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Cabarrus Roots is a Business Retention and Expansion program, a vital component of an eco- nomic development strategy. Existing industries are the best and most reliable resource to gauge CABARRUS and understand the state of the local economy and to identify workforce issues and barriers to growth. Please call Samantha at 704 - 260 -8108 to schedule a visit! ROV March Visits included: Wayne Brothers, S &D Coffee, First Citizens Banks. Also met with local business owners and community leaders at the March Business Before Hours event held at Cannon School. Excerpt from Area Development Online: Corporate Executive Survey Commentary: Skilled Labor Tops the List. Regions that are aggressively investing in workforce AREADF development are winning the competition for advanced manufacturing firms. Asked about skilled labor, slightly more than 58 percent of survey participants say it is "very important" and nearly 37 say it is "important." In contrast, only 14 percent say that availability of unskilled labor is "very important." For advanced manufacturing concerns, skilled labor is particularly critical - and the regions that are aggressively in- vesting in work force development are winning the competition for these companies. Seventy -one percent of respondents report that advanced skills, such as machine tool programming, are what unemployed workers lack. Sandwiched in between the labor issues is highway accessibility, which continued to be ranked as the second - most - important site selection factor. Of those surveyed, 60.4 percent say such accessibility is "very important," and 33.1 say it is "important" - and access to highways greatly outscores other modes of transport, including rail, air, and waterways. The survey results reflect the sluggish growth seen in many global markets following the recession, but slow improvement is evi- dent. More companies have added facilities rather than reduced them, and 45 percent expect to add facilities within two years. Also positive, more are planning on adding employees than reducing their ranks or postponing hires. However, 60 percent have neither added nor reduced facilities over the past 12 months, and opinions are mixed as to when sustained economic growth might emerge - in 2014, 2015, or not until 2016. To read the full article: www.areadevelopment.com; Gary Yates, Director of Site Selection, Jones Lang LaSalle (Q1 2014) Noteworthy News & Upcoming Events C*L DRESS KLEIN .8 !t T iI X 9 W "Afton Ridge Business Park Groundbreaking 4 Resource Partners 1 EDC Board Related 3 Municipalities 4 Chamber Related Activities 7 Events ]. Tradeshow 2 Charlotte Regional Partnership 1 Broker /Developer 6 Project Meetings /Site Visits ♦ Afton Ridge Business Park Spec Building groundbreaking event was held on March 25th. Building features include: 360,000 sq ft, 30 -foot clear height, 78 dock doors, as many as 237 employee parking spaces and more than 100 trailer parking spaces. ♦ April 10th: Celebrate Cabarrus— Chamber, EDC, and CVB annual meeting The ♦ April 24th: Concord Airport Business Park (Avison Young /The Silverman Group) Spec Building h=ermai ...� �T Groundbreaking tottp ♦ April: Trinity Partners Spec Building Groundbreaking p p s T N e R s Cabarrus Economic Development Team Patrick Coughlin, President & CEO, pcoughlin @cabarrus.biz, 704 - 260 -8102 Margie Bukowski, Senior Vice President of Economic Development, mbukowski @cabarrus.biz, 704 - 260- 816,ltachment number 1 Samantha Grass, Project Manage @cabarrus.biz, 704 - 260 -8108 Page 439 3003 Dale Earnhardt Blvd, Suite 2, Kannapolis, NC 28083 g