Choose Currituck County

As the national economy begins to show consistent signs of recovery, the Virgina Beach-Norfolk-Newport News MSA also continues to rebound locally and regionally.  With this increase in the economy comes the decision to choose Currituck County as a destination for businesses to open locations or relocate.  Not only is it is such a great place to raise a family, but Currituck County offers more financial advantages to its residents and businesses than the neighboring Hampton Roads area in Eastern Virginia.

How Currituck County Helps Local Businesses

Currituck County sits just 20 miles south of Hampton Roads and is part of the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News MSA.  It is a breathtaking part of the North Carolina that offers a “mix of cultural fields, clustered development, forests, wetlands and estuarine marshes,” according to a 2011 Currituck County Profile. 

Business owners who set up shop in Currituck County enjoy so many financial advantages that are not afforded to the Hampton Roads business arena.  This area understands what it takes to operate a business and genuinely wants to make it appealing to bring business here.  To highlight the primary advantages, Currituck County has:

·         One of the lowest tax burdens in all of North Carolina and Virginia which is a huge benefit for new and expanding businesses in this area

·         A very low tax rate of $0.32/$100 of valuation compared to that of Eastern Virginia which falls between $3.70/$100 valuation in Virginia Beach and $4.25/$100 valuation in Chesapeake, Hampton, and the other Virginia cities

·         Considerable resources for development and expansion

·         Machinery and sales tax relief

·         Custom workforce training program and reimbursement

·         Grants to offset real and personal property investments

(Source:  Currituck County 2011 Profile, Currituck Economic Development)

Another huge incentive to bring business to Currituck is that the county does not require a local business license which in turns means no license tax or fee.  For many HamptonRoads Business, this fee can be as much as $0.40/$100 in gross sales making Currituck more attractive for high volume businesses.  In addition, they may have to pay a business privilege and occupation license (BPOL) tax on gross receipts which means that a Hampton Roads business with no gross revenue is still required to pay a tax for the license. 

Business Opportunities in Currituck County

Because tourism is Currituck County’s main economic advantage, it sees over two million visitors every season.  There is a local workforce of over 13,000 people with more than one million workers within 60 miles.

In addition to tourism, there are more and more business opportunities in Currituck County.  The area is poised for growth over the next few years.  Moyock’s new sewage treatment plant makes it more alluring for residential and commercial development in the area.  The overall small business sector is a growing one providing year-round service and professional jobs.  Currituck Economic Development Director, Peter Bishop, says “a steady stream of new home construction accounts for more jobs.” 

Currituck County’s Quality of Life

Not only is the foundation laid to entice business, Currituck County’s quality of life is also an asset.  It is home to some of the best schools that rank in the top percentiles in the region in terms of academic achievement, graduation rates and new facilities. 

The same tax rate that applies to business property does so with personal property.  With Currituck being unincorporated, there is only one layer of taxation.  This is very attractive even for those who work in Hampton Roads and choose to live in Currituck County.

With so many attributes for building businesses in Currituck County, it is no wonder why the prediction is for steady growth.  For more information, please contact the Currituck County Economic Development at (252) 232-6015 or pbishop@thinkcurrituck.com.

For More Contact:

Think Currituck 

P153 Courthouse Road, Suite 207

Currituck, NC 27929

Phone:             252-232-6015      

http://www.thinkcurrituck.com/

What the Port Authority Decision Could Mean for Currituck County

The Virginia Port Authority rejected two different offer seach worth billions of dollars that would have privatized the operations of the state’s coastal terminals for several decades. The vote was unanimous among the authority’s board of commissioners.

Port operations currently support 345,000 jobs around the commonwealth and are a major driver for Virginia’s economy, producing an estimated $41 billion in business activity. The proposal to privatize operations of the Port of Virginia was confronted with widespread opposition by many of those with port-related jobs. The main concern? They were fearful that a company would look out for its own interests besides those of the people of Virginia and that they could potentially discriminate against competitors. Many of those who were accustomed to dealing with VIT argued that the agency was doing a good job overall and, coordinated by the Virginia Maritime Association, pushed back against the idea of any major change. 

 The port has been operated by Virginia International Terminals Inc. for the last 30 years. In another unanimous vote, the authority has voted to change the corporate structure of VIT to put it under more direct control by the authority in hopes to eliminate duplications, increase efficiencies and reduce costs. The details of the proposed restructuring should be released in the board’s meeting this coming May.Part of the plan would involve converting VIT from a company with its own board of directors to one that would be controlled wholly by the authority. Parts of the reorganization could affect not only nearby areas of Virginia, such as Outer Banks and Currituck County, but also the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest. 

