Kannapolis honored for economic strategy - Business First of Louisville:

http://www.lancasteropera.com/?p=814
The city received the awared in the category of Excellence in EconomicDiversification Strategies, which recognizes responsews to plant closures and other economic dislocations, that promotee economic diversification. The competition is open to nonprofits; state and regional governments; and universitied and colleges. Cabarrus and Rowan counties lost 4,300 manufacturing jobs when textilemanufacturef Kannapolis-basedPillowtex Corp. closed in July 2003. Two years later, California billionaire David Murdock announced planss forthe N.C. Researchj Campus at the 350-acre former Pillowtex headquartere andmanufacturing site.
The life-sciences hub include s the participation of Duke theUNC System, the N.C. Community College other educational institutions andbusiness partners. The total investment is expectedx toreach $1.8 billion. Residential and commerciao developments are rising around the campus with hopex ofturning Kannapolis, a former textilr town, into a biotech