Agenda - 06-01-1992 - Laserfiche WebLink

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� I Chapel Hill Herald May 21, 1991 Businesses pi anning expansions, economic development head says By MARK SCHULTZ The Chapel M Herald CHAPEL HILL — Five of Orange County's top 10 businesses are ex- panding, the director of the county Economic Development Commission said Monday. Overall, nine of the county's top 20 businesses have expanded their work force or square footage or announced plans for expansion within the past year, Ted Abernathy told. the Chapel Hill Board of Realtors at the Chapel Hill Country Club. But after his talk, Abernathy said he's not ready to name all the firms. "I have not made it public yet," he said, adding that he will be making a formal presentation on business ex- pansion to the Orange County Board of Commissioners June 3. Some com- panies, such as, General Electric, have already announced their plans, he said. Abernathy had mettioned the planned expansions to the Realtors to "There's a theory that there's no businesses, that there's no buildings to put them in and there's no land zoned for them. And it's not true." Ted Abernathy Development director show that prospects are good for add- ing commercial property to the coun- ty's 90 percent residential tax base. "There's a theory that there's no businesses, that there's no buildings to put them in and there's no land zoned for them," Abernathy said. "And it's not true." Although the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC Hos- pitals represent 30 percent of the jobs in Orange County, other employers Orange County's, unemploy- ment rate has not risen above 2.9 percent. during recent months, Abernathy said. The biggest job loss occurred when the White _ Furniture company left Hillsborough and fired about 60 people, he said. The backbone of commercial activity, however, is small busi- nesses, those employing fewer than 100 people, he added. About 99.5 percent of busi- nesses in Orange County em- ploy fewer than 100 people, he said. operate locally. They include Northern Telecom Inc., which recently signed the coun- ty's largest lease — for 92,000 square feet on Mattress Factory Road in the Orange County portion of Mebane — as well as General Electric, which is adding 80,000 square feet on Indus- trial Way, also in Mebane. Abernathy said." "I hope we're getting to the point where we really know how to roll out the red carpet, (for busi- nesses) and we'll quit scaring so many of them away," he added. The EDC director said Orange County will not attract the heavy in- dustry some people fear because land in the county costs too much. At the same time, different sections of the county want different kinds of com- mercial activity, increasing the chances for recruitment overall. For example, Mebane attracts industry, while the Chapel Hill area attracts re- tail shops and offices. Abernathy could not predict how many new jobs might be added to the county in the com- ing year. But he said even with potential layoffs at the univer- sity there would be a net in- crease iri jobs. The Economic Development Commission assists businesses considering locating here or al- ready in operation. "Economic development is taking informa- tion and taking it to the right people," Abernathy said. "It's helping the community under- stand what the issues are."