KANNAPOLIS — The city of Kannapolis has been recognized by the Centralina Council of Governments with an Excellence Award in Economic Development.

The award, given at Centralina’s annual meeting in Mooresville, recognizes the city for the work it has done preparing for the North Carolina Research Campus.

Since the announcement of the biotech center, Kannapolis has pursued two distinct programs to help maximize the $1.5 billion investment.

First, Kannapolis is in the process of developing a self-financing bond package that will rebuild infrastructure and create quality of life enhancements throughout the city to support the development of the campus.

The city also commissioned a SWOT and economic impact analysis that compared Kannapolis to nationally recognized biotech hubs and projected job numbers and the regional impact the campus could have.

The outcome of the SWOT analysis will include specific action plans to address areas such as workforce, education, quality of life, entrepreneurship and growth management.

“As a council, we have worked very diligently since the announcement of the campus to help prepare our community for the transformation from a textile-based economy to a knowledge-based economy,” Kannapolis Mayor Bob Misenheimer said. “To be recognized for our work thus far with an Excellence Award from the Centralina Council of Governments is gratifying.”

Each year, the Centralina Council of Governments honors the “good works” of member governments through the Region of Excellence Awards. A panel of judges this year included Anne Udall of the Lee Institute, Ellis Hankins of the N.C. League of Municipalities and Jim Blackburn with the N.C. Association of County Commissioners.

The panel found that Kannapolis’ work displayed outstanding commitment to regional excellence.