Community close up: The Triad and Carolina Core

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The Triad is building a strong future through a variety of efforts. They include creating a supportive environment for entrepreneurs, adding amenities and encouraging people to put down roots.

The Triad’s second-largest city by population, Winston-Salem, has set specific goals within its 2030 Vision and Strategic Plan, including becoming the Southeast’s top mid-size city.

Strategic recruitment and expansions of businesses, along with becoming a more equitable community and the best place to raise a family, are expected to get it there. “With these pillars guiding our efforts, we have already surpassed the job growth of the previous decade over the last four years and continue to make strides in optimizing our workforce pipeline,” says Mark Owens, president and CEO.of economic development booster Greater Winston-Salem, Inc., which was recently honored as Chamber of the Year by the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives.

Lofty goals abound in the region’s most populous city, too. “Greensboro and the Triad have always been a place where big ideas take root and grow,” says Brent Christensen, Greensboro Chamber of Commerce president and CEO. “From startups to career changers to industry leaders, this region is full of opportunities for people willing to take a chance on something new. With organizations like Action Greensboro, Campus Greensboro and the North Carolina Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, plus world-class institutions like the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering, we’re making it easier than ever to turn ideas into reality. Whether you’re launching a business, investing in innovation or looking to take the next step in your career, this is a community that believes in possibility and works together to make it happen.”

The Triad’s 12 counties — Alamance, Caswell, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Guilford, Montgomery, Randolph, Rockingham, Stokes, Surry and Yadkin — have about 1.7 million residents and 21 colleges and universities. They’re a mix of metros and rural communities. 
Within them is a variety of resources ready to help students, residents and businesses become successful. “While the resources are great and the cost of living is incredibly attractive, our secret sauce is the willingness of people in this city to help you,” says Stan Parker, president of Winston Start, which helps startups scale up. “It takes a village, and we have a great one.”

Successful Starts

NC IDEA supports North Carolina residents who want to start and grow a business. The independent private 501(c) (3) foundation awarded 18 Ecosystem and 11 Rural Impact grants worth $1.7 million in March. The Ecosystem grants help identify and support organizations that strengthen the state’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

One Ecosystem grant went to Winston Starts. “[It will] allow us to refine our Explore program and extend it to entrepreneurs in adjacent counties [who] have an idea for a scalable business but do not know how to bring it to fruition,” Parker says. “Explore participants have access to Winston Starts offices and events and an online self-paced curriculum with personalized guidance from expert mentors. Scholarships are available for residents from designated rural counties, women and minorities.”

Winston Starts helps entrepreneurs launch and grow their business, from idea validation to market validation and growth. “We have supported 98 companies since 2018,” Parker says. “These companies have raised $138 million in capital since inceptions.” The mission is to provide intensive, inspiring support to startups, collaborate and partner with other startup enterprises across the Triad, and “promote a culture of entrepreneurship, innovation and inclusion.” Since December, it has helped companies generate $31 million in revenue and create 316 jobs.

Business High Point-Chamber of Commerce launched The Interchange in fall 2023. It offered 63 in-person and 16 virtual-training sessions and served 832 people last year. “The inspiration behind The Interchange was to create a dynamic program that encourages innovation, collaboration, leadership and entrepreneurship within the community,” says Julie Hill, The Interchange executive director and chamber chief of staff. “By offering state-of-the-art facilities and workshops and programs, The Interchange aims to attract and cultivate talent, drive economic growth and enhance the overall business ecosystem of the region.”
    
Hill says The Interchange has become a hub for personal growth. “Events like masterclasses and leadership academies taught by experts in the field have been well-received, further strengthening the business network in High Point,” she says. “[The High Point Chamber] has become a trusted catalyst for economic growth, advocacy, education and entrepreneurship.” It has longstanding partnerships with Visit High Point, High Point Market Authority and others. Its initiative Thrive High Point 2.0 helps entrepreneurs, including underserved and women-owned businesses, overcome challenges.

