Plant 1 and Pillowtex

How large is plant 1?

The size of the Pentagon, Plant 1 is complex that totals 5.8 million square feet.

The property is 158 acres. In addition, Plant 4, which sits in downtown Kannapolis, was 600,000 square feet. Both are being completed razed to make way for the new development.

How long will demolition take?

The demolition is scheduled to take 18 months. However, new construction will begin during the same period, and final build out of the North Carolina Research Campus is slated to take five years to complete.

Will anything remain?

Because of the scale of the North Carolina Research Campus, none of the mill buildings on the Plant 1 site will remain.

What was Pillowtex?

Kannapolis-headquartered Pillowtex, which closed in July 2003, originated as Cannon Mills in 1887. Kannapolis was originally built as a mill village in 1906 as Cannon Mills expanded at the height of the North Carolina Piedmont’s textile dominance. In 1982 David Murdock purchased Cannon Mills and merged it with Fieldcrest Mills Inc. in 1985 to create Fieldcrest Cannon. Dallas-based Pillowtex purchased Fieldcrest Cannon in 1997.

How many people in Kannapolis lost their job when Pillowtex went bankrupt?

When Pillowtex officials announced the shutdown in 2003, the corporation closed 16 facilities in the U.S. and Canada. In Kannapolis, 1,500 residents lost their job. Statewide, which included facilities in Eden, 4,800 people were put out of work and nationally 6,450 people were laid-off.

What services were offered to former employees?

Local, state and federal officials responded quickly to the layoff. Services offered included job search and job placement assistance, career counseling and information, payment of tuition and related expenses for training and retraining, access to additional weeks of Unemployment Insurance for workers pursuing training or remedial education, healthcare premium assistance, and wage supplementation for workers 50 years of age and older that were re-employed within 26 weeks.

How did Kannapolis prepare for the decline of the textile industry?

Since Pillowtex had previously emerged from bankruptcy and the textile industry has been in general decline for 20 years, City leaders aggressively planned for the day the plant closed.

In the mid-1990's, 10 square miles of land to the west of Kannapolis was identified as a growth area. The area was annexed in 1999 and is the location of Kannapolis Gateway Business Park, Biscayne Business Park, Stanley Works, Shoe Show, Dogwood Industrial Park, a development by Childress Klein and executive housing.

During the course of the last 12 months, the Kannapolis Gateway Business Park has seen tremendous growth. In fact, the 85-acre park is nearly full, and boasts firms such as Novant Health. Haas CNC Racing has signed a contract with the City to occupy nearly 23 acres in the Park, and there are plans for a retail development.