As businesses increasingly target the Charlotte region for expansions and relocation, the region’s reliance on its image as one of the nation’s largest banking centers reduces. What the Charlotte region has to offer both attracts both individuals and big multinationals. Quality of life and low cost of living are but a few of the factors…

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Rural Utilities Service announces the policy and application procedures for the second round of funding under its broadband program: ReConnect. Beginning on January 31, 2020, USDA will accept applications for loans, grants and loan/grant combinations to facilitate broadband deployment in rural areas. The ReConnect Pilot Program was established following…

The 2020 distress ranking designations for the state of North Carolina are based on economic factors and the tiers determine eligibility for several state programs. The nine counties in the Centralina Region (Anson, Cabarrus, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Rowan, Stanly, and Union) keep the same tier designations as in 2019. The North Carolina General Assembly…

Charlotte is one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States, but growth is not shared evenly in the region. Rural counties that are further from the urban core benefit less from the growth in the city and are losing population as a result. A regional approach and a belief that rural areas are valuable…

On September 10, 2019, the Centralina Economic Development District (CEDD) hosted a Disaster Recovery and Economic Resilience workshop designed for the Centralina counties that received a disaster declaration for Hurricanes Florence and Michael. Federal and State partners presented how they can assist with disaster recovery and other community needs. EDA investment assistance has become available…

As promised, our team at the Centralina EDD have powered our Interactive Data Portal with the most current economic, transportation, workforce, and community information to empower local leaders and stakeholders in their decision-making processes.  We recently updated several data tables in the Interactive data Portal. Check out the updates for: TOP 15 INDUSTRIES – Provides…