COVER STORY, JANUARY 2009

A TIME FOR TEAMWORK
Economic development organizations relying on partners and new connections to catalyze activity in the Midwest.
Kevin Jeselnik

The complications of our struggling economy have tempered plans for many different organizations, ranging from developers to investors to the thousands of economic development agencies (EDAs) located throughout the Midwest.

While their efforts may have become more arduous, the work must continue in earnest for EDAs. Their communities rely on them to deliver new services and businesses that will satisfy rising demand or increase a community’s tax base. Now, economic development professionals are relying more than ever on relationships with other area organizations and connections with the local real estate industry to spur activity at a time when many retailers and businesses are scaling back growth. A free flow of ideas between communities is important as EDAs seek new ways to attract commercial prospects.

“We want to be successful as a community, but to see other communities and other agencies do well in our immediate territory is OK by us, too,” says Monica Bristow, president of the River Bend Growth Association. “It helps all of us.”

Agencies are turning to a mix of traditional and new mediums in their efforts to spread the word regarding their commercial prospects.

The River Bend Growth Association recently launched a Web site,
www.riverbendprospector.com, which provides an online mapping tool for those interested in development opportunities, business incentives, demographics and other information about the River Bend area. The two-county Illinois community is situated in the Metro East submarket of St. Louis. The use of new technology as a recruiting tool works side-by-side with the traditional pitchmen: the area brokerage community.

“We are using the site in partnership with the real estate industry, to build relationships with local brokers,” Bristow explains. Armed with the information from the Web site, brokers can bring targeted information to clients or match potential users to a available property they have listed.

The community, which lies along the Mississippi River, has a manufacturing-based economy, and is working to attract light industrial and manufacturing users by highlighting its experience in accommodating such tenants and its experienced workforce.

“The Web site is our Number 1 tool because we have so many available properties,” Bristow says. “The second-largest recruiting advantage we have is the Conoco Phillips refinery expansion.”

Conoco Phillips is in the midst of a $3.6 billion expansion of its facility in Roxana, Illinois, which is one of the River Bend communities. A study is currently being prepared for the Growth Association that will summarize the economic impact expected from the project.

The expansion is a massive undertaking that involves approximately 2,500 to 3,000 transient workers during the construction process. Additionally, the expansion will result in the addition of approximately 100 permanent jobs at Conoco Phillips and its vendors and support companies. The project is helping put the region’s name out in front of users as a market that is well-equipped to accommodate the light industrial sector. With the power of the Web site and the help of the local brokerage community, the River Bend region is doing all it can to show businesses what it has to offer.

In Mentor, Ohio, the city’s economic development agency similarly combining the speed of mass media with the power of the brokerage network.

Director Ron Traub and Economic Development Administrator Thomas Thielman are taking measures to encourage new businesses, as well as informing the local community about all the existing opportunities in Mentor.

The city has a large retail base that serves as a regional draw in Northeast Ohio, and the agency is spreading the word for its retailers during the holiday season. Traub commissioned a series of television ads during the holidays that each promoted four local businesses between introductory and ending messages about the city.

“While we don’t expect to spur individuals to spend more money this season,” Traub explains, “the hope is that it will broaden our reach so that viewers decide to shop with our local retailers, and remember our other local retailers and restaurants around the city.”

The city of Mentor’s economic development team is also using the Internet to connect quickly with partners, local brokers and businesses. Its E-Newsletter allows the agency to announce new availabilities, new businesses, and new grants or any other opportunities that might provide brokers with an amenity with which they can recruit a client to the area. The seamless exchange of information provides the entire community with the ability to stay up to speed and better serve their respective clients.

The combination of elements allows EDAs to efficiently provide the most accurate information to the best sources. And these source can place this information in front of the most desired targets. While the market struggles, a well-laid plan involving multiple facets of the industry is the best way to maintain visibility in a competitive environment.

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