Economic Development Successes & Initiatives

Quality of Life
Commercial
Residential

Quality of Life

• July 2005 - Village Park development plans continue to proceed with the purchase of a CP Huntington locomotive and three covered passenger coaches as an attraction for the park. The train is part of renovations planned for the 16 acre park located in downtown Kannapolis. The renovations also include a multi-purpose building, carousel, water spray park, landscaped open space, a restroom building, picnic shelters and additional amenities.
  
  
• February 2005 - New Kannapolis Train Station opens. Station offers Amtrak service and will serve as a future stop on the proposed high-speed rail corridor connecting Charlotte with Washington.
  
  
• November 2004 - The North Carolina Recreation and Park Society (NCRPS) awarded the Kannapolis Parks and Recreation Department an Arts and Humanities Award for the 2004 Coca-Cola Summer Concert Series. The award recognizes the most innovative and effective art and humanities programs in the state
  
  
• June 5, 2004- The 2,400 square foot Village Park amphitheater, the largest in Cabarrus County, opened with the first event of the five-concert Coca-Cola Concert Summer Concert series.
  
  
• April 12, 2004- Launched the Concord Kannapolis Transit System, the Rider.
  
  
• March 20, 2003- 17-acre Walter M. Safrit Park opened with the only lighted soccer fields in Cabarrus County, two softball fields, a greenway and playground.
  
  
• October 9 and 14, 2002- Unveiled the Dale Earnhardt Tribute in Cannon Village. The Tribute includes a statue by Arizona sculptor Clyde Ross Morgan and a gallery featuring the work of motorsports artist Sam Bass depicting Earnhardt's racing victories. Due to the Tribute and Cannon Village's marketing efforts in partnerships with local tour companies and the Cabarrus County Convention and Visitors Bureau, the number of tourists has doubled in Kannapolis over the last two years.
  
  
• 2000/2001- Participated in the countywide Livable Communities Blueprint Parks and Recreation Master Plan and established a Kannapolis Parks and Recreation Long Range Plan to prioritize the ongoing effort to build and renovate parks and add greenways.
  
  
• 1998/1999- Sponsored Weaving A Shared Future visioning process with over 500 citizen volunteers who gave more than 1,500 hours to define a strategic plan that emphasizes economic development, parks and recreation, transportation and street improvements, neighborhood revitalization and history and heritage.
  

For more information please choose from the press releases listed below.

April/May 2005 Summer Concerts and Programs - Partnership with TimeWarner

April 2005 Infrastructure Investment

March 2005 Fire Station 5 in KGBP

Feb 2005 ABC Store Election

Feb 2005 New Train Station

Jan 2005 Phase II Village Park

November 2004 Park and Rec state award for 2005 Summer Concert Series