You know, nothing is free in this life.

Kannapolis NC has been ecstatic ever since the announcement by mult-bazillionaire David Murdock of the North Carolina Research Campus.  If you're not familiar with the project, it's a collaboration between Murdock and the University of North Carolina system to promote biotechnology on one huge, technologically supreme campus.  They're anticipating over 170 companies relocating here to be a part of this growth. 

You see, Kannapolis lost her identity when the Cannon Mills (Fieldcrest Cannon) shut down in 2003.  The largest mass layoff in North Carolina history.  Folks around that area worked in the textile mills...their mamas and daddies worked there...their grandparents worked there...it was a way of life.  And it ended, as so many other textile and manufacturing jobs have ended.

Murdock's hands were dirty from his stint as an owner of the mills, when he stripped off a lot of the cash in the company and the brand name, and sold it to a group up in New York City.  So perhaps this venture is part of a greater attempt to make his conscience settle down?

Property values in Kannapolis have been going up ever since this announcement in May 2005, as folks prepare for the great change in the area.  Classes at Rowan Cabarrus Community College in biotech functions have been on waiting lists.

Then last week, the little issue of money started creeping back into the limelight.  Murdock had originally asked for $76mm in bond money.  Now he's upped that request to $160mm.  And lots of people are starting to question why the county is being asked for so much money.  The infrastructure will need help, of course.  The buildings are underway-and the prospect of $$ into the tax coffers is becoming more viable.  But tales of what Murdock did in Arizona are spreading around.  You know, where he planned a big public/private venture, got tons of support and money...and it didn't materialize because he decided to go elsewhere with his projects.

I've lived here all my life-I want nothing more than to see Kannapolis as a vibrant, stand-alone economy again, with rising (or at least stable) property values.  But more than that, I don't want to see K-Town left at the altar of one man's arrogance and eccentricity again.