Executive Vice President of Economic Development Services for the Charlotte Regional Partnership

Kenny McDonald is executive vice president of economic development services for the Charlotte Regional Partnership.  The partnership is a nonprofit, private/public organization dedicated to the planned growth and prosperity of a region known collectively as Charlotte USA, roughly the size of Massachusetts and covering 12 counties in North Carolina and four counties in South Carolina.  McDonald focuses on global business development.  He works closely with local economic development directors, assisting companies and state and local officials with selection of development sites.  He has more than 15 years of experience in economic development and site selection, having worked in Charlotte, Albuquerque, Savannah, and with the Fluor Corporation. He holds a Certified Economic Developer designation.

Question:

Norfolk Southern plans to construct a 200-acre intermodal facility at the Charlotte/Douglas International Airport as part of improvements to its Crescent Corridor freight rail network.  What benefits do you expect Charlotte USA to derive from NS’ planned intermodal facility?

Answer:

We commissioned an impact analysis of this about five years ago, and the results were very telling and important. For us, having a larger, more robust intermodal facility means No. 1, more investment in the region and No. 2 – and more important, these days – more jobs.  The way we look at it, this facility is going to have an impact across the entire region.  It’s going to put people to work, it’s going to bring investment to several of our 16 counties and, hopefully, it will make the businesses already located here more competitive.

I just think it’s great that Norfolk Southern views Charlotte as a place to make an investment.  If you make a list of places that you can bring your goods into, you’re going to have intermodal locations on a short list.  Given that, we view the intermodal facility as a critical piece of infrastructure for the future of our region.

Question:

What kind of business investment do you expect the intermodal facility to attract?

Answer:

It obviously will be a transportation hub for the corridor and help expose the region internationally as an inland port area where companies can manufacture or bring in goods and distribute them nationwide.  I think this will help us in all the sectors we’ve targeted as market prospects.  There really is not a sector we’re going after that does not have a manufacturing or transportation logistics component to it, be it companies involved in advanced energy systems, the automotive sector, the medical products market, or the defense and aerospace sector. I can’t think of a way this won’t help us.

A key is the location of the facility at the airport, which is centrally located in the region.  There’s a real marketing value to that.  You’re exposing people and companies to this area as a place they can bring their goods to, and we can then begin the conversation about Charlotte as a location to do business.  Having those logistics happen there at the airport makes incredible sense.