“The Lord shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand…” (Deuteronomy 28:12)
Greensboro, NC – Population 306,000
I woke up to a blanket of snow this morning. Usually that comes with the fear of dangerous roads and the loss of power, but this was different. The roads were bare, and the trees were decorated with a light dusting like the picturesque cards you look for each Christmas. God never ceases to amaze me. Especially when considering that no two snowflakes are alike. It’s funny but everything looks good when it’s covered in snow. Even the old dilapidated buildings that should’ve been torn down years ago have a hallowed appearance when draped in white. Nothing compares to God’s handiwork. Absolutely nothing.
So I hopped in my 2016 Hyundai Sonata and headed towards Liberty to the Guilford-Randolph Mega Site. I had to see it for myself. This huge track of land that will soon be the home to the $1.3B Toyota Battery plant that’s guaranteed to bring about 1700 jobs to the area. I’m excited, and intrigued after learning that securing a project of this size doesn’t just happen. There are a few players behind the scenes brokering the deal. They’re usually hidden like the 1800 acre site from the naked eye, but the electrical towers and train tracks were a dead giveaway. This is good for Greensboro, and it proves that we’re not an old complacent town praying for the best. We’re a progressive city that’s fighting for a seat at the table. But we’re also a beautiful southern city with a lot of green space.
Soon, there will be hundreds of cars traveling Hwy 421, but this isn’t a bad thing. In fact, this plant has opened a door of opportunity for our beloved city. Greensboro doesn’t have an identity crisis per se, but we need an image makeover, which includes a new marketing strategy. For years, Greensboro has been called the “Gate City,” and we’ve renamed our busiest street Gate City Boulevard. But if you ask around, very few people actually understand the meaning of the name.
It’s time for Greensboro to go GREEN! And I’m not talking about obtaining an Energy Star distinction for bragging rights. I’m talking about a smart, concerted effort to transform this city into a green engineering model that citizens around the globe would envy. One with an updated electric grid to reduce power outages and the cost of electricity to its users. Innovative street lights with mobile cloud based technology that brightens when cars approach and dims after they pass. The optimization of our road system that notifies drivers through an app to avoid traffic jams and accidents. Autonomous vehicles to carry passengers back and forth. This may sound overwhelming, but it’s actually the cleanest and greenest way forward. It would be really hypocritical of us to travel down 421 in a monster truck while the Toyota plant provides batteries to EV’s around the globe. We should provide tax incentives to any local business and individual that decides to purchase an EV. It’s important that we send a message to our peers throughout the region. It’s time to put the “GREEN” back in Greensboro!
In an earlier post, I talked about the benefits of CID’s (Community Improvement Districts) and how the resources should be used to hire a consultant for attracting more businesses to the region. We should target EVERY green business in the country to be a part of this movement for creating a greener Greensboro. The Toyota plant is a good start, but it’s really important that we keep that same energy.
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