Business Climate The revitalization of the Cape Fear Region’s economy that began a decade ago – which many trace to the long-awaited completion of I-40 – continues strong into the 21st century. A diversity of industries provides the region with a foundation that ensures further growth. Between tourism, manufacturing and even the movie business, the Cape Fear Region’s economic push shows every sign of being able to sustain itself well into the future. By sheer numbers, the continuing growth in population means good business for everyone. As people continue to relocate to the area from other states – New Hanover County’s population has increased by more than 33 percent in the last decade to 174,000 residents – the health care, service and construction industries prosper. The film industry in southeastern North Carolina, while facing stiff competition from Canada, is still one of the liveliest in the country. To the 650-plus resident technical crewmembers and the hundreds of local support services that depend on film industry spending, movies are a major factor in the economic growth and stability of the Cape Fear area. More than 300 feature films and television series have been filmed here, including Dawson’s Creek, One Tree Hill and Surface. The region’s healthy manufacturing sector continues to play a big role in the economy. The city is home to such large employers as Corning Glass Works, General Electric and Fenner Drives. Wilmington International Airport offers direct flights to Charlotte, Philadelphia, Atlanta and New York on USAirways and Delta Connection airlines. Wilmington International served 700,000 passengers in 2005, an increase of 22 percent over 2004. The I-140 Outer Loop or U.S. 17 Wilmington Bypass, recently opened between U.S. 421 and U.S. 17. The remaining western section is slated to begin construction in 2009. The Cape Fear Skyway – a 9.5-mile skyway linking the western terminus of the U.S. 17 Bypass to Town Creek in Brunswick County – is currently in the works. The state port, just south of Wilmington’s historic district, is part of the N.C. State Ports Authority system. Each year the port processes more than a million tons of goods through its terminal on the Cape Fear River, 26 miles from the river’s mouth. With direct rail links to two inland facilities at Charlotte and Greensboro, the port accommodates more than 450 ships each year, facilitating the export of tobacco, textiles, wood products and vehicles and the import of chemicals, machinery and fruit from South America. Where other businesses succeed, retail usually finds a viable market too. That’s certainly the case in Wilmington, where larger national retail chains continue to establish themselves in the many shopping centers being constructed just outside of downtown Wilmington. While stores move into existing malls in the loop formed by Oleander Drive, College Road and Market Street, others have begun sprouting just south and east of the city in previously undeveloped sections. The population increase has guaranteed healthy sales for such do-it-yourself chains as Home Depot and Lowe’s, general department stores like Goody’s and Target, and more specialized outfits like Circuit City, Office Max and Barnes & Noble. The large influx of retirees has spurred the area’s economy by bringing higher disposable incomes, a desire for leisure and recreational activities and a need for health-care services. In fact, the health-care industry has enjoyed unprecedented growth recently, with health-care-only business parks being constructed. Since the consolidation of New Hanover Regional Medical Center and Cape Fear Memorial Hospital in 1998, the combined entity has sought to divide medical services between the two sites, while also expanding upon the health programs that address the region’s changing demographic base. Even with all the activity along the Cape Fear Coast, Wilmington’s historic district – once down and out – has little trouble attracting tourists to the many retail businesses and restaurants that have opened there in the last five years. Large downtown festivals – Riverfest in the fall and the Azalea Festival in the spring – add tens of thousands of visitors, benefiting the many restaurants, nightclubs and shops in the historic district. Brunswick and Pender counties have profited from the tourism industry as well, as hotels and restaurants are bolstered by affluent beachgoers, and real estate development remains strong. As growth in the Cape Fear Region continues, the area is destined to be a major economic force in the years to come. CHARLOTTE OBSERVER FILE PHOTO