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Business Today NC
February 2017 Published monthly
YEARS
Business Intelligence for the Golden Crescent: Lake Norman • Cabarrus • University City
TAKING THE PLUNGE
Rusty Knox will run for mayor of Davidson, just like his dad did some 30 years ago Page 4
BANKING
Uwharrie Bank, with offices in Concord, Charlotte and points east, reports strong 2016 results Page 7
ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
Wells Fargo economist Sarah House goes in-depth on North Carolina’s economic perforPages 8 mance in 2017
DIVERSITY
Being in favor of diversity is not the same as accomplishing diversity. Chris Hailey and Karen Lawrence explain Page 10-11
The state of Huntersville Mayor John Aneralla is all business
BY DAVE YOCHUM A full year into his two-year term, Huntersville Mayor John Aneralla called his regular monthly meeting with citizens and business owners at the Spare Time bowling and entertainment complex last month a “State of Huntersville Address” and ran down a long list of achievements. The room was quiet. Aneralla looked around. He dead-panned like a New York comedian: “I give a State of the Union address. [Pause] It’s a little disappointing there are no people standing up and clapping. That didn’t happen.” More sardonic about himself than others, practical when it comes to government and alert to business needs, the mayor is getting high marks from members of the business community, including Callan Bryan, the 2016 chairman of the Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce, who himself attended countless Huntersville mayor John Aneralla speaks at the Newsmaker’s Breakfast in February 2016
See ANERALLA page 18
Hire calling: Labor will tighten in 2017 BY DAVE VIESER Economists say issues such as tax reform, HB2 and even traffic congestion will all come into play when job creation numbers come in locally and nationally during 2017. John Connaughton, professor of economics at UNC-Charlotte said, “Right now, so much is uncertain concerning both corporate and individual tax reform
HOT PROPERTIES
Pages 20-21
18396 Balmore Pines Lane in Cornelius closed for $1.59 million
that the rate of economic growth and hiring in 2017 is really up in the air.” Bill Russell, CEO of the Lake Norman Chamber, is optimistic. “The reaction of the market to Donald Trump’s election has contrasted sharply with previous expectations from pollsters and economists.” Sarah House, a top Wells Fargo economist, expects the pace of hiring to slow
in 2017, partly because the labor market has tightened up so much. “The local labor market has tightened in line with the nation. Labor force participation remains a challenge for the region, however,” House says. Some national surveys paint a rosy picture. According to CareerBuilder, 40 perSee LABOR page 19
RECORDS Transactions Cabarrus 15 Mecklenburg 15 Mooresville 15 Foreclosures Cabarrus 15
Mecklenburg 15 Mooresville 16 Corporations Cabarrus 16 Mecklenburg 16 Mooresville 16
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Commercial real estate brokers say the proposed multimillion-dollar arts center is good for downtown Cornelius Page 2
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