News molecules: Big announcement coming today

By Emily Ford
Kannapolis Citizen
The N.C. Research Campus will announce a new partnership today that could bring employment opportunities to Kannapolis.
Lynne Scott Safrit, president of Castle & Cooke North Carolina, called the development “very significant” and said it will mean “potentially good jobs for residents.”
Dole Food Co. owner and billionaire financier David H. Murdock will make the announcement at his restaurant this morning during what has been billed as a “special event … pertaining to the continued growth of the North Carolina Research Campus.”
Murdock is building the Research Campus on the ruins of an old textile mill he once owned in downtown Kannapolis. When Pillowtex, formerly Cannon Mills, shut down in 2003, more than 4,300 local people lost their jobs.
Atlanta-based Market Street Services did an analysis of the Research Campus in 2006 and predicted that if the biotechnology center is built out as envisioned, the region could see some 37,450 new jobs by 2032.
Murdock already has partnered with Duke University, Rowan-Cabarrus Community College and six universities in the University of North Carolina System, as well as several private businesses.
Campus and city leaders have predicted a flurry of private activity at the biotech center this spring as more companies sign contracts and leases with the campus. The campus is focused on improving health and nutrition.

Farmer’s market
People who work in and near Cannon Village will have easy access to locally grown, fresh fruits and veggies this summer when the N.C. Research Campus opens a farmer’s market.
The market is tentatively planned for Thursday evenings in a parking lot on West Avenue, starting in May.
“We think that will also be a good way to educate folks about the value of eating healthy,” said Phyllis Beaver, marketing director for the Research Campus.
The $1.5 billion biotech center, under construction in downtown Kannapolis, is focused on improving health and nutrition. The centerpiece Core Laboratory Building should open in June.
In addition to fruits, vegetables and other locally grown products, the farmer’s market could even include entertainment, said Tara Vogelien, the director for business and research administration at the N.C. State Fruit & Vegetable Science Institute in Kannapolis.
The market won’t operate on weekends to avoid competing with well-established area farmer’s markets, Vogelien said.
Contact Emily Ford at eford@salisburypost.com.