Wednesday, Jun. 24, 2009

Growth a mixed bag for White Oak

GARNER — White Oak plaza brought more options for shoppers, not just in Garner, but in other areas too.

Convenience is one factor. No longer do Clayton families on the hunt for a new computer have to drive to Raleigh for an electronics store. A golfer from Garner doesn’t have to go far for a new putter.

The developers of White Oak attracted big-name stores — Best Buy, Dick’s Sporting Goods, TJ Maxx, Kohl’s and others.

The timing might have been right. That was earlier this decade, when shoppers had more to spend and retailers were happy to give them the opportunity. And Garner’s leaders gave the developers millions of dollars in tax rebates, although it’s rare for towns to offer incentives for retail projects.

Times have changed, but the question remains: What will become of the area surrounding White Oak? More stores? More restaurants? A mall?

“The reality is, we have a lot of ideas of what we want to do,” said Rich Barta, an owner and managing partner of White Oak.

The firm Barta works for, Core Properties in Charlotte, is marketing hundreds of acres across White Oak Road and more land across U.S. 70.

The signs on the land call for mixed-use development, including retail and restaurant space.

But the project has been slow to develop, partly because of the stagnant economy, Barta said.

When they built White Oak, the developers argued their case to well-known stores. Barta said he knew it would be tough to convince a store like Best Buy to come to a town as small as Garner, despite its population growth. So he made the pitch from a regional view. The stores would draw shoppers from miles away, his company assured them.

Now, though, a promise of a regional shopping and dining center might not be enough to lure stores and restaurants, which have suffered as more people have lost their jobs and others are holding on to their cash. It’s hard to say when retailers will be interested in building new stores again, Barta said.

Decisions that town leaders will face could shape the project too. In 2001, the town gave the White Oak developers a tax rebate of $1.8 million.

The incentive works like this: when the company paid property taxes over the years, it got some money back. The next year, the town gave another $300,000 for a sewer line.

Since then, the town has tweaked its incentives policy. It’s common for towns to offer tax incentives to industries. In Garner, a new industry that invests more than $10 million can get a tax rebate of 1 percent of its investment for up to five years.

The town offers an extra one-half percent rebate to industries that bring their corporate headquarters here. Butterball got almost $101,000 in incentives to bring its headquarters to Garner, Town Manager Hardin Watkins said.

The company brought 50 jobs and will eventually employ more than 100 people, he said.

Incentives for industries make sense, Watkins said. Industries often bring decent wages.

That’s the case with Butterball employees, he said. “They’re building homes,” he said. “Now they’re shopping here.”

Shopping centers don’t have the same effect, Watkins said. The jobs often pay less.

Under the town’s incentives policy, adopted two years ago, retail developers must invest at least $50 million in an area bigger than 50 acres. That means small strip plazas need not apply.

Elected town leaders have the final say about tax-rebate amounts for retail projects.

Garner is the only town in Wake County in the business of retail incentives, said Ken Atkins, director of Wake County Economic Development, a program of the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce.

The purpose of tax incentives is to spur the economy. Most towns want to do that by attracting industry. But it’s up to communities to decide what’s best for them, Atkins said.

Everyone in a community doesn’t have the skill level for industrial jobs, he said.

“As you look at our population, as you look at our demographics, there is a need for service workers,” Atkins said.

And entertainment, restaurants and stores make a community more attractive, he said. “So you get people moving in to use all those assets that may have higher incomes.”

As for White Oak, the future remains unclear. Some residents have called for a cafeteria and a bookstore. Mayor Ronnie Williams said he wants more retail — something like North Hills in Raleigh.

“We’ve always been open ... to suggestions from the community about what they want to see,” said Barta, the developer.

And what about a shopping mall?

“Only time is going to tell the answer to that question,” Barta said.