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Over the next three years, here are some of the major projects transforming Raleigh into the premiere event destination for entertainment, learning and technology in the Southeast:

• New Downtown Raleigh Convention Center
• Marriott Raleigh City Center
• Downtown Public Art Projects
• Renaissance Raleigh Hotel North Hills
• Westin Raleigh Soleil Center
• North Carolina Museum of Art Expansion
• Green Square Project at North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
• New Terminal 2 at Raleigh-Durham International Airport
• New Contemporary Art Museum

New Downtown Raleigh Convention Center

• Catalyst of Downtown Raleigh’s $2 billion development
• 500,000 total sq. ft. of state-of-the-art space
• 150,000 sq. ft. exhibition hall, 32,000 sq. ft. grand ballroom with reception area, 20 meeting rooms totaling 32,000+ sq. ft.
• 400-room, four-star quality Marriott Raleigh City Center with enclosed access to the center; 355-room Sheraton Raleigh Hotel adjacent to center
• Opening September 2008

Raleigh Marriott City Center

• Raleigh Convention Center headquarters hotel
• 400 rooms, including 20 suites
• Almost 15,000 square feet of meeting space in 15 rooms
• Opening Fall 2008

Renaissance Raleigh Hotel North Hills

• 229-room four-star quality luxury hotel that will anchor North Hills’ new mixed-use district
• Features 6 suites and a club level, almost 8,000 square feet of meeting space, including a 5,500 square foot ballroom and an upscale restaurant
• Access to the adjoining Natural Body Spa (a European-style day spa) and the new $3 million Gold’s Gym Athletic featuring 50,000 square feet of space including an all-weather Olympic swimming pool
• North Hills reopened in Fall 2004 as Raleigh ’s “Midtown"- a district of three city blocks designed to draw people with its sheer variety of experiences
• Opening Fall 2008

Westin Raleigh Soleil Center

• 290 rooms and four-star quality hotel including 35 suites and 12,000 square-foot world-class wellness spa and fitness center with swimming pool
• $120 million and 600,000 sq. ft. project promises to be one of the most beautiful buildings (42 stories) in North Carolina
• 30,000 square feet of function space including meeting rooms, ballroom and rooftop terrace
• 49 luxury condos and an upscale restaurant
• Would be only the second Westin in North Carolina (other in Charlotte ) and located near one of the Carolina ’s largest malls ( Crabtree Valley featuring 220 stores)
• Opening Summer 2009

North Carolina Museum of Art Expansion

• $138 million expansion featuring new galleries and public spaces built in direct relationship to the environment
• Designed by Thomas Phifer and Partners of New York
• Expected to increase gallery space by 40 percent and provide much-needed space for the Museum’s growing permanent collection
• Existing Museum building will be transformed into an education and temporary exhibition center, and will also house administrative offices, art service, and storage
• Received an unprecedented gift of Auguste Rodin works from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation in November 2005 to be displayed in the new galleries
  Gift of 23 works of art, including 22 bronze sculptures by Rodin, makes the Museum one of the world’s top Rodin repositories and the only cultural institution in the South with a major Rodin collection; as part of the expansion, the Museum will establish a Rodin study center and name a Rodin gallery and adjacent garden in honor of the Cantor Foundation
• Among the Rodin works are casts of the celebrated sculptures The Kiss and The Thinker , as well as Cybele, Monumental Torso of the Walking Man, The Three Shades, Monumental Head of Pierre de Wiessant, and Jean de Fiennes, Vetu , plus Camille Claudel’s Bust of Rodin and a demonstration piece explaining the lost-wax casting process of Rodin’s Sorrow
• Opening 2009 with construction starting in Fall 2006

Green Square Project at North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences

• Two block, multi-use “green” development project
• Project will house environmental offices a nationally significant Nature Research Center (NRC) to the heart of North Carolina’s Capital City.
• 80,000 square foot expansion spanning an entire city block in Downtown Raleigh.
• The Nature Research Center will focus on activities which will promote environmental stewardship efforts while providing the general public with experiential learning opportunities that focus on current scientific research and environmental issues affecting their daily lives.
• Opening 2010

 

New Terminal C at Raleigh-Durham International Airport

• $600 million redevelopment and expansion and will become RDU’s primary terminal
• Accommodates the ever-increasing number of travelers using RDU and features 32 to 35 gates by tripling the size of the existing terminal
• Efficiently guides passengers through ticketing, security, gates and baggage claim
• Nine major airlines and 18 regional carriers currently offer nearly 500 daily flights to 38 nonstop destinations
• Phase 1 of new terminal opening in 2008 with most of the new front hall along with north concourse with 17 gates
• Phase 2 of new terminal opening in 2010 with remaining portion of front hall, reconstruction of the central concourse and rebuilding of south concourse
• Airlines scheduled to use new terminal: Air Canada , American, American Eagle, United (now in Terminal C) and Continental, Delta, Northwest, US Airways, America West (moving from Terminal A)

New Contemporary Art Museum

• Originally established in 1983 and new facility will address its role as an urban cultural center, a downtown Raleigh meeting place, a catalyst for change and vital element in the region’s urban renaissance
• Part of a 20,000 square foot redevelopment by Grubb Properties in downtown Raleigh’s warehouse district located at 409 West Martin Street that will include residential, retail and/or office space components integrated into the permanent museum setting
• Preliminary designs include two full levels, soaring interior space and two adjacent parking lots, plus both large and intimate gallery spaces, classrooms and new technology as both an art form and educational tool
• Opening 2008

More people moved to Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, than to any other metropolitan area in the United States last year.

