Many, many things have been shut down in recent months thanks to the pandemic, and one area of activity that’s been hit hard – an area that’s vital to Guilford County – is economic development.
Those efforts, like many other things, have largely been on hold since the coronavirus first hit earlier this year. However, now, there are some solid signs that things are getting back to normal and companies are starting to think once again about relocating and expanding.
This week, both High Point Economic Development Corp. President Loren Hill and Greensboro Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Brent Christensen said that things were starting to pick up again.
Christensen, in fact, was at the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Thursday, June 18 meeting to attend a closed session the commissioners held with the following stated purpose: “To discuss an economic development incentive request.”
Usually, by the time a proposed project reaches the point where the county commissioners are discussing it in closed session, that project is very far along and it tends to become a reality. Closed session participants did not reveal the name of the company or the size of the project, however, one source did say it was in the Greensboro area.
There is also some corroborating evidence for that statement. If a project is in the High Point area, Hill is usually in attendance for the closed session; however, Hill wasn’t at the meeting and he did not attend it virtually.
Three weeks ago, the Guilford County Economic Development Alliance, a collective of local elected leaders and economic development officials meant to promote business in Guilford County – held a virtual meeting, one which was watched by members of the media. The alliance also went into closed session to discuss a project that it didn’t want reporters to know about yet. It’s not known if that was the same project that the Guilford County commissioners were discussing Thursday night.
