An article from TBJ indicates that the Apple project is still pretty likely, but that parties concerned are still finalizing the details about their expansion, thus the delay in announcing it. It points to the possibility of Apple taking temporary space in Cary and possibly Raleigh.
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You might want to read today’s TBJ article. For those that want to ignore, downplay, or disregard the serious concerns and adverse impact the current NC legislature, dominated by right-wing social conservatives is having on economic development, take a look at today’s article if you felt all the Apply hype just went quiet…for reasons unrelated to the NC GOP actions.
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No, that cannot be argued. So don’t argue it.
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It’s apparently not all bad news as some want us to think…
This source is The Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina which is trying to sell the state for exactly those and other projects. Quoted rankings make sense too but happened before the power struggle became so apparent in the NC legislation.
Anyway fingers crossed Apple comes here 
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There is always a power struggle when two different parties control the Governor and the North Carolina General Assembly. And it occurs in many other states in similar situations. But my only point is that we must not weigh only what some view as bad without also taking into consideration the apparent good things that are also happening.
What we are witnessing in North Carolina is NOT 'normal politics. I was born and bred in this State. I lived abroad for a short period of time. What the NC GOP has done, is attempting to do, and wants to do is NOT normal politics. We are heading in a direction of destroying a checks & balances system and 3 branches of government (a hallmark of American democracy). You need to really read what they are attempting to do with these ‘constitutional amendments’ before you discount this to ‘normal politics’. I was a Republican my entire life…until recently when I realized the apparent attempt by the NC legislature to take NC back to 1861. If you disagree, name 1, just 1 incident in North Carolina history where multiple companies refused expansion projects because of a single piece of legislation? You won’t find one. In one fail swoop, they ran off PayPal, DeutcheBank, CreditSuisse, even our own ACC tournament…just to name a few.
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I don’t think that the ‘ghost of the bathroom bill’ is a problem anymore. Hopefully this issue will remain old news.
And none of those companies mentioned were even looking at downtown Raleigh anyway.
But Apple coming to RTP or Amazon to downtown Raleigh is going to be about incentives (how much does an Triangle region need given it already is strong in many of the factors like 3 super colleges, east coast time zone, halfway between NYC/Miami, etc, and coolness factor/desirability, and similar criteria. I was reading more on the Infosys article on TBJ about their 2,000 person expansion in Raleigh. And many expansions downtown. (occupancy in DTR is in the high ninety %)… The whole area is just short of fully booming. And I think this strong growth momentum coupled with it’s strong advantages is why Raleigh was listed by Amazon in the latest batch of contenders. I think the politics will have less impact and the business strengths will continue to attract desirable growth in the Triangle area.
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Except that the idea of NC being a Republican led state is a rather new development in the overall history of NC’s economic expansion.
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As is mentioned above, I don’t think the delay has as much to do with politics as it does with scrutinizing the incentives offered and comparing them to those offered by competing cities. Usually the last, best final offer isn’t the last, best final offer.
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I know for a fact that the ‘bathroom bill’ is still an issue with economic recruiters in NC. It’s left a bad impression on progressive companies, particularly on the west coast. Governor Cooper was able to at least get rid of “HB2” in its old form, however the GOP was unwilling to completely throw out HB2 so they left some legacy discriminatory bill in place (which I’m guessing a lot of you are not aware of). Further, in my discussions its not just the bathroom bill that is creating hesitation and challenges for NC economic recruiters. While yes, there are other conservative states (Texas, South Carolina) very few of those have gone to the extremes that the NC GOP has done. Both of those states (as well as others) dropped their stupid bathroom bills when they saw what happened in NC. These people that I have spoken to are not just Democrats for the record. So yes, incentives will play a part but if our incentives are equal to say Texas but Texas doesn’t seem to have a legislature that feels the need to constantly move to ideological extremes as ours does, it DOES MATTER. You are kidding yourselves if you think Apple and Amazon won’t factor this. I’m not saying they won’t come. Frankly I’m hoping they will simply say “we can ignore these crazy idiots and go elsewhere OR we can still come to Raleigh and help effect positive, progressive change in NC”…
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Even with such Poor Bus Transit that the Triangle has now. It would mean Extended Bus Services and longer Hours of bus service including weekend service on all GoRaleigh/GoTriangle Buses.
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Good grief, the bathroom bill, let it go, it’s last years news. It’s all about money, money, money dude. Whomever gives them the best deal will win.
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It’s almost like some people want NC and Raleigh to lose these opportunities and have those corporations blame it on the GOP just so that they will feel vindicated. It would actually strain North Carolina, Raleigh, Wake County tremendously if they were to have even more companies and businesses moving here faster than they are already. It’s hard enough to keep up with the growth that we have now. And besides which states doesn’t have a few negatives?
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Might be lacking on the “coolness” factor. Apple or Amazon does nothing for cool anyway…
@TedF I agree. I’ll never be a GOP apologist, but these HQ decisions aren’t based on political climate. They are based on bottom lines and incentives. Apple and Amazon know good and well that their coming to Raleigh will begin a seismic shift in this state’s politics. And if they are planting down for HQ2 then they are planting down for the long haul. You really think they are going to be scared away by a few laws that can be repealed or changed in a few years anyway?
Let me put it this way. There may be some groups that want to boycott North Carolina bc of politics/laws (and I don’ t blame them for trying), but at the end of the day, there are very few workers in the tech field who are going to turn down a 200k job at Amazon/Apple because they have to move to Raleigh ( a city that is constantly listed as a top place to live)
I guess what I’m trying to say is, these CEOs are a LOT smarter than people seem to be giving them credit for. While some seem to be stuck on the issues of today, these people are making a decision with 20-50 years in mind.
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FWIW, “bottom lines and incentives” are also political climate. Everything that involves monies paid, incentives received, or taxes deferred are political in nature.
It’s all a balance, and tipping a scale is about what’s appealing to a company that includes those issues, cultural fit, educational attainment, migration, etc. …all of which have a political lever.
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Good point Ted, all states have issues one way or another, even Amazon has its limits, they reversed the homeless tax when Amazon said he’ll no. If the stupid law was the issue they would not even put us on the possible list.
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Seattle backed down. North Carolina hasn’t budged an inch since making the finalist list. NC hasn’t lifted a finger on the items that are identified as being drags on Raleigh’s bid. …just saying.
In Reading some of the comments here, still no word on Apple coming to RTP ?