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University Research Park. The County's close proximity to Charlotte and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte with its University Research Park, home to IBM, TIAA CREF and Verbatim, has fueled strong residential and commercial growth. The University and the University Research Park each lie within five miles of the County limits. Kannaoolis Gateway Park. The City of Kannapolis and Mark Pierce Poole Properties, Inc., a Charlotte real estate development firm specializing in industrial, retail and office properties, constructed a speculative industrial building in the Kannapolis Gateway Business Park. That building is now occupied by Novant Health taking advantage of the park's location between I-85 and I-77. The 85 acre park is located one mile from a new interchange on I-85 and will feature approximately 753,000 square feet of industrial space and a 12 acre retail center, which has recently completed construction. Stewart Haas Racing has its headquarters and shop facility in the Kannapolis Gateway Park. The AAC Project. With the opening of the eastern leg of 1-485 in 2004, AAC Realty announced and gained approval for a project at Rocky River Road and 1-485. The AAC project includes 200,000 square feet of retail space that is substantially complete and 650,000 square feet of office and light industrial space. Adjacent residential construction has also begun. The County's rapid growth, largely attributable to the County's position in the Charlotte metropolitan region, slowed as a result of the global recession, but is expected to resume, albeit at a slower pace, as the economy recovers. The County believes that its short-range and long-range planning has provided the necessary infrastructure to accommodate anticipated growth, and the County cooperates with its municipalities in economic recruiting and development efforts. The Cabarrus Economic Development Corporation ("CEDC', which operates with afull-time staff, serves as the primary recruiting and marketing entity. Local jurisdictions approved a restructuring of the CEDC about five years ago that is administered by the Cabarrus Regional Chamber of Commerce. The structure greatly enhances efforts in business retention and expansion, entrepreneurship and new business recruitment. Given these changes, combined with the availability of sites within commercial and industrial parks with all municipal services available located near major highways and interstates, the County expects continued strong economic development in the area. The CEDC has been accredited by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) which is an independent verification of the status of the organization. The CEDC is one of only 24 economic development organizations worldwide which have been accredited by the IEDC. The following table lists the 10 largest manufacturing and non-manufacturing employers in the County as of 2009: Approximate Number of Employees Employer Service Carolinas Medical Center - Northeast Medical Center 4,300 Cabarrus County Schools Education 3,398 Phillip Morris USA Cigarettes 1,384* Connextions Business Solutions 1,200 City of Concord Governmental 925 Kannapolis City Schools Education 900 Cabarrus County Governmental 828 Shoe Show Shoe Distributor 650 S&D Coffee, Inc. Coffee Products 500 State of North Carolina Governmental 500 Hendricks Motorsports Automotive Racing 500 Source: Cabarrus County Economic Development Corporation (2009). "Note: Phillip Morris closed this facility in July . G-8 Attachment number 3 Page 276