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Doing business in Grand Rapids


Rizzo

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I think its great to have direct flights to places, but I never understood how that translates to economic growth.

Currently GRR connects directly to 16 airports. http://www.grr.org/Airlines/airlines.html

Think of it like this GaryP. Transportation routs and hubs have always been a boon to economic activity. In the past, towns on the Mississippi grew because of the river was a major route of goods and cities sprung up on that route. The same is true for Railroads and sea port cities. Having a major airport and direct flights is a very important amenity for many businesses whose customers are located around the country and globe.

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Yah I may take a look at Flordia's works, I think he recently mentioned Grand Rapids a couple of times. Some folks I knwo that have read his books say he seems elitist.

Grand Rapids didn't look to good by his data and he didn't sugar coat things. He ignored Lansing and just referred to the region as East Lansing (I thought that was strange), which he ranked quite high. I don't think he got everything right, but his argument about tolerance was really convincing i thought. For example, he created a gay index measuring the percentage of a city

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Our irreconcilable difference, NOVA, seems to be your perception that our market is not capable or ready to sustain robust growth from other sources.

I just don't think that you are really aware of the scope and variety already present in GRs economy. Literally it is one of only a few cities in the nation that can claim an industry leader (top ten) in each of the Federally recognized industry groups (including services). Last I saw, the only other city in the nation to boast this was New York. Not bad for a sleepy Midwestern rust bucket town. A well kept secret in the business world, Grand Rapids is actually very well known in many boardrooms including those of overseas giants. A reason why Grand Rapids CSA was third in the much respected World Knowledge Competitiveness Index (2004) - not a small task by any means. The region is supported by real numbers and real economic respect.

I just don't see what is wrong with that. I mean, really, what is there to add when you have a decent representation of every single industry? Downtown growth will come with further development. However, the fact is that Grand Rapids is not a typical services heavy area, hence the lack of huge downtown office buildings. In my opinion this is fine, services jobs are notoriously low paying and low skill. I would rather see the medical/biochem developments spur downtown living than a bunch of drone filled office towers. These current developments offer a much more dynamic feel to the city as well as a much stronger base for growth.

I simply think that you have a limited viewpoint of the economy of West Michigan. This diversity is why economcially Grand Rapids often stands with or above other cities of higher stature such as Jacksonville, Nashville, New Orleans, Buffalo, etc... Metro Grand Rapids (CSA) according to the Federal government has a similar or larger economy than all of these. By 2020 it is expected that Grand Rapids will surpass Milwaukee and will be nearing the older large cities of the Midwest in terms of populations and economic importance.

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And yet (meekly, from the canvas!) my question stands unanswered -- where are the new companies?

Come on! This isn't the academic stats or HR theory message board, this is about real estate development and downtown vitality.

Bottom line - your numbers have not yielded a new corporate HQ or substantial manufacturing facility within the city limits (in a gleaming tower, stucko bungalo or humble woodshed - I'd take any at this point). Cutting and pasting from the Right Place tout sheet won't grow our downtown.

Don't lump my perspective in with Luddites who have never been here, yet call us a rustbelt town -- I'm not saying that.

I'm saying we seem to lack the capacity to think out of the box enough to bring in major new downtown tenants or projects unless they come from the usual short list.

The cities you list all have vital, dynamic downtowns -- if "on paper" we match well with them, it seems like we should on the street level as well. But we simply don't.

I'm not interested in an argument about who knows more. I'm interested in helping GR become a community capable of sustained growth beyond the will, whim and pocket books of the local gentry.

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So to say Grand Rapids has the tools to make something beautiful happen is correct? We have the capacity to do exceptional, yet we are empty on ideas, how beautiful. For some reason I think that as a city we don't push new and exciting ideas because we are afraid of failure. Even though we swear by this philosphy, we continue to fail anways by not pushing for new ideas. Let us start pushing, people!

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Well said -- I don't doubt NOVA's stats for a second. On paper we have a diverse and appealing economy with a strong talent pool and outstanding quality of life.

The question is how can push through some pockets of parochial, insular thinking to transfer those resources into downtown growth?

Back to the original questions of the thread, we need a more business-friendly local government that's more involved with issues facing industry. We need to flex the economic muscle we do have in Lansing to get past "outstate" status on key issues like light rail. We need to break out of old patterns of thinking.

