EV startup picks Charlotte for new 1,200-job HQ
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1710 Commonwealth Ave. Photo: Alexandria Sands/Axios
Scout Motors, Volkswagen's new electric off-road vehicle brand that's building an assembly plant in South Carolina, is opening a global headquarters in Charlotte, where the startup will add 1,200 jobs over five years.
Why it matters: Plaza Midwood, the neighborhood once known for its grungy crowd in dive bars and tattoo shops, is now drawing white-collar workers by landing its first major office tenant.
Between the lines: The Charlotte offices will serve as the central hub for Scout's national operations. The positions, which range from information technology to marketing, will offer a minimum average wage of $172,878, the state's Economic Investment Committee disclosed Wednesday.
- The Plaza Midwood HQ will support operations at Scout's $2 billion facility underway in Blythewood, S.C., where it's expected to produce 200,000 electric vehicles at full capacity, per WIS-TV.
State of play: The pandemic slowed down business relocations and expansions in North Carolina, but Charlotte has hit a recent hot streak of splashy economic development announcements, from Citigroup and AssetMark to SoFi Technologies to Pacific Life.
- Scout Motors CEO Scott Keogh says the company chose Charlotte for its talent.
- "The great thing about North Carolina is we have one of the easiest products to sell. It starts with our people," Gov. Josh Stein said Wednesday at the announcement event.
Follow the money: North Carolina awarded a Job Development Investment Grant for the project on Wednesday, agreeing to reimburse over $46 million over 12 years, contingent upon Scout Motors meeting its job-creation and investment targets.
- The company anticipates investing $207 million by the end of 2029.
- Incentives from Mecklenburg County and the city of Charlotte will total approximately $20 million.
Zoom out: Gov. Stein traveled to Charlotte for the announcement after visiting another foreign automaker investing in North Carolina — Toyota, which is now producing hybrid and electric vehicle batteries outside Greensboro.
The big picture: Charlotte developers Crosland Southeast recently finished construction of the sprawling Commonwealth development, where the headquarters will be located. The first 10-acre phase encompasses about 150,000 square feet of office, The Rowe apartments, and trendy retail like Solidcore and Sweetgreen.
- Commonwealth has always been expected to spark change in the neighborhood due to its scale.
- "It's a risk we took five years ago in the depths of Covid to say, 'Hey, we have conviction around office being in this submarket,' which has never been done before," Crosland Southeast's Bobby Speir said. "We feel like we're getting paid off now."
What's next: Scout Motors is taking all the office space, including a 100-year-old revitalized building. Plus, Crosland Southeast is beginning work immediately on an additional 150,000 square feet of office for Scout Motors to occupy on a neighboring 2-acre vacant lot.
- In the next phase, the developers will incorporate about 10,000 more square feet of ground-floor retail and are considering another use to complement the office, such as a hotel.