Following the definition of an urban Downtowns economic development challenge, companies and communities need to implement an action plan based upon focusing on the opportunities for the Downtown and the region based upon the building block of all successful economies- focus on creating a diverse market from growing industries. Downtowns can continue to thrive by […]
Guest Column by Retail Strategies Retail and restaurants play a big part in a vibrant downtown, but it can be challenging for city and community leaders to understand their downtown real estate and how you can be proactive in its development. Whether you have a completely vacant Main Street or have recently had positive momentum […]
Rising interest rates, bank collapses, and potential additional federal regulation have created substantial challenges for communities and developers hoping to create new housing opportunities. Housing studies, streamlined zoning regulation, and parking subsidies can all help develop housing in urban, suburban, and rural markets but larger public subsidies in the near term are likely to be […]
The urban Downtown office market is facing a crisis which is only going to get worse. The Downtown office vacancy rates from Cushman and Wakefield’s 2023 analysis as outlined in the chart below in the major urban markets throughout the Great Lakes illustrate substantial struggles with the current Downtown office markets. This data is of […]
Taxes levied by local and state governments have a major impact on a company’s corporate site location decisions. Taxes by the state and local governments are a critical component of measuring the cost of doing business in a region. Different local and state governments tax businesses differently. What and how much local and state governments […]
Wisconsin remains a global manufacturing center in line with other Great Lakes States. Industry clusters are regional concentrations of related industries.[i] Clusters consist of companies, suppliers, and service providers, as well as government agencies and other institutions that provide education, information, research, and technical support to a regional economy.[ii] Clusters are a network of […]
Housing is joining workforce development to become a major corporate site location issue. Regions not growing are failing to develop substantial residential growth. Finally, rural regions are losing population at an alarming rate and desperately need new residential products to retain existing employers and to keep their young people. No matter where you are in […]
Pennsylvania is the nation’s 23rd largest state in the union with 5.8 M people, but its strategic location is connected to the Great Lakes positions Wisconsin for corporate site location projects. Key demographic measures that impact corporate site location decisions include total population and population growth which impact the ability of a region to […]
Rural markets seeking high-wage job creation and capital investment should focus on four key strategies all with the underlying goal of ensuring the talent needed for their company is available in these otherwise attractive markets. The four strategies include building communities young talent wants to live, work, and play in; retaining and attracting tech and […]
Tax credits, tax abatements, grants and loans all make up the typical local and state economic development incentive toolbox. Tax credits are usually a state performance-based incentive tied to job creation and capital investment. These tax credits in most cases are competitively awarded as there is a limited amount of state government funding available to […]