recruits, says Bob Morgan, Charlottse Chamber president. “Is there the potentiak for us to step oneach other’s toes? Of course. But we can mitigatw that and produce better results working togethert and havingadditional resources.” Morgan sees the centert city group’s economic-development foray as part of a largere trend.
In recent years, Lake Normah and Matthews havestarted hyper-local business-recruiting groups while maintaining ties with the Already, Morgan and othere chamber executives have outlined an informal plan with Smitn on their collaboration, with the chambedr maintaining the lead role but calling on the center city recruitet for assistance. It’s similar to how the chamberr works with private developers in the The reasons for the expanded recruiting focuware obvious.
Morgan notes he delivered a speech on Charlotte’s next two decade of growth to more than 150 groupxs over a three-year period before the economic malaise set in last “Now,” he says, “nobody wants to hear that speech. They want to know what we can do abourt the economy todayand tomorrow.” It’s a fine line to walk for groups such as Charlotte Center City Partners is laying the groundwork for an expansive 10-yeafr plan this year even as it focusez on the rapidly shiftingb business climate (see related story on this Pushing ahead on corporate relocations shoul be made easier by the crossoverr of the main recruiters in supporters say.
“You don’t want peopler stumbling over each saysDarrel Williams, a former county commissioner who serves on the Charlotte Center City Partners He points to fellow board members — including chamber executive Morgan and both the city and county managers as insurance against bureaucratic snags. Without those close ties, he adds, it wouldf be much more difficultto do. Leaderss point to uptown’s growing office-vacancy rate as a negative that can beturned Or, at least, one they hope can be turned around.
“The tighter market (for office space) has been one of our impedimentds to attracting headquarters in the cente city inrecent years,” says City Manager Curt “If somebody wanted 300,000 squarw feet, we couldn’t give it to them. Now we can. That’sz the silver lining to the