Alamance Chamber Director of Small Business and Entrepreneurial Development, Stephanie Williams, says the county has two grant programs exclusively for entrepreneurs. Small businesses use Launch Grants — $1,500 to $5,000 — if they’re in the first two years of operation. If they’re a legal entity registered with N.C. Secretary of State, they can use Growth Grants — $5,000 to $15,000. “The Chamber encourages participation of veterans, women and minority-owned businesses,” she says.

Opportunities abound across the Triad’s more rural stretches. CoSquare, the first co-working space in Yanceyville, offers variable memberships, office spaces and pricing for early stage entrepreneurs and business owners wanting to test a brick-and-mortar location. Montgomery Community College and Surry Community College offer help through their Small Business Centers. Stokes County’s website details how to start a business, and Rockingham County’s website has a 1-2-3 Tool Kit for startups.

A March Business to Business Reviews report ranked North Carolina, and in particular Greensboro, as top spots for small businesses. GuilfordWorks, one of 23 Workforce Development Boards statewide, offers career assessments, resume services and talent engagement representatives, and training grants for employers from its High Point and Greensboro offices.

The North Carolina Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship opened in February. The nonprofit’s goal is to expand to locations at Elon University’s Innovation Center and Alamance Community College. “The NCCIE is focused not just on our community here in Alamance County but on creating a statewide innovation and entrepreneurship blueprint for smaller suburban and rural communities like ours that seek to participate actively in the state’s interconnected innovation ecosystem but often face significant barriers such as limited funding, insufficient staffing capacity and a lack of strategic guidance,” says Sara Cloud, its founder and executive director. “We believe that small businesses are the backbone of thriving communities. When small businesses succeed, they create jobs, attract larger companies and build economic stability. They ignite progress and anchor families to a community where they can live, work and prosper.”

Cloud says NCCIE’s “heart of innovation” is Ember, a co-working, co-warehousing, meeting and event space within its 25,000-square-foot headquarters in Mebane. “It serves as a dynamic hub for entrepreneurs, small businesses and innovators looking to collaborate, create and grow,” she says. “In Alamance County, we saw a critical gap. While innovation and entrepreneur centers were rapidly forming in larger cities around us, local small businesses and startups faced significant barriers to growth. Accessing business support services from organizations like the SBTDC required a drive to Chapel Hill or Greensboro.”

Innovation Quarter is 1.7 million square feet of mixed-use space on more than 330 acres in downtown Winston-Salem. It has united education, research and business for the betterment of the community at large since 2012. “At Greater Winston-Salem, Inc., we’ve created a workforce hub in the Innovation Quarter co-located with Forsyth Tech,” Owens says. “This is a centralized point where people can obtain resources to grow a business, succeed in the workforce, utilize professional development and networking opportunities, and more.”

Last January, Innovation Quarter launched a partnership with Winston Starts. “[It provides] memberships for iQ entrepreneurs and startup companies in the biotechnology, life sciences and regenerative medicine industries,” according to a news release. Its goal is simple — making it easier for businesses to succeed. “The business landscape for life sciences companies is extremely difficult and capital intensive, and at the iQ we want to reduce obstacles for tenants,” says Isaac Perry, head of biotech and life science ecosystem development for the iQ and GWSI. “By curating a connected ecosystem, we hope to help companies maximize precious early runway capital, inspire more individuals to start or relocate businesses here, and demonstrate there is an entire community in Winston-Salem eager to support them wherever they are in their company’s life cycle.”

There’s more on the way with iQ2, which covers 2.7 million square feet and 10 buildings. It’s a collaboration between city and county governments, developers, Wake Forest University School of Medicine and Wexford Science + Technology. It’s a research park district with office and lab space; rentable co-working space by Sparq, a launchpad for entrepreneurs and research; restaurants and coffee shops; and eight apartment buildings.

Attractive Amenities

One hundred acres adjacent to Wake Forest University and Winston-Salem’s sports and entertainment district is being transformed into The Grounds. The community gathering place will offer retail, dining, office, residential and activity space. “The vision … started with a combined desire to strengthen connections between Wake Forest University and the surrounding community, to serve as an economic catalyst for the city and to create a thriving hub of entertainment and events,” says Wake Forest President Susan Wente.

