It's time now for BizWorthy, our weekly look at what's going on in Charlotte business news. This week The Charlotte Ledger Business Newsletter focused its attention on East Charlotte, which is undergoing tremendous change. At the heart of it is Eastland Yards, an 80-acre mixed-use development on the former Eastland Mall site. The Charlotte Ledger’s Tony Mecia joins me now for more.
Marshall Terry: So, construction is underway on Eastland Yards, which is expected to bring more visitors to the east side once it's finished, and though that's the center of change going on in that part of town, you report, it's not the only thing to look out for. What else is happening and what are business owners there doing to prepare?
Tony Mecia: They're starting to organize. They formed something called the Greater Eastland Business District. The idea is to link business owners up with each other, encourage more development, encourage more businesses, small businesses, entrepreneurs into the area. So it's not just that one plot of land at Eastland, but it's looking at that whole area. They've got some consultants going out next week, canvassing the area, looking at what businesses are there and sort of what some of the opportunities might be. This is something that areas all over Charlotte have done where business leaders come together to advocate for and to network for their part of town.
Terry: Now, growth like this tends to come with concerns from residents and business owners already there who worry about being displaced or the area losing its character. Is that the case in east Charlotte as well?
Mecia: I think they're mindful of that and anytime you have more development, there's the possibility that, housing prices will increase and that some of the things that make an area what it is are going to be replaced by new shiny, expensive things. I don't think that east Charlotte is at that point yet, but I would say people in that area are sort of mindful of the gentrification possibility and are paying attention to it for sure.
Terry: Alright, next you report one of Charlotte's largest publicly traded companies is exploring a sale. Which one and what would a sale mean?
Mecia: Yeah, The Financial Times reported this week that Brighthouse Financial, which is headquartered in the Ballantyne area, is talking with bankers about possibly selling itself to another company. It's unclear exactly how many employees Brighthouse Financial has. It's, I think somewhere between maybe 700 and 1,000 in that area. So it's a pretty big company. It was on the Fortune 500 list a couple of years ago. It fell off that list last year, but it's still a pretty good-sized company. It sells insurance and annuities. If sold, it would be a loss of a headquarters for Charlotte. There might also be some job cuts, but it's a little bit early to say. The company isn't confirming anything, It says it doesn't comment on rumors or speculation.
Terry: Alright shifting gears now, more than four months after Hurricane Helene devastated the region, angry Charlotte-area residents are still demanding answers from Duke Energy about flooding on area local lakes. What is the company saying?
Mecia: There were a number of residents near Mount Island Lake whose homes were flooded. They say that Duke should have lowered the lake levels ahead of the storm. According to an article that came out in Carolina Public Press last week, Duke has said that it managed the lakes the way it usually does, that it follows regulations. So far, regulators seem to be okay with their explanations, although some of the residents are talking about a lawsuit, although I think that might be difficult.
Terry: OK. let’s end this week on some food news. Those bright red hot dogs that North Carolina is famous for might have to switch ingredients after the FDA banned Red Dye No. 3 because it’s been linked to cancer in lab rats. Really those hot dogs aren’t naturally that bright red?
Mecia: Yeah, apparently they're altering the natural color of hot dogs. A lot of people do like those red hot dogs that are characteristic of North Carolina. But yes, the FDA earlier this month banned Red Dye No. 3, the Raleigh News and Observer did some investigative reporting by looking at the packaging of these hot dogs. Found that a lot of them contained Red Dye No. 3 and so I think there might have to be some changes. There are other red dyes that can be used to color hot dogs that are not yet banned, but it certainly seemed like there might be some changes coming.
Support for BizWorthy comes from the original Mattress Factory and our listeners.
