North Carolina

Mebane works to manage growth with more jobs and new projects on the way: Boomtowns

Published

2 years ago

July 13, 2023

Mebane works to manage growth with more jobs and new projects on the way: Boomtowns

Located in the heart of downtown, Junction on 70 is living up to the city’s motto of “Positively Charming.”

“I think we still have, especially in the downtown area, a very “Mayberry” type feel,” said owner Steven Krans, referring to the fictional North Carolina town featured in the classic series The Andy Griffith Show.

Krans opened up the restaurant seven years ago and says his business has grown each year.

“The White Furniture building around here has been a massive direct impact to our downtown traffic and accentuated in the neighborhood on the north side of the tracks,” said Krans.

He believes the Orange County side of the city is primed for more development, which is where Jeremy Mercer and his family recently moved to.

“We were in North Durham. We were renting. So we kind of put our heads down. We were saving up through the pandemic and everything. And then we looked up ready to purchase a house and realized that the prices weren’t what we thought they were,” said Mercer.

As construction crews finish work on homes for Mercer’s future neighbors, he explained why his family ultimately chose to relocate to Mebane.

“We were just thinking of the growth potential. That was something that we had in mind when we decided to move out here. I work in Chapel Hill, so just kind of want to still be close, even though I’m remote. So those were kind of the deciding factors for us. And then affordability, of course,” said Mercer.

“I think tax rates are much better than our adjoining counties. So that is an incentive for a lot of people, particularly young people, to move and located to Mebane. A lot of the homeowners, one may work in Durham and one may work in Greensboro. And so it’s really have been a very popular site for developers,” said Mayor Ed Hooks.

There are currently 1,000 approved residential units – and another 1,000 – 1,400 under the city’s technical review committee process. However, the city is strict in only allowing 350-400 new units to be built each year, as Hooks lists infrastructure as his top concern.

“We’re expanding our wastewater treatment plant and we’re working very diligently with the state and with developers to put in the roads that are necessary for these developments,” said Hooks.

Mebane is split between Orange County and Alamance County, with Mercer, who lives on the Orange County side, noting his daughter’s school is currently overcapacity, another byproduct of the fast-rising population. According to the US Census Bureau, the city’s population increased by about 70% between 2010 and 2022, now approaching 20,000 people.

The residential growth has come in the midst of an economic boom in the area. Three specific zones have attracted the bulk of the attention, comprising between them more than 3,000 acres of land: North Carolina Commerce Park, North Carolina Industrial Center, and the Buckhorn Economic Development Zone.

“We have prepared for industrial growth in a lot of ways and on the east side of Mebane, particularly in Orange County, there has been dynamic growth in the Buckhorn area. Years ago, Orange County passed some sales taxes that used the funds to provide water and sewer and infrastructure for industry. And it has taken off with Medline. We’ve had Thermo-Fisher Scientific. We have an industrial park out there being built with 5,6,7, 800,000 square foot facilities. All the land that is available for sale has been has been purchased and a lot of plans we foresee in the near future to be coming into Mebane. So that is a dynamic part of North Carolina and as a very popular industrial site for industry in North Carolina,” said Hooks.

UPS, Thermo-Fisher Scientific, and Sunlight Batteries have plants under construction, while Lotus Bakeries is expanding their operations. Combined, the four companies will invest more than $575 million and create more than 850 jobs.

Hooks acknowledged the rapid pace could be difficult for some long-time residents to face, though emphasized city officials remain committed to the downtown sector, noting it received North Carolina Main Street Program designation for 2023.

“That is a very difficult situation. We have spent a lot of time and a lot of money on our downtown. We have a dynamic downtown and I think those individuals that have been here for the longest keep the continuity of the town,” said Hooks.

“We’re definitely trying to get involved in the community, in the neighborhood. We got a nice snow cone place that we go to in downtown Mebane, and the kids get involved with the softball and everything this past spring. So it’s been an enjoyable experience,” added Mercer.

“There’s always concerns about infrastructure, but we have a pretty amazing leadership team here in Mebane that is supportive of growth, development, revitalization,” noted Krans.

Source link

Click to comment

North Carolina

8 now arrested in North Carolina house party shootings and more attempted-murder charges are filed

Published

17 hours ago

June 6, 2025

Press Room

8 now arrested in North Carolina house party shootings and more attempted-murder charges are filed

State

Postal Code

Country

Source link

North Carolina

400-pound monster alligator named Pepe ‘detained’ for ‘being a dinosaur without proper papers’ in NC

Published

1 day ago

June 6, 2025

Press Room

400-pound monster alligator named Pepe ‘detained’ for ‘being a dinosaur without proper papers’ in NC

The scales of justice came for Pepe.

