Economic development presence at The Pearl
Local economic development groups plan to soon open a physical office at the midtown innovation district
The following article appeared in the Feb. 2, 2026, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with smart and original local news for Charlotte. We offer free and paid subscription plans. More info here.
Local economic development groups to set up shop at The Pearl
by Ashley Fahey
Economic development leaders, including from the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance, the City of Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina and NCBiotech, will soon have a physical presence at The Pearl, the innovation district in midtown anchored by Charlotte’s first four-year medical college.
Tracy Dodson, chief operating officer and head of economic development at the Alliance, told The Ledger the goal is to set up a “one-stop shop” for biotech companies and entrepreneurs that are taking space at The Pearl. The office, which will be shared among the economic development groups involved, will be within The Pearl’s Connect Labs flexible lab and office space, operated by Wexford Science + Technology, the district’s real estate developer.
Details of the office aren’t finalized yet, Dodson said, but she has yet to go to The Pearl and not meet somebody new. As one example, she was introduced to a entrepreneur who relocated from Boston to Charlotte during the pandemic — Dodson said the goal is to understand the challenges facing that kind of person in Charlotte, which historically hasn’t been known as a health innovation hotspot.
Resources extended to companies and entrepreneurs could include providing information and connections on capital, incentives, real estate — or even where to find intellectual property lawyers or accountants in Charlotte, Dodson said.
The goal would be to have economic development leaders use the space but also to rotate other people in ancillary functions.
“If we’re there, whether it’s investor relations or the economic development team of the Alliance, and we’re walking around the floor — hey, what do you need, what are you up against?” Dodson said.
Ostensibly, having a physical presence at The Pearl means the Alliance and other Charlotte economic developers could also more easily get in front of companies considering the region for investment, signaling that health tech and innovation are becoming bigger recruitment priorities for the agencies.
Dodson said there’s more work to be done to “really get our strategy down” on life sciences and health innovation, but added the Charlotte region needs to be specific in what its strengths and challenges are in this space.
“If you look at where The Pearl has gone with this first building and the medical school, it’s really around med tech,” she said, citing IRCAD North America’s surgical training center as the anchor and the types of groups that have since followed. “That’s different than the partnership they have in Winston-Salem, which is more about regenerative medicine. That’s different than what Raleigh is.”
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