NC poised for many economic development wins in 2023

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – Over the prior two years, North Carolina has changed its reputation when it comes to the state’s ability to attract large economic development deals, said Christopher Chung, CEO of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, at an event on Friday afternoon.

In the past, the state had some notable failures.

“When it came time to put together an economic incentives package,” said Chung. “North Carolina, compared to its southern neighbors, was not adept at doing that.”

“We had high profile failures,” said Chung. “In the past two years, any sense that this was the case has largely been eradicated.”

A 2023 begins, the state has had back-to-back record years for economic development projects, both for jobs and for investment. That includes projects like VinFast’s automotive plant, Wolfspeed’s semiconductor facility, Apple’s east coast campus, and Toyota’s electric vehicle battery factory, among others.

“Because we’ve had some big wins,” said Chung. “We put a lot of that to rest just based on our track record.”

The state is now poised for more economic development wins, said Chung. Earlier this week, the state was named the “State of the Year” for 2022 by Business Facilities Magazine.

“An increased frequency of these very large, very transformative projects,” said Chung. “We’re in a good position.”

Many more ‘transformative’ economic development deals coming to NC in 2023

What companies want, and need

Chung outlined five key reasons that the state is prepared to land multiple economic development projects that would bring investments of greater than $1 billion on Wednesday at the Launch 2023 event in Raleigh.

At both events – on Wednesday and on Friday afternoon – Chung did note that the state faces challenges that could mean companies selected other locations.

Among those challenges, Chung noted, is that the state still lacks an ample supply of real estate that is prepared and ready to accommodate very large manufacturing facilities, especially as VinFast and Wolfspeed will now occupy two of the state’s megasites, and Toyota will occupy another. Nevertheless, the state’s ability to land additional mega projects would “alter the trajectory” of the regions of North Carolina that are able to land them, said Chung.

And, for companies, one of the top priorities in selecting viable sites for expansion is the local and regional labor market.

“Demand is not the problem,” said Chung. “Supply is the problem.”