The new Apple campus is a big moment - with big challenges - for NC

Just over a year ago, Gov. Roy Cooper declared that the state of the state was a state of emergency. This week he delivered a much different message – North Carolina is on a roll in attracting high-tech businesses.

Those gathered for the governor’s state of the state address on Monday still wore masks and the pandemic is still much with us, but vaccines are offering protection and Apple’s decision to open a North Carolina campus will give the state’s economy another big boost. Apple’s announcement that it will create 3,000 jobs at Research Triangle Park is the latest in a series of recent big business investments in North Carolina, especially by biomedical and information technology companies.

“In yet another tremendous accomplishment for our state, today we stood together and announced that Apple has chosen North Carolina for its first new campus and engineering hub in the United States in more than 20 years,” Cooper said in his speech. “And that makes 11 companies that have announced thousands of jobs in both rural and urban areas in just the past two months.”

The scene in the House chamber marked a rare moment of bipartisan agreement as all members of the General Assembly gathered along with members of the Council of State, the Supreme Court and Cooper’s Cabinet. It’s also a moment when all who contribute to the leadership and the betterment of North Carolina deserve to take a bow. Winning the competition for Apple’s campus could not have been accomplished by Democrats or Republicans alone. It is the result of common effort and careful stewardship on both sides.

Apple’s campus will in itself bring strong economic benefits, but it will also add to the state’s ability to draw more companies that offer high-paying jobs. Such companies boost tax revenue from their own work and their ripple effect on other businesses. The jobs at Apple’s new R&D campus on the Wake County portion of Research Triangle Park will offer salaries that average $187,000 – nearly three times the Wake County average annual wage – and create a regional payroll impact expected to exceed $550 million per year, the N.C. Department of Commerce said.

Apple, of course, did not commit to North Carolina out of generosity and appreciation. The deal was sealed by a package of state and local incentives that will be worth nearly $1 billion to Apple over a 39-year period. It is the largest incentive package in state history, but it appears well worth the cost. The incentives are dependent on Apple meeting targets set for hiring, worker-retention and investment. Most importantly, what the state is foregoing in direct tax revenue will be dwarfed by what the state expects to gain – $1 billion in economic benefits annually.

North Carolina’s good fortune in landing the Apple campus also brings the challenge of absorbing it without negative effects. Thousands of high-paying jobs will put pressure on housing costs that are already rising faster than incomes. State and local investment in affordable housing will need to increase. Transportation will have to expand to serve a growing workforce. Local school systems, after a decade of underfunding by the state, need more resources.

A notable part of the Apple agreement is that the company whose expansion in Wake County could widen the state’s urban-rural divide will try to narrow it. A portion of state income taxes paid by Apple’s new employees will go to a utility fund that will provide $112.4 million to pay for broadband expansion and other infrastructure projects in rural communities.

Perhaps the most positive effect of the investment in North Carolina from Apple and other high-tech companies could be a political awakening. This success should make it clear to Republican state lawmakers that coordinated government efforts can attract business – it’s not all about tax cuts – and be a reminder of the hazards of pushing divisive social-issue legislation that tarnishes the state’s appeal. Working together can work for all.

This story was originally published April 28, 2021 at 12:00 AM with the headline "The new Apple campus is a big moment - with big challenges - for NC."