Begun in 1980 as a project for the National Trust for Historic Preservation the North Carolina Main Street program has assisted cities like Tarboro, Mocksville, and Waynesville in revitalizing and preserving their central business districts.
Opened February 1, 1995, the New Charlotte Convention Center is the largest public building project in state history. The center, with a price tag of $148 million, is among the nation's twenty largest in terms of total exhibit space.
NC has the three healthiest major metropolitan areas in the nation: Research Triangle, Triad, and Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill. State annexation laws, the most progressive in the country since 1959, contribute greatly to this status.