Shaking Off the Doldurms?

I had the opportunity to visit with a number of site consultants and corporate real estate executives last week, thanks to the Piedmont Triad Partnership. It was a hectic week but I returned feeling better about the future than I have in several months.

The site consultants, who are a key player in the site selection game reported an increase in the number of deals that they have seen and reported a nice increase in traffic. They reported that several projects that had been shelved or put on hold were seeing new life and that inquiries were on the up-tick.

This doesn't mean that we are going to see the end of double-digit unemployment anytime soon or that I expect a sudden rush of inquiries for Stokes County but it does mean that there is hope. Companies that have sat on expansion plans for 18-24 months are looking to grow again, which will lead to new building, new jobs and economic growth. It won't be a deluge, more like a fine mist, but you have to start somewhere.