Kannapolis City Manager Mike Legg has announced his retirement, effective April 30, 2026, bringing to a close a 30-year career with the City that transformed it from a struggling post-textile community into one of North Carolina’s most recognized growth stories.

Legg communicated his plans to Mayor Darrell Hinnant and City Council members last week, ahead of the municipal election. His retirement ends a tenure that spans three decades, three phases of downtown revitalization, a global pandemic, the closure of the City’s largest employer, and the rise of a regional biotech corridor.

Legg joined the City of Kannapolis in 1995 as Planning Director, later serving as Assistant City Manager before being named City Manager in 2004. Before Kannapolis, his professional career included positions with the City of Charlotte, the City of Cape Coral, Florida, the Western Piedmont Council of Governments, and Vice President of Benchmark, Inc. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

In his announcement, Legg reflected on what drew him to this chapter of his career and what now draws him away.

“This past August, I had a milestone birthday coupled with the milestone of 30 years of serving the City of Kannapolis,” he said. “With the passing of time, you naturally begin to think about what the next chapter of your life, both personally and professionally, looks like.”

“My time as the City Manager of Kannapolis has been a privilege and a joy. Completing the Downtown Revitalization Project, attracting dozens of companies and thousands of jobs, and creating a family of employees who deeply care for our City and its residents are just a few of the things I am proud to have achieved.”

When Legg began his career in Kannapolis, the City’s identity was inseparable from the textile industry. The closure of that industry’s anchor, one of the state’s largest companies, which led to the layoff of more than 4,000 employees, could have defined Kannapolis as a city in permanent decline.

It didn’t.

Under Legg’s leadership, Kannapolis pivoted toward a new economic identity rooted in biotechnology, advanced manufacturing, and tourism. Central to that shift was the development of the North Carolina Research Campus, a partnership that brought together David Murdock and Castle & Cooke, Cabarrus County, and multiple state universities to create one of the Southeast’s most recognized life sciences destinations.

Legg’s planning background shaped how that growth spread across the City. He leveraged Kannapolis’s strategic geographic assets, including six interstate interchanges and ample land around the downtown core, to systematically attract investment along the I-85 and Kannapolis Parkway corridors. The City now anchors six thriving industrial areas home to companies including two Amazon facilities, Prime Beverage, Gordon Food Service, Haas Racing (NASCAR and Formula One teams), Rebel, and Chick-fil-A Supply, representing more than 7 million square feet of industrial space.

In 2015, Legg played an integral role in negotiating one of the most consequential land acquisitions in the City’s modern history: the purchase of approximately 50 acres and eight city blocks of downtown buildings for approximately $6 million.

That purchase became the foundation for Kannapolis’s three-phase Downtown Revitalization Project:

• Infrastructure and streetscape replacement and construction
• Construction of Atrium Health Ballpark, home of the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
• Development of VIDA, a mixed-use district with a new parking deck

The result is a downtown that bears little resemblance to the one Legg inherited and has attracted both residents and businesses who would not have considered Kannapolis a generation ago.

Legg’s tenure was not without crisis. In addition to the textile industry’s collapse, he guided the City through two major droughts, the Great Recession (including years of stagnant municipal revenues), and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Through each of those challenges, Kannapolis continued to attract investment, expand services, and maintain its financial footing.

Legg’s record has drawn recognition well beyond Cabarrus County:

• Named one of the Top CEOs in the Charlotte Metro Region by the Charlotte Business Journal
• Included in the Charlotte Business Journal’s “Power 100”, identifying the 100 key players shaping the Charlotte region since 2000
• Recipient of the James D. Prosser Excellence in Government Leadership Award from the Centralina Regional Council of Government
• His community and regional involvement over three decades has also been extensive, including leadership and board service with the Cabarrus Economic Development Corporation, Cabarrus Chamber of Commerce, International City and County Managers Association (ICMA), NC City and County Manager’s Association (NCCCMA), Water and Sewer Authority of Cabarrus County (WSACC), where he served as chair, Kannapolis Rotary Club (past president), Kannapolis Education Foundation, NC. Music Hall of Fame, Foundation for the Carolinas – Cabarrus, Cabarrus Arts Council, and the United Way of Cabarrus County.

Mayor Darrell Hinnant did not hold back in assessing what Legg’s departure means for Kannapolis.

“While we are excited for Mike’s new adventures in retirement, he will be greatly missed,” Hinnant said. “He could have been a City Manager anywhere in the country, but he chose Kannapolis as his home, and his tenure here has shaped the City for decades.”

“His ability to seize opportunities and cultivate relationships that have resulted in economic growth for our City cannot be measured, nor should he be forgotten. Our reputation as one of the top cities for corporate development and quality of life is due in large part to his guidance.”

Legg’s retirement date of April 30, 2026, was deliberately chosen to give the incoming Mayor and City Council ample time to conduct a search and ensure a smooth transition.

“As we enter a new chapter of the City’s history, with a new Mayor and new Council Members, it is a good time for me to step aside,” he said. “A new City Manager will be able to join with the staff and begin to implement the vision and goals of this new City Council.”

Following his retirement, Legg plans to pursue what he describes as passion projects, helping other communities undergo the economic and civic transformation he guided in Kannapolis, while spending more time with his family.

Legg and his wife, Kelly, who have two adult children, Tyler and Rachel, plan to remain in Kannapolis and stay actively engaged in the community.
“In addition to spending more time with my family,” Legg said, “my post-Kannapolis goals are centered on the pursuit of passion projects focused on helping other communities transform the way we helped Kannapolis transition.”

The City of Kannapolis has not yet announced a timeline or process for selecting Legg’s replacement. Inform Cabarrus will continue to follow the transition as it develops.