OUR VIEW: Expansion, construction in area is a positive sign

» Big projects indicate that maybe the economy has turned the corner toward recovery.

As we look around town, we can see a high-end condominium complex under construction, Terremark Worldwide Inc. preparing to put up a two-story office building on its campus and Culpeper Baptist Church breaking ground on a new wing.

It takes a high level of confidence to undertake projects of this magnitude in a bad economy. And confidence is what it takes to get us out of the recession.

Culpeper developers Greg and Liz Yates and their partner Jerry Bledsoe are confident they can get at least $259,900 and up to $499,900 per unit at their 22-unit Mulberry Court Condominiums. We think they might be a little overpriced given the current economy, but we hope people will flock to the complex. They said last week that they had two people under contract, six reservations and 160 people on a “potential buyers” list. Perhaps the market will be strong enough to bear their asking price and we’ll be proven wrong. It would be good for the local economy if that happens.

Terremark is confident it can take on the cost of its administration-building project, as well as plan for a second 50,000-square-foot data center at its complex off Route 3. Terremark’s local administrative employees have been working out of temporary trailers on the site since it opened last summer.

Probably the most heartening example of confidence is at the Culpeper Baptist Church. The church is borrowing $2 million to build a three-story Family Focus Center, which will include a nursery, child development center, youth center and Sunday school classrooms, with the confidence that its congregation will tithe enough to cover the loan payments. The church literally has enough confidence for everyone who attends weekly services.

Of course, the most important factor in our economic recovery is the confidence of you, the consumer. If you’re confident that your income is stable, you’ll be more likely to go out and spend money.

When many consumers have that kind of confidence, guess what happens. Things start to look up. Like our gross domestic product, which showed an increase in the third quarter. It was the first increase in a year. Things may be starting to look brighter.