Emilee Collins-Pickett Sprouse Commercial Real Estate

09/04/2026

Zoning meetings and comprehensive plans can feel like paperwork — until you realize they're actually where a community's future gets decided.

Ryan Moffitt has spent nearly 12 years working entitlements and land use in Alamance County, and one thing has stuck with him: the projects that turn out best are the ones where neighbors, developers, and local government are actually talking to each other early — not after the plans are already set.

It's a good reminder that the process behind development isn't just a formality. It's where the outcome actually gets shaped.

👉 Watch or listen to the full episode now! https://youtu.be/sXSO03O7sAw

09/03/2026

What does it actually take to decide to serve your community?

Ryan Moffitt is running for NC House District 63 — and his reasoning has nothing to do with politics as usual. Alamance County has been shaped by leaders who gave their time to keep it a place people want to live, and Ryan sees his campaign as a continuation of that legacy.

👉 Watch or listen to the full episode now! https://youtu.be/sXSO03O7sAw

What does community leadership mean to you?

09/02/2026

🎙️ NOW STREAMING! 🚀

Ryan Moffitt has spent nearly 12 years guiding developers through zoning, land use, and entitlements in Alamance County — work that decides whether a project ever gets off the ground.

In this episode, we get into how comprehensive plans are built to guide growth for 15-20 years, why community involvement early on shapes better outcomes, and what he's learned about where Alamance County is headed next.

👉 Watch or listen to the full episode now! https://youtu.be/sXSO03O7sAw

08/31/2026

What does it actually take to turn raw land into a finished development? 🎙️

This week on Behind the Building, I'm sitting down with Ryan Moffitt, attorney with Vernon Law — one of the oldest law firms in Alamance County. For nearly 12 years, Ryan has guided developers through the zoning, land use, and entitlement process that determines whether a project ever gets off the ground.

We talk about what that process looks like from the inside — how comprehensive plans are built to guide growth for 15-20 years, why community involvement early on matters more than people realize, and where he sees the biggest opportunities ahead for Alamance County.

Dropping the full episode tomorrow, so make sure you tune in!

08/29/2026

North Carolina is center-stage as the G20 Summit kicks off in Asheville today and moves to Chapel Hill early this week. I'm grateful to live and work in a state where our economic vitality is recognized around the world. It's incredible that Asheville is one of the hosts, intentionally bringing back tourism and revenue to the beautiful area that Chantal devastated in so many ways.
How many international flags have you seen this week Asheville friends?

https://www.cbs17.com/news/north-carolina-news/north-carolina-takes-global-stage-with-back-to-back-g20-meetings-in-asheville-chapel-hill/

The back-to-back meetings will showcase two very different sides of North Carolina. Asheville’s recovery from Hurricane Helene and the Research Triangle’s dynamic technology sector will…

08/28/2026

North Carolina just landed another major advanced manufacturing win — this time in the drone and defense technology space.

Ukraine-based drone manufacturer Skyeton is establishing its first North American manufacturing facility in Fayetteville, a multimillion-dollar investment that will bring well over a hundred new jobs to the region. The company will occupy an existing building near Fayetteville Regional Airport, redeveloping a site that had sat vacant since a prior manufacturing tenant closed nearly two decades ago.

The deal reflects a broader pattern across the state: international manufacturers continuing to choose North Carolina for U.S. operations, often landing in secondary markets with available infrastructure, workforce, and local incentive packages rather than the state's largest metros. For property owners and landlords statewide, it's another data point on where industrial demand and adaptive reuse of older manufacturing sites are heading.

👉 Read the full story here: https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2026/07/27/skyeton-drones-fayetteville-plant-us-headquarters.html

08/27/2026

What actually determines whether you can build, lease, or convert a property the way you want? Zoning.

Zoning is the local rulebook for how land can be used — set at the municipal or county level, not the state. In North Carolina, that typically breaks down into a handful of core classifications: residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, and mixed-use, each with its own allowed activities and density limits.

Here's where it gets more nuanced than most people expect. If your intended use doesn't match the current zoning, you're not automatically stuck — you can pursue a variance, a special use permit, or in some cases a full rezoning. Each comes with its own public hearing process and timeline, which is exactly why this needs to get checked early, during your examination period.

What most people miss: zoning isn't static. Municipalities update land use plans, and those updates can shift what's allowed on a parcel over time. Along the I-85/I-40 corridor, where industrial demand keeps evolving, that gap between "what a site is zoned for" and "what a site could realistically become" is worth watching closely.

Bottom line: before you fall in love with a site, confirm what the zoning actually permits — and understand your options if it doesn't. It's one of the fastest ways to save yourself a costly surprise.

08/26/2026

Grateful to be able to freshen up on CPR skills last week, hosted by Big Spoon Roasters. Big Spoon’s team and the wider Hillsborough community were invited and trained by representatives from the American Heart Association .

The premise is simple: Call 911 and then push hard and fast. Don't worry about the perfect technique — keep going until help arrives, at the same rhythm as "Stayin' Alive" by the Bee Gees. That's the beat that could save a life!

A massive thank you to Big Spoon Roasters for opening this up to the community, and to the American Heart Association for making it so approachable. This is exactly the kind of readiness every business and neighbor should have in their back pocket.

Have you had CPR training? 👇

https://cpr.heart.org/en/cpr-courses-and-kits/hands-only-cpr

08/26/2026

Chapel Hill released a draft rewrite of its land-use rules — the first major update in over 20 years — that could reshape where and how growth happens along its major corridors.

The draft Land-Use Management Ordinance (LUMO) lays out a 20-30 year vision built around six focus areas along major transportation corridors, where taller buildings, mixed-use projects, and denser residential development would be allowed. Rather than a wholesale overhaul, the draft largely formalizes the town's Complete Community strategy adopted in 2023 — expanding housing types, streamlining approval for smaller projects, and opening the door to more commercial and mixed-use development on key residential streets.

For property owners and landlords watching the corridor, the details worth tracking are the density bonuses tied to affordable housing, new stormwater and tree-preservation standards for larger developments, and eased approval paths in designated growth areas — all of which could shift site planning and development economics well beyond Chapel Hill's borders.

👉 Read the full story here: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/counties/orange-county/article316535203.html

08/24/2026

Durham Technical Community College is two weeks into a new semester — students back in classrooms, programs back in motion.

Every semester that starts is another pipeline of talent moving toward the businesses expanding in this region. Industrial and office growth here doesn't happen without a workforce ready to fill it.

I've gotten to see that connection up close, and it's a good reminder of what's actually driving growth here beyond the deals themselves.