Strategic Plan To-Do List: A Diversity of Businesses
Decatur Metro | February 2, 2011A Decatur manufacturing district? Food carts in city parks? A Decatur business incubator space?
You betcha. Here’s the “to-do list” for goal #2 in Decatur’s proposed list of Strategic Plan projects…
Goal 2: Encourage a diversity of business types with particular focus on small businesses and businesses that provide daily needs.
Decatur is known throughout the region for its lively mix of stores and restaurants, especially in and around the Square, but needs to expand retail options to provide more variety and price points. Current employment opportunities within the city are limited. to remedy this, Decatur should focus on attracting office and employment uses that are compatible with the community’s vision.
Task 2a: Target businesses, especially office users, by creating a list of desired business types, relevant data to distribute to potential businesses, and a recruitment strategy.
Task 2b: Continue to focus marketing and advertising efforts designed to support and enhance the “Decatur brand,” to attract quality
new business that meet the community’s vision, and to assure the success of existing businesses.
Task 2c: Identify available areas for light manufacturing and market them to potential businesses.
While Decatur is poorly suited for conventional manufacturing, niche industries could include artisanal food processing, artist studios, clean technology, and the production of high-value consumer goods.
Task 2d: Explore amending vending and food cart regulations to permit them in commercial districts and parks.
These could provide convenient meals and allow more people to open businesses without significant startup costs, but could also negatively impact existing businesses if not carefully implemented.
Task 2e: Partner or provide seed funding for a business incubator space. This space could promote tech firms, artisanal manufacturing space, media content production services, or other businesses.
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Isn’t a bike shop light manufacturing? We’re well on our way.
Hm. Expand retail options to include a business that provides for daily needs & provides more variety and price points… What store could fill that bill?
Tesco.
Interesting possibility! Although… well, it’d sure be nice if we could come up with an American company that meets the criteria. Let’s keep thinking on it.
TESO is as American as WMT and DG. All are traded on US equity markets and owned by investors globally.
If you really want an American company to open for business in Decatur, you need something like the Oak Grove Market opening another branch in Oakhurst.
The Oakhurst Market’s going to be a fantastic addition to Oakhurst. If it’s true that the DG is coming too, then y’all will really be set! The DG will cover the basics- packaged food, health & beauty, household & office supplies, socks & underwear- that would be difficult for a local retailer to offer at a competitive price. Sounds like a BIG WIN!!!
I have a business which is considered Litght Manufacturing. Been in a warehouse over in East Decatur Station for the last 6.5 years. Needed to move as my business model had evolved. Could not find a similar, larger location in Decatur. Moved over to Avondale Estates. But my first choice was to stay in Decatur.
NY bagel shop
for the love of god can we get a Tim Hortons in downtown decatur?!?!
THAT’s the most mouth-watering suggestion yet!
I think it’d be a great fit for decatur, and they have franchises! we just need to convince someone with the capital to open one!!!
I think the business incubator space is a good idea. It is of course as trendy as it gets. But more retail seems like a stretch any time soon.
I also think that the city should be going after a whale — a regional office of some national high-tech company. Decatur marketers should be all over the Georgia Tech incubator in midtown looking for companies ready to move up an out. We need to be known for something other than our restaurants.
I wholeheartedly agree. The incubator idea is good, but we need to attract high paying talent to Decatur. Like high-tech, biotech, etc. We should be competing with Alpharetta and Marietta to land regional branches of these types of companies.
That is how you really grow and diversify, not by adding fast food places. We need to think bigger. Decatur retail is currently just about maxed out. We need to add these types of industries if we want to support other types of desirable retail.
I strongly disagree that we should be aiming to land a regional headquarters. Alpharetta and Roswell are now using tax incentives to recruit companies like the ones you’re thinking of. It’s a common approach, but not one I’d like to see Decatur take. As far as competing with other cities in general, I’d prefer we not think about economic development in that way. Decatur is a unique city within the Metro area, and we should be recruting based on our unique assets, and not in comparison to others. We don’t really need to recruit talent to Decatur. We have tons of talent. It’s just that it drives to other parts of the Metro area to work.
If we want high-tech and bio-tech firms in Decatur we have to offer more than just Class A space with high-speed broadband. The incubator at Georgia Tech works because it cultivates an image and envirionment of innovation and collaboration. A incubator could offer this type of environment for Decatur, but only if the city invests in highering a top manager and developing a pool of local entrepreneur-volunteers. All incubators have to maintain a particular industry or sector focus, so it will be essential to understand the needs of businesses within that field in order to build/create office environments that meet those needs. If you want to grow bio-tech companies, you have to have wet-lab space, etc.
Overall I hope the city takes a homegrown approach to building a high-tech economy, if that’s what they want. It’s a better investment and builds upon the image we already have throughout the region.
I think JC’s comment is hugely sensible. The tax break path for such businesses is a terrible path to start down. I am actually kind of skeptical as to the ability to really actively court particular kinds of businesses apart from doing sensible things that should be done anyway.
When I think of small cities that really take off economically, there’s always a bit network effect that builds on what makes that area unique (even if only slightly so relative to the surroundings). So what makes Decatur unique relative to the surroundings (even if it is only a perceived uniqueness). Well, I think we do quality of life pretty well, schools that are decent, and thanks to the BSP folks and the beer festival we have a bit of a beer culture going on. There’s probably alot of other stuff as well that isn’t coming to mind.
So, we need a microbrewery!
Unique = CDC and VA Hospital. Add universities and stir.
Sure homegrown is fine, and yes we have plenty of talent here (although I would not think that CDC and the VA hospital breeds many entrepreneurs). But recruiting a company brings jobs, a broader tax base, a more diverse economy, and people. What is wrong with using tax incentives to land a company? What am I missing here?
The only tax breaks the City can offer are property taxes and that’s not going to happen. Decatur is not a big corporate real estate market. Companies that relocate here don’t have to own real estate. They can be tenants, who don’t pay property tax anyway, at least directly. JC and Glockenspieler are on the right path but it doesn’t have to be a microbrewery.
Several small businesses owners and enterpreneurs have tried Decatur. The local economy base cannot support these, and the rents are still too high for lower traffic places to make it viably. Plus, the lack of adequate lodging for more tourism dollars is lacking. Also, more downtown living would help support these stores, but folks keep fighting it.