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<br /> System opened in 1952 and occupies over 2 million square feet of leased and owned floor space. UNC
<br /> Medical Center has more than 1,000 beds, 1,100 medical staff and 780 resident physicians.
<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. In August 2024,UNC Health
<br /> Care System opened the North Carolina Surgical Hospital, a state-of-the-art facility spanning seven stories
<br /> and 375,000 square feet, and housing 26 advanced surgical suites.
<br /> The County is also the place of residence for many technical, professional and executive people
<br /> who work in 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 /> Research Triangle Park(the "Park"), located ten miles east of the County, contains 7,000 acres of
<br /> land which has been reserved for research and research-oriented manufacturing. Since its inception in the
<br /> 1950's, approximately 385 private and governmental organizations have located facilities in the Park and
<br /> currently employ more than 55,000 people. The largest employers in the Park include:Fidelity Investments,
<br /> IBM Corporation, Cisco Systems, Inc., NetApp, Inc., G1axoSmithKline, UBS (Credit Suisse), RTI
<br /> International, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Lenovo. Because of its close proximity to the
<br /> County and the fact that many of the Park's employees reside in the County, the impact of the Park on the
<br /> 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 November 2021, Thermo Fisher Scientific announced an investment of$192.5 million for a
<br /> 375,000 square foot facility to manufacture precision pipette tips for laboratory, research and bioscience
<br /> use generating between 200 to 300 jobs with the potential for future expansion.
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