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<br /> In 2015, UNC Health Care System opened a new medical campus in Hillsborough. The campus
<br /> includes 50 acute care beds, an 18-bed intensive care unit, six operating rooms, two procedure rooms, an
<br /> emergency department and outpatient medical and surgical specialty services, including urgent care,
<br /> imaging and oncology. The new facilities were constructed at a cost of approximately $200 million. In
<br /> 2021,UNC Health Care System opened a new medical office building in the County. The facility consists
<br /> of a 150,000 square-foot medical building and a 1,000-space parking garage. The new 375,000-square foot
<br /> UNC Health Care Surgical Tower opened in August 2024.
<br /> The County is also the place of residence for many technical, professional and executive people
<br /> who work in the Research Triangle Park and neighboring cities of Durham, Raleigh, and Burlington. The
<br /> Research Triangle refers to an area located among three municipalities: Chapel Hill,Durham and Raleigh.
<br /> In addition to The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,universities located in these municipalities
<br /> include Duke University and North Carolina Central University in the City of Durham and North Carolina
<br /> State University in the City of Raleigh. The proximity of these universities makes the Research Triangle
<br /> area well-suited to many types of research activities.
<br /> The Research Triangle Park(the"Park"),located ten miles east of the County,contains 7,000 acres
<br /> of land which has been reserved for research and research-oriented manufacturing. Since its inception in
<br /> the 1950's, approximately 385 private and governmental organizations have located facilities in the Park
<br /> and currently employ more than 55,000 people. The largest employers in the Park include: Fidelity
<br /> Investments,IBM Corporation,Cisco Systems,Inc.,NetApp,Inc.,G1axoSmithKline,UBS(Credit Suisse),
<br /> RTI International, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Lenovo. Because of its close proximity to
<br /> the County and the fact that many of the Park's employees reside in the County,the impact of the Park on
<br /> the County's economy is significant.
<br /> In addition to the Park,the County has several areas within its borders that are focused on industry
<br /> and manufacturing. Several manufacturing firms are located along Interstate Highway 85 in the western
<br /> portion of the County, and the County is targeting this area for future growth of industrial and commercial
<br /> concerns.Additionally,the County has designated over 2,450 acres in three strategically-placed areas along
<br /> Interstates 85 and 40 as Economic Development Districts. The County's location, midway between the
<br /> Piedmont Triad and Research Triangle metropolitan areas, makes these sites extremely attractive. The
<br /> districts offer development potential for light industrial, warehouse/flex space, office, retail and business
<br /> service.Numerous tracts,ranging in size from 20 to 100 acres or more, are available.
<br /> The County is also seeking to spur economic development by providing funds through the Article
<br /> 46 Sales Tax to finance the development of utility extensions for commercial entities. The County uses the
<br /> Article 46 Sales Tax to provide a portion of the upfront water/sewer infrastructure costs for businesses. The
<br /> first project funded by the County was a $4 million water and sewer infrastructure project in the
<br /> Mebane/Buckhorn area, on land owned by the County. The site is being developed as an industrial park.
<br /> Morinaga American Foods, Inc., the American affiliate of the Japanese candy maker of Hi-Chew candies
<br /> purchased 21 acres of land and has constructed a manufacturing plant that initially employed 90 people.
<br /> The 100,000 square foot plant opened in 2015,representing a$48 million investment within the County.
<br /> In July 2019,Swiss-Swedish company ABB announced an expansion to its existing 400,000 square
<br /> foot manufacturing facility in the County. The company said it would spend$40 million over five years to
<br /> build a new 200,000 square foot manufacturing facility and create approximately 400 new manufacturing
<br /> jobs at the site. This investment has now been completed, creating approximately 400 electrical assembly
<br /> jobs. ABB has its United States headquarters in nearby Cary,North Carolina. ABB's previous acquisition
<br /> of an existing GE manufacturing facility now makes it the County's largest private employer.
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