If your community is struggling to attract economic development opportunities, it may be time to look at the factors influencing the cost of development and it’s relationship to the local market.
Although released in the Fall of 2016, this SIOR article by Debroah Mickler is an excellent outline of the variables that make or break “feasibility” for new industrial (or any other) development.
By highlighting how an industrial developer determines what it can pay for land, the article also shows how project costs (e.g. impact and permit fees; or off-site infrastructure improvements) impact a project’s budget relative to land cost.
Taking the time to identify these variables in your community can help your city or economic development organization better understand why it may not be attracting the opportunities envisioned. It is also a great starting point for a conversation on the types of incentives it may take to attract projects (e.g. expedited permitting; offsets to land cost; tax increment financing of infrastructure, etc.).
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