RALEIGH – It’s probably fair to say that 2018 offered up a mixed bag in terms of economic development for Wake County.

First, the Triangle lost out on a new Army headquarters. Then the Amazon HQ project went south, followed by another rejection – Apple’s decision to pass on Raleigh for its second “campus” in favor of Austin, Texas. (As TechWire has reported, however, Apple could still build a campus on land in the Wake County portion of Research Triangle Park.)

For some cities, that kind of triple whammy might have left them feeling dejected, unable to see the path forward.

But not the Oak City.

On Thursday, the Raleigh Chamber released its Economy and Business report at the annual Economic Forecast event, and its overall message was more than just positive. It was resolute.

Among some of its highlights: that Raleigh and Wake County added nearly 8,000 new jobs, $271 million in investment, and another $350 million in venture capital.

https://wraltechwire.com/2019/01/10/despite-global-uncertainty-economist-paints-bright-picture-for-raleighs-future/

“The fundamentals of this community remain what we need to be successful,” Michael Haley, Wake County Economic Development’s executive director, told WRAL TechWire.

“We had some site selection consultants in town the last couple of days. I heard one of the consultants say, ‘One or two of these events [like Amazon or Apple] doesn’t make or break a community.’

“We’ve seen amazing growth. We just heard about now in the Economic Forecast, and we wrote about it in our Economy and Business [report]. That’s the real story and message about this community – it’s continued and sustained growth.”

Michael Haley

Added Adrienne Cole, Greater Chamber of Commerce’s president and CEO: “Throughout the Amazon search, we often said, Amazon was one of many projects that were considered in the market. They were one of 50 companies at any given time considering this location for an expansion, or a new location, and that continues. Our pipeline of projects remains extremely strong.”

2018 recap

A lot has happened over the past year, as the Chamber’s report highlights.

Let’s recap:

  • Amazon selected Garner for a four-story, 2.6 million-square-foot, high-tech fulfillment center across nearly 88 acres once occupied by a ConAgra plant, adding 1,5000 jobs, $200 million in investment, and a roughly $45 million payroll.
  • Pendo, a Cloud Software technology company, announced Raleigh as its official corporate headquarters and plans to add 590 jobs over the next five years and an investment of $34.5 million.
  • Advanced Auto Parts, an automotive parts supplier, announced plans to move its corporate headquarters to Raleigh, added 435 new jobs over the next five years and an investment of $5.5 million. With this designation, Wake County has its first Fortune 500 Company.
  • Arch Capital Group Ltd., a globally diversified services group providing insurance, reinsurance and mortgage insurance, opened a headquarter location in Raleigh, creating 365 new jobs over four years and $12.9 million in investment in Wake County by the end of 2019.
  • Ipreo, a New York-based firm and leading global provider of workflow solutions and market intelligence to financial services and corporate professionals, announced the expansion of its downtown Raleigh office, adding 250 jobs over the next four years to its existing workforce of 320 employees and $2.1 million in investment.
Still room to grow

Haley said it’s those kinds of developments that he’s focused on.

“What’s exciting is that it’s both new companies entering the market, and companies that have been here that are continuing to grow,” he said. “That’s the story of who this place is.”

Still, he and Cole, the Chamber’s CEO, admit there are things that could be improved upon.

Among them: better marketing of Raleigh’s strengths as a business community to investors across the country, building out the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, and addressing common economic development issues like affordable housing, a good transit system, school construction and systemic poverty.

To that end, the Chamber launched the equitable economic development program with the support of the Wake County Board of Commissioners this past year. It also successfully advocated for the 2017 Raleigh Transportation Bond referendum and Wake County’s 2018 school bond referendum, as well as began a new partnership with Innovate Raleigh.

“In economic development, there are a lot of puzzle pieces that the community has to get right and has to pay attention to, and we are paying attention to all of those,” said Cole. “ Whether it’s transit and mobility, supporting our educational or entrepreneurial ecosystem, addressing Wake County’s vulnerable communities and what we need to do to move the needle, we’re paying attention to all those pieces.”