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Regional Airport and the area surrounding the Lowe's Motor Speedway. The newly opened Concord Mills Mall and the remainder of the planned Kings Grant area will supply a multitude of service and professional level employment opportunities. There are also number of major employers located in nearby Mecklenburg County. The largest concentration of employment is found within the University Researqh Park. This 2,500 acre facility was formed in the late 1960's and, to a certain degree, has been patterned after the highly successful Research Triangle Park near Raleigh. The University Research Park presently contains several industries, financial services, and research facilities including IBM, AT&T, and First Union. One reason why the Research Park is located at this site is its proximity to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. This facility employs over 1,000 persons and has an enrollment in excess of 16,000 students. LINC-Charlotte is one of the fastest growing branches of the University of North Carolina system and has evolved from a four-year school primarily designed to serve commuting students to a full university with a variety of graduate and undergraduate programs. Local Employment- Future Opportunities The Town of Harrisburg's two most important economic development assets for industrial development are the Norfolk Southem main line (owned by North Carolina railroad) that runs nearly parallel to the Highway 49 corridor and the Town's proximity to the interstate highway system. This rail line has and will continue to attract industrial development. Major employers along the corridor include Builders First Source, Chemical Specialties, Morton Custom Plastics, and Southeastern Packaging. These four industries provide employment forl,185 workers. In recent months, both Builders First Source and Southeastem Packaging have completed expansions of their operations. The Town's desirability is further enhanced by its direct access, via 5 lane Highway 49 to 1-485 a few miles inside the Mecklenburg County line. In addition to the Town of Harrisburg's rail line, another important rail line roughly parallels Highway 24/27 in the southern portion of the planning area, With this rail line, the recently completed widening improvements to Highway 24/27 and the highway's future intersection with Mecklenburg County's 1-485 outer loop, accessibility will be enhanced. With the future provision of water and sewer utilities the area can become a prime industrial employment corridor for the southwest portion of Cabarrus County. Within close proximity to this area is the recently opened Coming Fiber-optics plat in the Midland community. The 1-485 outer loop can also serve as an economic development tool without the provision of rail access. The future intersection of 1.485 and Rocky River Road provides an excellent opportunity for a mixed-use office, research and residential development. While the interchange will be in place by 2003 the area currently lacks the necessary water and sewer utilities to serve potential development. In addition, with the increased traffic associated with the new interchange Rocky River Road will need improvements from its current rural two lane cross- section. The last area that is of economic importance is the land near Lowe's Motor Speedway . between Highway 29 and Mallard Creek. Currently there are several race-related industries 16