2012 was the second-best year in history with regards to cargo volume. According to officials, the port handled more than 2.1 million cargo units, which was up 9.8% since last year. Also, with the Port’s natural advantages, such as its 50-foot channel that is deep enough to handle the world’s largest cargo ships, further growth is expected. Once the expansion of the Panama Canal is completed in 2015, the size of ships that will be able to travel the canal will triple. According to board Chairman William Fralin, the private offers were competitive but did not fully recognize the great value of the port. This makes the second time in five years that the state has opted not to privatize port operations, having already rejected three offers in 2009. 

However, Governor Bob McDonnell has long advocated privatizing the port’s operations and said that he and State Transportation Secretary Sean T. Connaughton will review Tuesday’s decision. 

"The governor was clear when he appointed this board that he wanted us to make decisions based on our best business judgment," Fralin said. "He fully intended for us to make the port competitive, and we intend to do that." 

If the port’s plans of giving the port more authority are successful, this could mean a number of things not just for Hampton Roads and neighboring areas such as Currituck County, but for the Mid-Atlantic and the Midwest. Now that the Virginia Port Authority and State of  Virginia will be in charge of the port’s assets and operations, there will be greater opportunity for progress in the moving forward of the port. The reorganization should improve efficiencies and lead to better handling of port traffic, tariff rates, shipping-line negotiations and coordination of economic development activities with regional partners, including Currituck County. 

For more Contact:

Think Currituck 

P153 Courthouse Road, Suite 207

Currituck, NC 27929

Phone:             252-232-6015      

http://www.thinkcurrituck.com/

Manufacturing Booms in Currituck County

North Carolina is the 4^th largest manufacturing state in the country. Did you know that the impact of manufacturing offers the biggest rate of return for the economy? For every dollar of industry output, it creates $1.35 of wealth elsewhere in the economy. Fortunately for us, North Carolina also ranks first among southeastern states in terms of manufacturing employment. Industry changes can create higher-paying, more skilled jobs that could transform our economy. North Carolina can take advantage of these opportunities, and in many ways, already has. The Outer Banks and Currituck County alone boasts several up and coming MFG companies, such as the following:

Now located in the Outer Banks, the Surf Zone Company has been a family-owned company since 2008. They were awarded a US Patent for the Surf Zone Balance Trainer. Their goal is to be a resource for anyone with an interest in getting a board out on the water (or street), regardless of their prior experience. They are also making waves in the area of eco-responsibility. While traditional surf wax is made up of all by-products or derivatives of crude oil, at Surf Zone Company they’re testing their own earth friendly recipes of beeswax and soy. 

The Wright family has called Currituck County home for seven generations. Their family created Sanctuary Vineyards to begin a new wine tradition. Bothers Tommy and Jerry Wright (and new generation John Wright) are perfecting age-old methods to coax the sweetest fruit from our coastal sands. Come try a bottle of local favorites such as Wild Pony White or Wright Brothers Reserve and see why this winery remains a strong manufacturing company in the Outer Banks.

Located in Moyock, North Carolina Built to Last furniture first began with two friends and a shared hobby in 1190. Born of a desire for some Adirondack chairs of their own, the two friends began a weekly “Tuesday Night Woodworkers Club.” First there were only 16 chairs made, but by the end of 1990, there were more than 100 additional chairs. It soon became clear that those chairs were made to weather whatever nature had to throw at them, and so the repeated requests for more chairs grew exponentially.

Currituck County is the home of the Greg Anderson’s legendary Digger’s Dungeon and the main Grave Digger race team shop. In 1981, the first truck was conceived as a mud bigger until during one fateful show, Grave Digger became a car crusher. Since then, Anderson has pursued monster trucks instead. Now, the Grave Digger shop in Poplar Branch, NC, houses other famous trucks and they assemble and service monster trucks for international competition. 

The College of the Albemarle is also contributing to our state’s MFG success. There is a new training building at the Commerce Park Airport which will support Aviation manufacturing regionally with FAA certifications available for Airframe and Power plant service. They will also provide advanced Machining training and mechanical drafting and design. 

Manufacturing businesses such as these contribute greatly to the Currituck economic development. With the already existing, unique and diversified manufacturing base here in Currituck and the development of the new COA training facility for multiple industries, Currituck has a distinct and powerful business atmosphere. Currituck County economic development is strong in North Carolina’s Outer Banks and it is only getting stronger. Manufacturing is the largest component of our state’s economic growth while coming out of the recession. Think Currituck to keep our economy strong. 

 

For more Contact:

Think Currituck 

P153 Courthouse Road, Suite 207

Currituck, NC 27929

Phone:             252-232-6015      

http://www.thinkcurrituck.com/