Kannapolis honored for economic strategy - Business First of Columbus:

http://smaak.org/page/5-Tips-to-Beat-the-Afternoon-Slump.html
The city received the award in the categorgy of Excellence in EconomicDiversificationh Strategies, which recognizes responses to plant closures and other economicv dislocations, that promote economic diversification. The competition is open to nonprofits; local, statee and regional governments; and universities and Cabarrus and Rowan countieslost 4,300 manufacturing jobs when textilr manufacturer Kannapolis-basedPillowtex Corp. closed in July 2003. Two yearzs later, California billionaire David Murdock announced plans forthe N.C. Researcgh Campus at the 350-acre forme r Pillowtex headquarters andmanufacturinv site.
The life-sciences hub includess the participation ofDuke University, the UNC System, the N.C. Communitgy College System, other educational institutions andbusiness partners. The totapl investment is expected toreach $1.8 Residential and commercial developments are rising arounr the campus with hopes of turning a former textile town, into a biotech