Business View Civil and Municipal | Volume 2, Issue 6

115 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 2, ISSUE 6 ALBEMARLE , NORTH CAROL INA centers and interstates. According to Keith Tunnell, Director of Economic Development, “The Uwharrie Mountains, one of the oldest mountain chains in North America, are located just a few miles east of us, along with Lake Tillery and Badin Lake. Those lakes touch the Uwharrie National Forest as well, so we have many visitors coming through the area. One of our primary goals is to bring those visitors into our downtown. By adding entertainment venues, additional restaurants, and specialty retail, we can make downtown Albemarle the place to be in the Charlotte region to enjoy a night out or a weekend or weekday stay. Our downtown has a lot of charm and history. We want to build off that and create a destination that will bring in visitors from nearby metro areas but also cater to the students at Pfeiffer and Stanly Community College. I can see Albemarle as a vibrant, successful college town over the next decade and serving as the gateway to the Uwharrie Mountains and Lakes Region with plenty of opportunities for lodging, dining, shopping, and entertainment.” Ronnie Michael is the proud Mayor of the City of Albemarle. He speaks to the incredible transformation of the downtown, explaining, “Several years ago the City could see the potential for this change when Pfeiffer University was considering adding new masters programs. The City actively pursued Pfeiffer and obtained property in the downtown to make the Pfeiffer Health Sciences building a reality. Our downtown is now seeing change due to what we call the Pfeiffer Effect. Pfeiffer has committed to bring at least 225 students to the new facility by 2023, but they are also pursuing additional programs that will bring more students.”