Several issues the Cape Fear region faced in 2014 remain priorities at the beginning of 2015, according to experts and business leaders, who weighed in on their predictions for the new year in the areas of film incentives, the economy, economic development, the impact of higher education and real estate.
FILM INDUSTRY
Johnny Griffin, director of the Wilmington Regional Film Commission:
“All we know at this point is we have $10 million in grant money, which is inadequate for us to maintain or grow the film industry.
A grant program can work, but we’ve got to have more money in it. Come July 1, if there is not any money left in the pot [or allocated by the legislature for the new fiscal year], we have zero.
The problem is, we won’t know that until July, and producers need to know. What I’m afraid of is that we’ll be very dry for several months, and there will be no [TV] series to pick up.”
Bill Vassar, executive vice president of EUE/Screen Gems Studios in Wilmington:
“With the grant program, we’ve got a vehicle to continue the film and television industry that doesn’t have to be voted on every year by the General Assembly but rather is in the appropriations committee. I feel we have a better shot at working with them.
The studio is not planning on going anywhere. We’re [going] to make some renovations and repairs that we’ve not had an opportunity to do over the last five years because we’ve been so busy. We’ve got so many things going for us here [at EUE/ Screen Gems]: shops, vendors, crew, equipment. You’re likely to get people to come here for 5 percent less [in incentives] because they know they will save money.”
ECONOMY
William (Woody) Hall, senior economist with UNCW’s Swain Center:
“I’m more optimistic now about the local economy than I have been for the past five years. We forecast in October that the newly defined MSA would grow 3.3 percent during 2015. I think now that it will be more like 3.7 percent, based on some data that I did not have in October.
Why higher growth? Retail sales are the highest in history. Residential real estate has bottomed out, and we continue to see healthy growth in both sales and prices. November sales broke a record.
Another variable showing growth is employment, which is up, but unfortunately mainly due to growth in relatively low-paying sectors. We won’t see noticeable sustained growth until wages start rising, but that should be around the corner. Vertex’s entry into the job market does suggest [opportunities for] higher wages.
Unemployment is down. Before, unemployment was decreasing, but people were leaving the labor force. That has stopped. People are coming back in, and they have found work.
We don’t have much good information on imports and exports or air passenger traffic, but a major airline is adding a flight to New York. Container tonnage [at the port] is relatively small, so that’s not as telling in terms of growth rates.”
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Connie Majure-Rhett, president and CEO of Wilmington Chamber of Commerce:
“We are excited to be working on the publication of an economic scorecard that will help elected officials and business leaders make decisions concerning factors that affect Wilmington’s economic health. The chamber’s flagship initiative, Cape Fear Future, will fund development of the scorecard, which will benchmark our region against other peer regions using hard data.
The publication will not be a marketing piece but rather an honest assessment of where we excel and where we have challenges that need to be addressed … Release of the scorecard will occur in fall of 2015.
We are seeing growth in the economy as it slowly strengthens and will continue
in 2015 to work on issues that negatively impact the business community.
Our four major focus areas for 2015 will be: crime, business advocacy, education and the Pathways to Prosperity Economic Development Plan, or Garner Report as it’s more commonly known.”
Jim Bradshaw, executive director of the Brunswick County Economic Development Commission:
“One of our goals is to get a labor study done. With the announcement of the new company in Wilmington we want to make sure there’s still ample labor available for new and existing industries that are expanding.”
Knowing the workforce numbers will be critical because Bradshaw expects continued interest from site consultants.
The Brunswick commission plans to conduct the study with the aid of North Carolina’s Southeast Regional Economic Development Partnership.
The Brunswick commission is also “ still working with a major retail developer looking at the Supply area” as a potential location for a major shopping center, Bradshaw said in December. “It doesn’t mean it’s going to happen. It may not happen, but we’re trying our best to put it all together for them.”
HIGHER EDUCATION AND ECONOMY
Ted Spring, president of Cape Fear Community College:
“We anticipate breaking ground on the Advanced and Emerging Technologies Center at the North Campus, which will provide critical space needed to expand high-demand job training programs … The college also looks forward to opening the Humanities and Fine Arts Center, which will not only greatly enhance the educational environment for thousands of students but will provide an exciting new performance venue for our entire region.
In Pender County, the first building at the college’s Alston W. Burke Campus in Surf City is expected to open its doors to residents in the northern region of our service area for classes this summer.”
Daniel Baden, William R. Kenan Distinguished Professor of Marine Science, and director of UNCW Center for Marine Science:
“The successful late-2014 [app] launch by Next Glass was an important milestone for UNCW’s MARBIONC program. As a pivotal resource for startups, MARBIONC stimulates public-private partnerships, the goal being economic development in southeastern North Carolina.
By enabling companies to expand their research capabilities and horizons and pursue collaborations with others, MARBIONC provides first-rate laboratories to tenants, access to scientific staff and sophisticated equipment that most startups could not afford … UNCW is a pillar of economic growth in the region, and is eager to welcome new tenants to MARBIONC in 2015.”
RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE
Jody Wainio, Wilmington Regional Association of Realtors president (term lasts through January):
“I see us continuing to improve, to get more stability in the market. I hope that interest rates remain at a reasonably low level. I think they’ll probably rise a little bit, but not too terribly.
I expect property values to rise somewhere in the 3 to 5 percent range, which is a healthy, consistent growth … We’re seeing more new construction, which to me indicates that for one, people are buying, and secondly, that banks are not as hesitant to lend for spec homes and construction. All that indicates a stronger market.”
COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE
Steve Hall, commercial broker with Maus, Warwick, Matthews & Co.:
“Commercial real estate follows employment, so as the unemployment rates decline a little bit, you’ll start to see more and more businesses in the area start forming.”
Demand for office, industrial and retail space will likely continue to rise this year, he said, particularly retail, as a result of Wilmington’s rapid growth.
“There’s a very good possibility that retail could have a huge impact ion Wilmington’s economy here shortly,” Hall said, using Porters Neck, where a new Wal-Mart
shopping center is under construction, as an example of a growing area influencing commercial decisions.
To read a review of 2014 click here.
