Raleigh's historic strengths in biotechnology and information technology should be highlighted. The development of the Raleigh Innovation & Technology Zone (RITZ) will drive new economic development and be modeled on the success of RTP. The RITZ will cluster entrepreneurial energy around downtown, where today’s innovators want to live, work, and play.

The Research Triangle Park was developed, in part, as an effort to keep the highly educated graduates from our three major research universities from moving to jobs out of state.  The plan worked, and this suburban campus continues to serve as a major employment center for our region. However, for us to continue retaining these highly qualified graduates we must build a downtown with affordable housing, office space, lab space, and reliable public transportation connecting downtown to all parts of the city. (Including RTP)

Unique partnerships between developers, city leaders, and entrepreneurs will ensure long term viability of our downtown and new job growth in the central business district. In this high density nexus, these new companies will be able to walk from offices to shared lab spaces, as well as entertain clients and investors without getting in a car.

Additionally, Raleigh must develop a 21st century workforce. Wake County Schools should continue moving toward redesigned high schools where students leave with extensive college credit and job training. Further, the city and county should develop a plan for a major downtown campus for Wake Technical Community College.

The Raleigh Innovation & Technology Zone (RITZ) can begin with no changes to the corporate tax code for the state.The map to the left hightlights areas that will become part of the RITZ.

Tax Credit Information:

• If a business creates 5 or more new jobs:
  • $1750/per job credit
  • $2000 bonus credit if employee lives in the RITZ
    
    
• Independent Research Expenditures:
  • Small & New Businesses: 3%
  • Mid and Large Businesses: 1-3%
    
    
• Research Expenditures with NC State University:
  • 20% Tax Credit with no threshold
  • Additiional benefits for research and job creation on NCSU Centennial and Biomedical Campuses.
    
    
• Business Capital Investment:
  • 7% Tax Credit with no threshold

• Focus on educating new and existing business on tax credits for job creation as well as generous credits for doing research through NC State University. Training should be ongoing through the Raleigh Economic Development Commission.
• Work with downtown developers to ensure each new building downtown contains affordable “incubator” space for new companies. Developers should invest directly in companies occupying space. For example, discount lease rates could be exchanged as in-kind venture funding. Developers would recoup their investment through their growing shares of company stocks.
• We should work with developers, grant-funders, and others to build major lab spaces to support the work of these new companies. Spaces would be shared allowing small companies the benefits of state of the art labs without the major expense. This will allow new companies to grow rapidly and create more jobs in the RITZ.
• A new Wake Technical Community College campus should be built downtown. This campus will accelerate retraining for the new jobs created as a result of the RITZ. In collaboration with the college, we should build a new regional library downtown to serve the needs of Wake Tech as well as the community.
• We should encourage Wake County Schools to convert more comprehensive high schools to the redesigned “school within a school” and early college models.  Additionally new early colleges should be formed with a new downtown Wake Tech campus, and on the campus of NC State University.