CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Fortune 100 company Honeywell broke ground on its new global headquarters at Legacy Union in Uptown Charlotte Thursday morning.
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles, Mecklenburg County Commission Chairman George Dunlap, Honeywell Chairman and CEO Darius Adamczyk, and Lincoln Harris President Johno Harris were all present to mark the occasion.
Honeywell’s global headquarters will eventually house approximately 750 employees in 280,000 square feet across nine floors of the new 23-story tower.
Adamczyk said it was tough deciding where to move the new headquarters, but ultimately, Charlotte’s liveability and hospitality played a role among other factors.
"Obviously, the economic environment was important, growth of the city was important, ability to recruit and retain talent,” Adamczyk said, “all those factors combined."
Adamczyk said about 350 employees are already working in the Charlotte area, and space is the only limitation for expansion at this point. He said he hopes the new Uptown tower will be the first of many Honeywell buildings in the area.
Governor Cooper said this move by Honeywell raises the level of the kind of businesses that North Carolina may attract in the future.
"We're sending a strong message that we're a live-able place,” Cooper said, “that we are a place that will provide good-paying jobs and provide an excellent quality of life."
The new tower is expected to open by July 2021.