|
||
|
||
|
My Take: Opportunity Zones provide economic benefits for communities by injecting long-term capital, the revitalization of underutilized properties, increased housing supply, and infrastructure upgrades. What was fascinating about the discussion was the balancing act several councilmembers attempted between criticizing the program due to concerns about displacement and simultaneously arguing for portions of their districts to be included. I guess that’s Charlotte politics in 2026. Ultimately the motion passed and the decision moves to the state and then ultimately, the federal government.
By Symone Graham – Staff Writer, Charlotte Business Journal
Jun 1, 2026
Charlotte is attracting billions in capital investment and outpacing most U.S. metros on job growth, but a veteran economist warns the city’s public-private engine is sputtering at a critical moment.
Mark Vitner, chief economist at Charlotte-based Piedmont Crescent Capital and former senior economist at Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC), released a mid-year economic outlook this month showing Charlotte on pace for 3.2% real gross domestic product growth in 2026. The report projects the metro will average 2.8% to 3% growth annually through 2030, well above the projected 2.3% U.S. pace. More than $10 billion in committed capital spans financial services, advanced manufacturing, energy and life sciences.
The headline jobs number tells a more complicated story. Charlotte added 14,900 net new jobs over the trailing 12 months ending in April, a 1.1% gain — roughly twice the national pace. But that marks a sharp step down from the preliminary 2.7% growth rate that circulated before the annual benchmark revision.
“Those were the preliminary numbers, and when we got the revised data, we found out the job growth just wasn’t quite as strong as had been reported,” Vitner said.
Manufacturing shed 4,400 jobs over the past year in Charlotte, driven largely by transportation equipment and textiles. Education and health services led all sectors with 6,600 jobs added, a 4.3% gain, per Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Major announcements from Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. (NYSE: SMFG) and Pacific Life Insurance Co. have not yet fully converted to payrolls.
SMBC announced plans to add roughly 2,000 jobs at 301 S. College St., subleasing 194,000 square feet in the former Wachovia headquarters tower. Pacific Life is establishing an East Coast hub in South End, adding about 300 positions in finance, actuarial and technology roles.
“There’s a timeline between when projects are announced and when the dollars start to be spent,” Vitner said.
More than $10 billion in committed capital spans the region, though the figure reflects Charlotte’s growing role as a command center for projects extending beyond Mecklenburg County. Scout Motors, which will locate its U.S. headquarters in Plaza Midwood, anchors a significant share of that total alongside its $2 billion electric vehicle assembly plant under construction in Blythewood, South Carolina.
Other commitments include Maersk’s North American headquarters and Siemens Energy’s gas turbine expansion. More than $3.5 billion in life sciences and advanced manufacturing investment is taking shape at The Grounds at Concord, the former Philip Morris plant in Cabarrus County now home to Eli Lilly and a $1.5 billion Red Bull beverage complex.
Vitner’s report frames Charlotte’s near-term trajectory around three infrastructure decisions that stalled simultaneously this year, the most consequential test of the city’s collaborative model in a generation, he argues.
I-77 South. The Charlotte City Council voted 6-5 in May to rescind support for proposed toll lanes connecting uptown to the South Carolina state line. The Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization followed. NCDOT confirmed it will withdraw roughly $700 million in committed state funding. Regional planners estimate a decade before another credible plan emerges. “It’s critical that we find a way to expand I-77,” Vitner said. “It absolutely has to happen.”
The airport lease. The city announced a one-year extension of its Airline Use and Lease Agreement with American Airlines in May, pushing a successor deal into 2027. CLT served 53.6 million passengers in 2025 and is American’s second-largest hub after Dallas-Fort Worth. “The American Airlines hub is more important to Charlotte than any other single attribute,” Vitner said. “Without that, Charlotte would not be the city that it is.”
Brooklyn Village. The Peebles Corp. lost control of first-phase parcels in the 17-acre Second Ward redevelopment in May after its lender filed to foreclose. Mecklenburg County had halted negotiations last August. Vitner drew a direct comparison to Eastland Mall, a project he has tracked since moving to Charlotte in 1993. Eastland Mall sat vacant and mired in redevelopment talks for decades before the site finally advanced as Eastland Yards, a mixed-use project now moving forward along the planned Silver Line corridor. “I’m afraid that the Brooklyn Village redevelopment may be along that same path,” he said. “And it would be a shame.”
Vitner tied all three to a broader erosion of civic leadership.
“It’s not as much intact as it used to be,” he said of the city’s collaborative model. “The secret to Charlotte’s success has always been that government, labor and business all work together, and we don’t have that right now in Charlotte.”
Vitner’s base case remains optimistic. He projects 16,000 net new jobs for the year and expects manufacturing to stabilize in the second half.
“We need to accomplish things in a way that sends the message that Charlotte’s a place that gets things done and that doesn’t get weighed down by constant squabbles,” he said.
My Take: Mark Vitner is right. We’ve had a ton of economic investment in recent years but seem to be making decisions, especially of late, that don’t continue to move us in the direction of prosperity. The recission of support for the I-77 project is a great example of this. The discussion about expanding the highway began as far back as 2007 when the section of I-77 from Gold Hill Road (in South Carolina) to I-277 as a corridor was considered for managed lanes. Fast forward to multiple approvals from governing bodies at various steps in the process. All of this activity, which included many public meetings, led to a list of key terms that were agreed to by the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization (CRTPO) and would be incorporated into any final agreement with a developer. Significant items included were $1,000,000 in annual toll relief for low-income users, a cap on tolling amounts, vehicles with 3 or more occupants would ride free, and all transit vehicles would also travel toll and congestion free. It’s important to point out these elements of what could have been. Today the project remains on the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) list, but it is only a matter of time before it will be removed, and the dollars are reallocated around the state. There may be one last slim chance to save the project if cooler heads can prevail, but the clock is ticking.
BACK TO LATEST NEWS