Madison Park

Updates from Mayor Patsy Kinsey 10/31/13

Posted in: Madison Park

marty5223
Mentor
Charlotte, NC
9597 Posts

Updates from Charlotte Mayor Patsy Kinsey

October 31, 2013

Creating Jobs in the Queen City

Dear Friends,

Happy Halloween!

In October, we celebrated two major corporate headquarters openings in our City. Online marketing firm Yodle cut the ribbon on its new 35,000-square-foot office space (pictured above) and international energy leader AREVA unveiled its new North American headquarters.

Since establishing a Charlotte presence in 2007, Yodle has grown to a workforce of 120 employees, and over the next several years, it expects to add 130 more--doubling in size. The company is ranked 28th on Forbes list of America's most promising companies and represents exactly the kind of innovative, rapidly growing firms we want to attract to our City.

While Yodle's expansion will boost Charlotte's growing IT sector, AREVA's decision to relocate its North American headquarters here will further cement our reputation as a global energy hub. The company announced in March that it plans to create 130 jobs over the next four years and, since setting up shop in Charlotte in 2002, has grown into the City's largest engineering firm.

Both of these announcements are good news for our residents, who will benefit from the jobs Yodle and AREVA plan to create, and good news for our local economy, which we continue to diversify and strengthen.

As always, it's an honor to serve you.

Sincerely,

Habitat for Humanity Turns 30

For 30 years, the members of Habitat for Humanity of Charlotte have worked to improve the lives of their fellow residents and the lives of others around the world. This year, the local nonprofit is celebrating its three decades of work in Charlotte and its 20-year relationship with Habitat El Salvador.

Since 1993, Habitat Charlotte has built one house in El Salvador for each one they've built in Charlotte and tithed $3.3 million for home building overseas, the most of any affiliate in the U.S. To commemorate the impact the chapter has had on El Salvador, its Ambassador and Consul General visited Charlotte for a special ceremony on October 7 (pictured above).

In addition to its work abroad, Habitat Charlotte has built or repaired more than 1,200 homes in Charlotte where 5,000 people now live, and has had a total economic impact of $500 million on our community.

Affordable housing continues to be an issue in Charlotte, and I'm grateful to Habit Charlotte for all the work its members have done over the years to make our City a better place. I look forward to continuing to work with the chapter to improve our City's housing conditions in the years ahead.

Apply for Public Art in Your Neighborhood

Last month, I was proud to announce the Neighborhoods in Creative pARTnership program, a collaboration between the City, the Public Art Commission, and the Arts and Science Council to promote public art in our neighborhoods. As part of the program, the City is pledging $118,000 to help fund five public art grants that neighborhoods throughout Charlotte can compete to win.

This is a unique opportunity for your neighborhood to work with an artist who will create an original piece of public art that captures the essence of your community. Any neighborhood group within the City limits is eligible to apply and, if you haven't already done so, I'd encourage you to click here and fill out an application. The Neighborhoods in Creative pARTnership will help keep our City beautiful while also supporting our local artists and we want as many of our residents as possible to apply.

In Brief

Exercise Your Right to Vote

On Nov. 5, Charlotte will hold elections for Mayor and City Council. For more information, click here. The new Mayor and Council will be sworn in at the Government Center on Dec. 2.

N.C. Entrepreneurship Summit Comes to Charlotte

On Nov. 19-20, Charlotte will host the North Carolina Entrepreneurship Summit for the first time. This is the largest statewide event focused on entrepreneurship, with over 300 entrepreneurs and business service providers expected to attend. For more information, click here.

AARP to Host Summit on Livability

On Nov. 21, the AARP will host a summit of stakeholders working on transportation, housing, mobility, and land-use issues in Mecklenburg County to discuss how we can make our community more livable, accessible, and age-friendly. For more information, click here.