Cops detained – and rescued – a monster 10-foot alligator they nicknamed Pepe the Gator sunbathing on a busy road in North Carolina and “charged” him on suspicion of being a “dinosaur.”

“Witnesses say he was just chilling and snapping, clearly ignoring the ‘no loitering or lounging on roadways’ sign,” the Onslow County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a playful press release last week. “Pepe has been cited for Suspicion of Being a Dinosaur Without Proper Papers, Public Loitering with Intent to Sunbathe, and Obstructing Traffic.”

The responding deputies and officers from the NC Wildlife Resources Commission who got the call on May 25 managed to safely remove Pepe, but not before posing for pictures where they straddle him like rodeo riders.

“He was 10 feet long, 400 pounds. He was an absolute monster,” Trevor Dunnell, spokesman for the Onslow County Sheriff’s Office told the Post Thursday.

“They did a fantastic job of wrangling him.”

To indicate the scale of the gator, Dunnell pointed out how, in the picture, even with three grown men on top of him, Pepe’s still not covered.

“The picture really doesn’t do it justice, I mean 10 feet … 10 feet is a basketball goal, that is a massive creature,” he said.

Although 10 feet seems big, it’s nothing compared to the largest gator on record – 14 feet and 3 and a half inches.

Deputies and wildlife officials used a towel to cover Pepe’s eyes — eye contact is what triggers the animal’s notorious death roll, Dunnell explained — and electrical tape to seal his mouth shut.

“It was definitely some MacGyver stuff they had to use,” he said. “He may not have a good time during the removal, but he was playfully enough about it later to understand that, ‘Hey, man, you gotta do what you gotta do.’”

Dunnell said the office received blowback from people online wishing the cops had just left Pepe alone. but Dunnell was quick to point out that leaving the reptile on the side of the road could have posed a hazard not only to residents but also to the gator.

“You never know what can happen when kids are running around,” he said. “And the gator could wind up in the middle of the road. It could hurt drivers but it could hurt him, too.”

Dunnell said he hopes to see body camera footage of Pepe’s apprehension. The two deputies and the wildlife official in the picture are happy to be riding him, Dunnell said, adding that if authorities encounter another Pepe, they’ll know who to call.

“But some deputies were absolutely not fine,” he said. “When they got back, they were saying, ‘You’re not going to catch me on that thing. I’m not going to go anywhere near it!’”

Pepe was far from home, and Dunnell suspects that it was a hot day and he was looking for a good spot to bask.

“How far he wandered is anybody’s guess,” he said. “It must’ve been several miles at least.”

After further investigation, Dunnell said, they declined to charge Pepe. Instead, they drove him to a boat ramp at nearby Camp Geiger, a satellite facility of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune.

“I think we’ve touched base with the gator and let him know we dropped the charges,” he joked.

“Pepe’s back to his normal routine, he’s hanging out near the beach and lounging in his natural habitat, hunting for his food and looking for a girlfriend.”

Source link

North Carolina

Amazon to invest $10bn in North Carolina data centres

Published

2 days ago

June 5, 2025

Press Room

Amazon to invest bn in North Carolina data centres

This expansion will strengthen AWS data centres in the state. Credit: Amazon.com, Inc.

Tech giant Amazon has announced a $10bn investment in the US state of North Carolina to expand its data centre infrastructure.

The project aims to support advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing technologies.

The investment, according to the company, will create at least 500 “high-skilled” jobs.

It will also support thousands of additional jobs within the Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centre supply chain.

According to Amazon’s press release, the rising demand for generative AI is increasing the need for advanced cloud infrastructure and compute power.

This expansion will strengthen AWS data centres in the state.

Commenting on the move, Amazon chief global affairs and legal officer David Zapolsky said: “Amazon’s $10bn investment in North Carolina underscores our commitment to driving innovation and advancing the future of cloud computing and AI technologies.”

“We look forward to partnering with state and local leaders, local suppliers, and educational institutions to nurture the next generation of talent.”

In a separate development, Amazon is reportedly developing software for humanoid robots.

These robots could potentially replace delivery workers, Reuters reported citing a report published by The Information, citing a person familiar with the matter.

The company is building a “humanoid park,” an indoor obstacle course, at one of its San Francisco offices to test these robots. Amazon is focusing on developing the AI software for these robots while using hardware from other firms for testing.

Amazon did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside regular business hours.

Recently, Amazon started testing a new feature that uses generative AI (genAI) to create short-form audio summaries on select product detail pages.

The feature provides concise overviews of products by analysing product details, customer reviews, and other relevant online information.

The initial test feature targets products that often require careful consideration before buying, offering clear insights through in-depth discussion to help Amazon customers shop more efficiently, the company said in a post.