Dell to break ground
We found out today that Dell will break ground on its Winston-Salem factory on Feb. 23 at 2 p.m.
The event, a week from today, is by invitation only, the company tells us, but the whole region will be interested.
The 100-acre site is already graded and Winston-Salem inspectors released a map of it last week. You may recall that the layout for the more than 500,000 square-foot factory calls for about 3,000 parking spaces for workers and trucks.
Dell is shooting for the fall to produce its first computer, and that means a construction job with little wiggle room.
Dell was the biggest business news story of 2004, and the company wouldn't be here if it didn't like the region and its work force(oh, and the $240 million in state and $37 million in local incentives didn't hurt either).
Whether you were for or against that outlay, it's an exciting story that will be unfolding for months and years, as we watch for Dell suppliers and others to bring in more jobs beyond the 1,500 that Dell is bringing.