Pittsboro and Chatham County Economy
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6/3/2010
For the most part, Pittsboro and Chatham County consist of 3 basic areas; Northeast Chatham, Pittsboro, and Western Chatham. These three distinct areas though part of the same County are in some instances vastly different from each other, economically, demographically, and in terms of market breakdown.
The Northeastern Chatham area has part of it's population in Pittsboro and part in Chapel Hill, which is actually located in Orange County. For some, a Chapel Hill address is more desirable. This area consist mainly of residential, with little if any commercial with the exception of the Cole Park Plaza area near the Chatham/Orange County line where some retail, restaurant, and grocer stores are located. Most of the residents commute to work in the University, Medical, or companies in Research Triangle Park. The County as a whole is pretty much a bedroom community, much like Cary was 30 years ago.
The area boast the highest percentage of high end housing for the County also, highlighted by Governor's Club, one of the first high planned golf communities in the area. Now dozens of high end communities dot the landscape in the area; ranging from private large acreage estates to equestrian to golf communities.
The Pittsboro or Southeast area is centered on Pittsboro, a sleepy little town of about 3,000 residents. Again, mostly a bedroom community, Pittsboro is trying to break out with the aid of Preston Development. The Preston Development out of Cary has amassed thousands of acres in and around Pittsboro with a large planned community that feature housing, retail, and commercial development. Currently on hold pending improvement in the economic outlook, the project will be crowing symbol for the developer head Jim Goodnight who also owns the largest privately held software company in the world, based in Cary.
The Western part of Chatham which includes Siler City and various small towns is still mostly agricultural. Though most residents commute to jobs in nearby Sanford or Greensboro. Once a thriving manufacturing area, most jobs were lost due to NAFTA. The area is trying to rebuild and re-invent itself with arts, medical, and education initiatives.
The Western area consist of mostly larger acreage tracts and older smaller homes and manufactured housing.
Bp | Pittsboro, NC