Searching for a place to build a technology-development center in 2009, Deutsche Bank AG considered various cities, including Charlotte, Raleigh and Maryland. Unfortunately for Charlotte, the Germany-based investment bank picked Cary, a town just outside Raleigh in Wake County. In August 2009, Deutsche Bank said the project would result in a $6.7 million investment and [...]
One small business in Charlotte will be given an “extreme” makeover as part of Small Business Week May 16-20, the city said. The city, Central Piedmont Community College’s Institute for Entrepreneurship and the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce are sponsoring the makeover, which involves five businesses providing up to 15 hours apiece of pro bono services. The five businesses [...]
(Part one of a five-part occasional series on the top cities Charlotte competes with) Shortly after moving to Charlotte in 1993, Mark Vitner was talking to a female friend when he mentioned that he was originally from Atlanta and had graduated from the University of Georgia in Athens. “She was very surprised,” said Vitner, a [...]
The Charlotte Chamber of Commerce today said it has chosen Harvey Gantt for its 2011 Citizen of the Carolinas Award. Gannt was Charlotte’s first black mayor and the first black to be admitted to Clemson University. It’s the 22nd Citizen of the Carolinas Award. Past recipients include Leon and Sandra Levine, Jim Rogers, Dean Smith, Michael Jordan, Billy [...]
In many people’s minds, Charlotte is still Banktown. So says a survey conducted as a starting point for a public relations campaign launched this year by the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, Charlotte Center City Partners and Charlotte Regional Partnership to encourage positive press about the city. The 61 site selectors — consultants who help a [...]
As a member of the media, I’ve been extremely interested in the public relations campaign to get members of the national and international media to write positive stories about Charlotte. The campaign, which was announced last year and launched this year, involves the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, Charlotte Center City Partners and the Charlotte Regional [...]
BusinessFirst, the business-retention program of the city and the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, is seeking businesses to participate in its first ever confidence index survey to measure the economic climate in the city and Mecklenburg County. The Urban Institute at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte will conduct the survey every quarter. The goal [...]
When Hochdorf, Germany-based Single Temperature Controls approached Michael Bloomhuff in 2008 with an offer to take over as national sales manager and open a U.S. subsidiary, he immediately chose Charlotte as his base of operations. Bloomhuff, who was living in Fort Wayne, Ind., at the time, had been to Charlotte on business trips and to [...]
While the seeds were already planted, the recession and the tremors it sent through the financial sector helped pave the way for new industries in Charlotte. Although the city is still known as a banking capital, some expect those new industries — energy, foreign investments, biotechnology and small and minority-owned businesses — to substantially change [...]
Bill James could be bad for business in Mecklenburg County. At least that’s the concern of some in Charlotte. James, a Republican representing District 6, has been one of Mecklenburg County’s most polarizing and talked-about politicians, offending blacks, gays and immigrants in a recurring cycle of remark, outcry, defense and, ultimately, re-election. A commissioner since [...]