The population there increased by 162,250 between July 1, 2006, and July 1, 2007, according to a new U.S. Census Bureau report.

The census measures metro areas with the biggest population increases, as well as the fastest-growing metro areas.

St. George, Utah; Raleigh-Cary, N.C.; and Gainesville, Ga., were also among the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the United States.

Indeed, eight out of the top ten fastest growing metro areas were located in the South, and the South also accounted for more than half of the 50 fastest growing regions.

The Sunbelt is the fastest growing part of the country because in large part thanks to its lower cost of living - from housing and groceries to taxes. The region has been one of the fastest growing for years now. Growth breeds more growth: as more people move to an area, there is increasing demand for goods and services, which creates more jobs.

A few cities were among both the fastest growing and the areas with the biggest population jumps. And two of those double-hitters were in North Carolina. Raleigh, N.C., was the third fastest-growing metro area, up 4.7%, and ranked 12th with a population gain of 47,052. Charlotte, N.C., was the 7th fastest-growing metro area, up 4.2%, and ranked 6th with a gain of 66,724.

Raleigh and Charlotte have been growing rapidly for close to 30 years, according to Bill Tillman, state demographer of the North Carolina Office of State Budget and Management. Research Triangle Park, a science and technology hub, and the increasing number of national banks based in Charlotte are the area’s biggest draws.

Retail sales in Harrison County increased 51% from 2005 to 2007, and stores are continually opening or expanding all across the Mississippi Gulf Coast, accompanied by numerous restaurants.

In Gulfport, Highway 49 has always been a major hub of retail activity with Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, an outlet mall and numerous smaller shopping centers, and the area continues to experience tremendous growth.

Prime Outlets, located on Highway 49, just south of Interstate 10, has welcomed many new stores in recent years. In 2007, 11 stores opened or expanded, including BCBG Max Azria, which is the number one outlet in its company. Many more have opened or will open in 2008, including Disney Outlet, Ann Taylor Factory Store, Jones New York Outlet and Le Gourmet.

Located just north of Prime Outlets, Crossroads Shopping Center is home to Barnes and Noble, Old Navy and Academy Sports, among others. In early 2008, Starbucks Coffee and Serta Mattress Direct were added to the 600,000-square-foot shopping mall. A Longhorn Steakhouse is currently under construction in the complex and directly across from Crossroads, a new Super Sam’s Club is being constructed that will replace the current Sam’s Club.

Biloxi, the location of Edgewater Mall and Edgewater Village Shopping Center, is receiving its share of the retail action. Recently, Victoria’s Secret expanded its store in the mall, and several new stores were added. Dillard’s, an anchor for the mall, returned in February 2008 following a complete renovation of the 180,000-square-foot store.

Edgewater Village Shopping Center also just completed a full renovation and is filling quickly with tenants. Three restaurants, a Biloxi branch of a Coast Italian eatery, a Mexi-Cali sports bar and an Asian buffet, will join Books-A-Million and over 20 other future shops in the beachfront shopping center.

A new Starbucks also opened in Biloxi this year, and closer to Interstate 10, a new shopping center was recently completed that includes a Smoothie King, WOW Café & Wingery and specialty shops.

Just off Interstate 10 in D’Iberville, Sangani Boulevard has seen an explosion in retail over the past several years. Wal-Mart and Lowe’s have been surrounded by smaller shops and countless restaurants, and new shopping centers are still in progress.

Too much is happening on the Mississippi Gulf Coast to mention it all, and as the area continues to grow, especially through tourism and gaming, the retail will continue to follow and expand.

The Mississippi State Port at Gulfport has been an economic driver for the Gulf Coast for more than 100 years. Today, the Port is nearing capacity and growing quickly.

Master plans, developed by professional planners in the early 90s and updated every five years, have all advised a westward expansion. Peer reviews agree, citing such reasons as: the Port cannot expand east due to existing development, southerly expansion would present unnecessary operational difficulties and westward expansion better meets the operational needs of the modern ship and terminal operators.

Initial plans called for the expansion to take place over 20 years; however, Hurricane Katrina compressed that timeline into five years.

Plans call for relocating the Dole and Chiquita staging areas to the west terminal, allowing the Port to develop the north harbor area with non-maritime entities which follows suggestions provided by the Redevelopment Master Plan developed by the Mississippi Renewal Forum.

The Port expansion will add a new shipping channel, 105 acres of land and three new shipping berths, making the Port more competitive and attractive to new business. This is especially significant given the Panama Canal expansion, which will bring even more ship traffic into the Gulf of Mexico from Asia. This expansion will put Gulfport at the top of the consideration list.

The expansion will be funded by a $600 million grant provided by the Department of Housing and Urban Development as part of their Katrina Recovery Package. “These funds come at a critical time in the recovery of the port, but the rewards will be tremendous,” said Port Executive Director Don Allee.

Most importantly, projections show that the expansion will increase maritime-related jobs from 3,200 to 4,900 with payroll increasing from $96 million to $147 million. Business revenue is also projected to increase from $189 million to $207 million.

“It is vital that we grow strategically to protect our existing business and put us in a position to attract new business as well,” said Allee.