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NC Carolina Core

 

NC Carolina Core Graphic 

The Carolina Core is not confined by traditional borders. The Carolina Core’s boundaries are built by the assets that make the region a globally competitive market – a talent pool of more than 2 million people, access to 30+ colleges and universities with 250,000 students, multiple airports, four megasites totaling 7,200 acres of certified land, urban research parks and more. This 120+ mile stretch of central North Carolina from Wilkes County to Winston-Salem to Fayetteville encompasses Greensboro and High Point and has close proximity to Charlotte and the Research Triangle, all along future Interstate 685. These assets have long served companies, from the era of producing distinctly American goods like tobacco and textiles to the current global tech-based economy.

Public and private leadership in the Carolina Core is highly engaged and aligned on a vision for the future. The very formation of the Carolina Core is a result of regional partners coalescing around the area’s competitive assets to tell a collective story. Today, leaders in the Carolina Core come together to advance large development efforts that attract and retain the best talent and attract new companies that build out industry clusters. From Winston-Salem’s Innovation Quarter, one of the nation’s foremost urban research parks, to Greensboro’s Tanger Center for Performing Arts and High Point’s downtown Catalyst Project, to the PTI Aerospace Center and Whitaker Park developments, community leaders have rallied around transformational projects for the good of the entire region and its future.

NC Carolina Core Graphic 


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       Wilkes County, NC Airport

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Wilkes County

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Logistics

US-421, a major four-lane freeway, laterally traverses Wilkes County, offering a short, 20-minute drive east to access U.S. I-77 and U.S. I-40 in under an hour. A pleasant 30-minute drive west on US-421 leads to Boone, N.C., and the state’s best ski slopes.
 
Wilkes County has one of the best small-town general aviation airports in North Carolina. Two international airports are conveniently located near Wilkes County – Charlotte Douglas (CLT) is 88 miles to the south, and Piedmont Triad (PTI) is 76 miles to the east.
 
Three major East Coast ports are within five hours of Wilkes County: Wilmington, N.C.Norfolk, Va., and Charleston, S.C..
 
The Yadkin Valley Railroad offers Wilkes County businesses rail access to ship their products into the Ronda and Roaring River areas. The YVRR operates out of the Winston-Salem area and hauls 11,500 carloads per year with freight. G&O's short line railroads offer connections to CSX and Norfolk Southern, which allow businesses to ship or receive products by rail from almost anywhere in North America. Charlotte Regional Intermodal Facility offers logistical options.

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