Issue link: http://townofcary.uberflip.com/i/791946
CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES 35 Many businesses throughout the na on are moving from tradi onal suburban business parks to downtown loca ons that offer an urban lifestyle and urban ameni es. A regional example is Red Hat's reloca on in 2013 from the NC State Centennial Campus to downtown Raleigh. Maintaining Attractiveness to Prospective Businesses Cary is well-known as a community that offers a very high quality of life for its residents and workers. That quality of life is created in part by the many public and private ameni es offered in the community, such as beau ful parks and greenways, recrea on ac vi es, access to first-rate health care, and abundant choices for shopping, dining, and services. Our high quality of life is also o en defined in terms of our Town's aesthe cs, a en on to community appearance, and the high quality of public and private development in our community. In fact, our community's development regula ons set high standards for the quality and appearance of new development. Historically, Cary's major employers – as well as new large businesses reloca ng to Cary – have recognized the value and costs of mee ng Cary's rigorous development standards, in order to sustain and reinforce the pres ge of their companies' Cary loca ons. However, as our community also comes to recognize the importance of nurturing entrepreneurship and growing small businesses, we may need to evaluate the ability of small businesses to meet our community's stringent development quality and design standards. The impact of such regula ons hits hardest on small businesses, where the propor onal cost and effort of mee ng Cary's aesthe c standards may be beyond their financial reach and exper se. In the coming years, our community may need to balance aspects of our aesthe c standards, in order to ensure that we con nue to a ract and grow small businesses in Cary. Changes in Workplace Environments Cary has been extremely successful in a rac ng corporate and technology-based businesses to its lush, well-planned office parks. Many businesses con nue to seek such loca ons, especially where they are located near high-quality residen al neighborhoods like the ones that Cary has to offer. At the same me, the workplace environment is shi ing for some industries that are trying to a ract today's younger and more mobile professional, who chooses a job partly based on the type of lifestyle offered by the employer. That lifestyle includes both the immediate urban environment in which the business is located, as well as the character of the overall community. A se ng that offers "urban amenity" value has become more important to nearly 40% of Cary's employers, according to a 2013 survey. To many of today's younger and more mobile workers, isolated loca ons in tradi onal suburban office parks are proving to be less a rac ve than business loca ons in more urban environments that offer a mix of nearby dining, shopping, and living op ons in a walkable community. In order to remain a compe ve loca on for 21st Century businesses and workers, our community may need to ensure that we offer the types of loca ons and built environments that will enable us to successfully compete for businesses that recruit this younger or more mobile workforce. Limited Remaining Class A Office Space Of the total remaining developable land within Cary's planning boundary, it is es mated that about 1,400 acres might be suitable for prime "Class A" office. While this may seem like a significant amount of land, there are two key challenges. First, many of these parcels are not currently available on the market. For example, about 400 of the 1,400 acres are owned or controlled by SAS or its development arm, for future expansion of the SAS Campus. Second, the number of large sites is very limited. Excluding the undeveloped SAS proper es, there are only nine sites of 20 or more acres, and only 21 sites of 10-20 acres suitable for prime office within the en re planning area. There are therefore very few remaining premier sites in Cary's planning jurisdic on for major businesses looking to locate to the area, which could be a significant limita on for future economic development efforts. As the Town grows, it is cri cal to monitor and protect these prime sites for future employment growth and business recruitment, and not convert them to residen al or commercial uses.