Atlanta-based Carter and Winston-Salem-based Front Street Capital, in partnership with Wake Forest and Winston-Salem, are developing The Grounds. “Having been part of the development of Innovation Quarter, we’ve seen firsthand how parts of our community can transform through mixed-use design that’s both authentic to the history of the place and aspirational for its future,” says Coleman Team, Front Street Capital president and managing partner and Wake Forest alumnus. “With The Grounds, we’re taking an area that’s been primarily and successfully centered around events and sports and infusing new experiences, green spaces and gathering spots — all contributing to dynamic and diverse

Phase I of The Grounds includes $35 million in state-funded infrastructure such as walking paths, reconfigured roads and utilities; 42,000 square feet of retail surrounded by patios and lawn; 130,000 square feet of office space; 230 multifamily apartments; and 22 luxury loft condominiums. It will be completed during the next two years. Phase II will further develop the 100 acres. “The revitalized stream, greenways and trails will foster a sense of place and creativity by infusing natural areas never before seen in this area — giving Triad residents and visitors a place to find inspiration, peace and creative juices,” says Jane Duncan, Front Street Capital director of marketing.

Stronger Communities

Students flock to the Triad to study, including at 105,000-square-foot Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering. A collaboration of North Carolina A&T State University and UNC Greensboro that formed in 2009, the $56.3 million science and research center is on Gateway Research Park’s South Campus. It partners with Guilford Technical Community College and Forsyth Technical Community College for internships and has an outreach initiative with Guilford County Schools.

One of JSNN’s research segment is aviation safety. It includes projects with NASA to develop light-weight materials for aircraft of the future. There are others, says JSNN Interim Dean Mitch Croatt. “Projects that are being researched and developed at JSNN range from protecting the military with new materials or detection of specific compounds to protecting the environment through the treatment of water,” he says. “There are also projects to help with drug delivery or energy storage issues. Based on the breadth of research programs at JSNN, the students here are exposed to techniques, instrumentation and perspectives that will suit them well in their future careers.”

Students at High Point University’s David S. Congdon School of Entrepreneurship are interested in starting or purchasing a business or considering working in their family-owned business. “[Our] partnership with High Point University is deep from a business perspective with support of pitch competitions, internship placement, and collaborating with faculty and staff on special projects,” Hill says.

Staff at Action Greensboro, which facilitates public-private partnerships that push forward its hometown, began discussing ways the city could leverage higher education for economic development about 10 years ago. “We looked at how [students] found internships, what the availability was,” says Cecelia Thompson, Action Greensboro executive director.  “And what we found was a pretty big gap when students wanted to stay but didn’t have the opportunities. They were using the friends-and-family network for jobs. We looked at how to create a platform for students and their connections outside of school. Paid internships are really good to make connections, and often your employer will pay your college tuition to get a bachelor’s or other degree.”

Bramley Crisco, director of talent development for Action Greensboro, says Greensboro and the larger Triad were discussing changing workforce and skill sets before many other people and communities were. “Our traditional industries were highly evolving, so a lot of thought was put into how do we create programs that can introduce new skills,” she says. “We have more than 50,000 college students who come here every year. How do we introduce them to our industries, to advanced manufacturing?”

The answer is Campus Greensboro, a direct connection between students and employers. It uses internships and mentorship through its Fellows Program to help students envision and begin their future in Guilford County. “We knew we couldn’t do an online website and hope for the best, because we wanted them to be attached to the community, to feel what it’s like to be here,” Thompson says.

Increasing the stickiness factor was the goal. “We work directly with employers,” Crisco says. “We come together during the summer, and students work their day job, their internship. Then we put programs together that meet in the evenings. Some of the programs are built around professional development, such as one session on financial literacy, the first budget, a two-day leadership session. We get outdoors, play football or go kayaking on the lake, let them be introduced to things they may not have seen. This is establishing their first professional network. We started out with 36 fellows, and last year we had 171 internships in the Fellows program.”

The creative concept is working. “The intention was, how do we add value to those students and their professional development and have them stay here and add to our community,” Crisco says. “That’s what makes us stand out.”

