Charlotte City Council has been saying a word the business community isn't used to hearing a lot more lately: no. The council's latest "no" is in the form of a 150-day moratorium on new data centers. After decades of growth in the pursuit of becoming a world-class city, some are saying it's time to do more about the growing pains many in our community are feeling. For more, I’m joined now by The Charlotte Ledger’s Ashley Fahey for our segment BizWorthy.
Marshall Terry: OK, so what did this week's data center moratorium vote indicate more broadly about this council's approach to growth?
Ashley Fahey: We haven't seen a citywide development moratorium in all the time, at least I've been covering development here, which is about a decade, but I did some research this week. I couldn't find any record of a citywide development moratorium. I think the question here that I've talked to some folks about this week is: is this kind of a one-off measure because these hyperscale data centers are so new and there's a lot of unknown consequences and ripple effects potentially with these facilities and a lot of questions and passion around them? Or is it indicative of a council that's becoming a little bit more skeptical or maybe a little bit more discerning about some of the development and business activities, I guess that have driven Charlotte's growth for so long.
Terry: And over the past few months, you've also written about other communities in the Charlotte region that seem to be growing more skeptical of growth and more willing to apply some brakes. What have you been seeing, and is this a trend?
Fahey: I do believe it is a trend. A lot of the municipalities outside of Mecklenburg County have passed moratoriums in some form or fashion. And there's a debate here about whether it's strict to pause while infrastructure catches up, or is there sort of another reason behind it? Are things like sewer and water capacity being politicized? I'm just now wondering is this rippling now into the city of Charlotte?
Terry: On to some development that is happening. A nearly century-old business in Charlotte is expanding by adding a new location. Which one, and do we have many businesses that old in Charlotte left?
Fahey: I don't really think we do, honestly. I'm sure there's a few that I don't know about because I was actually surprised to learn that The Blossom Shop, which is the business in question we're speaking about here, is almost 100 years old. Of course, most folks know they took over the old Map Shop space, right near the hospital in kind of Midtown Charlotte, Myers Park area. Now they are adding another location in Dilworth at the old Long's Dry Cleaning site. They are repurposing that building. It's cool when you can kind of see a nearly a century-old business in Charlotte expanding here because I just don't think we have maybe too many of those left.
Terry: The roster of Fortune 500 companies based in the Charlotte region is now bigger by one. Who is the new member?
Fahey: Davidson-based Ingersoll Rand moved up to position number 494. So, just barely squeaked into the Fortune 500. The Charlotte region can now say we have another Fortune 500. That brings our count up to eight now. Ingersoll Rand, of course, is an industrial manufacturing company. It joined some of the bigger companies we already know here, which is Bank of America and Truist. But yeah, that's the latest addition to the list.
Terry: Finally, Carowinds has announced it’s building a new log ride that’s expected to break several records. I’m scared of heights, so I’m guessing I should avoid this one?
Fahey: Yeah, maybe so. We're looking at a 100-foot height. As we pointed out in our newsletter, that's about almost double the size of Splash Mountain in Disney World. So, quite a tall ride. If you're not into heights or going backwards on a log flume, maybe sit this one out. Carowinds hopes to open that ride sometime next year.
Support for BizWorthy comes from the law office of Robertson & Associates and Central Piedmont Community College.
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