Piedmont Triad Partnership, which promotes economic development across a 12-county region, knew it had something good in the 150-mile swath surrounding the cities of Greensboro, Winston-Salem and High Point. Within its boundaries are four megasites, more than 30 colleges and universities, and more than 2 million talented workers. It’s crisscrossed by major interstates and railroads, and an international airport provides connections with places far and near. It only lacked a name.

Since being branded Carolina Core in 2018, the region has prospered. “We’ve gotten great penetration in the site-selection market and the business recruitment market with the Core label, particularly given the rapid-fire news with Toyota and Wolfspeed and Boom Supersonic and VinFast,” says Mike Fox, Piedmont Triad Partnership president and CEO. “Everyone knows where we are now. We’ve had $20 billion in investment and tens of thousands of new jobs the last four years. But the greatest success is unifying the region.     
“We all work together to attract jobs, train the workers and make sure we have the infrastructure. We are much stronger as a region.”

Carolina Core offers Economic Strength

The Carolina Core is home to many industries. More than 50 aviation and aerospace companies near and on the grounds of Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, the state’s fourth busiest airport by enplanements, infuse nearly $6 billion into the local economy annually. Marshall Aerospace announced a $50 million investment in 2023 that will create 243 jobs, and Boom Supersonic announced in January 2022 that it was investing $500 million in a jetliner factory that’s expected to create 2,400 jobs. They join Honda Aircraft Co., which announced a 280-job expansion in 2023, HAECO Americas and Cessna. “Obviously, businesses are looking at the airport,” Fox says. “They are aviation-related, because tenants are only allowed on the property if they actually need runway access. So, there are a half-dozen or so that are very interested potential tenants.”

Biomedical breakthroughs are being made at Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine and Center for Artificial Intelligence Research, both anchored in Winston-Salem’s Innovation Quarter, and Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering at Gateway University Research Park in Greensboro. “The Triad, or even expanded to the Carolina Core, has shown in recent years that it is primed for high levels of innovation and opportunity,” says JSNN Interim Dean Mitch Croatt. “There have been several large companies that are investing in this region, which is due in part to the strong universities that can provide the companies with skilled workers and innovative thinkers to establish and advance their companies. Furthermore, collaborations and partnerships with the universities make this region stand out.”

Manufacturing continues to beat in North Carolina’s heart. Toyota announced the first of four phases of its $13.9 billion battery factory at the Greensboro-Randolph Megasite in Liberty three months after Fox joined the Partnership in 2021. It’s expected to eventually create more than 5,000 jobs. At the Chatham-Siler City Advanced Manufacturing Site, construction is nearing completion for semiconductor manufacturer Wolfspeed, which announced a $5 billion investment in September 2022 that’s expected to create 1,800 jobs. And Vietnamese automaker VinFast announced a $4 billion commitment for Triangle Innovation Point in March 2022. About 7,500 workers will make electric vehicles and batteries at the plant.
     Piedmont Triad Partnership initiated a marketing campaign — More in the Core — to attract business and talent and promote the region’s amenities. “We set a goal in 2018 of 50,000 jobs by 2038, and we surpassed that goal in seven years,” Fox says. “So, we have a new ambition of 100,000 jobs, and we’re on pace to do that. Your dollar goes a lot further here than, say, the New York area or Midwest, and we highlight the lifestyle attributes. There’s a lot to do here, with college and professional sports, outdoor activities. Also, you can live in a downtown or traditional neighborhood or suburb or on a farm and have an easy commute.”

Mark Owens, president and CEO of Greater Winston-Salem, Inc., says economic growth can be found across the Carolina Core, and it’s driving momentum. “Our local community and our entire region are working together to reimagine and embrace our economic future, and you can see by the job creation numbers that the future is bright,” he says. “Our economy may not be based fully on the industries of yesterday, but our legacy companies continue to grow. The biotech and life science sector is our fastest growing sector, and aviation and aerospace continues to be strong across the region.”

Even with its list of successes, the Carolina Core has room for more. Fox says space is available at megasites and other business parks for companies needing 50 acres to 1,000 acres. “We have places that fit that mold,” he says. “And we have the workforce training. We’re happy to welcome new people and new companies. We’re open for business.” ■

— Kathy Blake is a writer from eastern North Carolina.