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I'm with you. For one I think awareness of our real influence as a Metro will get people motivated. superNOVA is one hell of a cheerleader if his stats are correct, it sure got me to take notice. I remember superNOVA saying one time that our community has such a low self-esteem, I would stronly agree. Maybe its time for a ralley or some kind of campaign to get people to realise that its their downtown so they should take its future into their hands! It's not the time to sit back and let our past dreams profit, its this time, the present where we must continue to cultivate new and exciting ideas.

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Maybe its time for a ralley or some kind of campaign to get people to realise that its their downtown so they should take its future into their hands! It's not the time to sit back and let our past dreams profit, its this time, the present where we must continue to cultivate new and exciting ideas.

There is plenty of money and effort put into marketing downtown to the metro area. Celebration on the Grand, Festival of the Arts, Blues on the Mall, these are events that are seen as necessary to draw attention and excitement for downtown.

Next up is the marketing blitz being put together by one of the downtown booster groups. Not sure if it is the DDA, or someone else. But they are putting together a full fledged effort to make it more of a viable option for everyone.

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where are the new companies?

This area is a bastion of the bread and butter of the United States economy. The small business and the privately owned business. Yes, everyone like mega-billion dollar pulbic companies but the fact remains, local ownership is always better for a local economy. The income stays in town and is not distributed to shareholders all over the world.

Back in College I helped with a study that followed three cities, compaing and contrasting them. Grand Rapids, Muskegon, and El Paso. The final findings of the study were that Grand Rapids was clearly the most successful because of local ownership and local investment into the community. In short, if the owners live there they are more willing to care. El Paso was a dump due to the almost entirely external ownership structure - no one was there to take any ownership for local issues other than limited corporate donations and the such. Muskegon fell in the middle but suffered for other reasons - increased productivity drove production in Muskegon through the roof at the expense of the worker. Just a fact of modernization.

Yes, everyone likes gleaming corporate headquarters and all but small businesses and private companies still account for almost 70% of employment and earnings in the US.

Not to mention, you will never have a large corporation if you don't start small. This region for two decades has won many accolades for their attempts to cultivate this atmosphere. At one point in the early 90s Grand Rapids was the clear leader in per capita business ownership - something that is a very healthy indicator for a region and something that eventually leads to gleaming towers and office parks.

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Well, you have an audience of over 4000 unique visitors right here (and that's just people in the Grand Rapids area reading this). Start some threads and start swapping ideas. We haven't done a "dream" or "vision" thread in a while. :thumbsup:

Time to resurect my Renderings Thread!

:thumbsup:

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Buildings don't have to be big or shiny...or even new. But "full" would be a nice start downtown.

Also, can we stick with the comparisons to Nashville. I don't think anyone wants to emulate Muskegon or El Paso just this minute.

As a downtown tenant and local business owner, I will be the first to say local ownership is great -- that's what a corporate HQ is (to me) -- back to my Mercantile Bank example. So, what are we doing to attract a few more of these -- first to the area, then to downtown vs. Cascade or the East Beltline?

Cultivating a strong farm team in terms of business tenants is vital for our future. But let's go out and lock in a few free agent signings once in a while...at least a few more than we've had.

Rally at the Calder?

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So, what are we doing to attract a few more of these -- first to the area, then to downtown vs. Cascade or the East Beltline?

Uhh, tax benefits. Unfortunately most business owners probably have the preconcieved notion that downtown is expensive. This is understandable as the function of a buisness is to make money. I for one think that Grand Rapids has been pretty generous to projects big and small.

I think the real problem lies at the State level. Michigan is not well known as being an incubator for business - the tax climate is way too abusive. Furthermore, we tend to get the shaft in terms of Federal matching funds which further complicates the problem. It is hard to compete when Southern states have 50% of the transportation budget and 150% the Federal aid. Georgia is a classic example of this. They can afford to offer tax rates to businesses that no Northern state could even get close to.

What to do about this... Well, that has been a hot topic since 1980. I can tell you one thing though, Granholm isn't exactly taking ownership of the problem.

I still think that downtown is doing a great job of attracting new business. The fact is there is not a company in the region that really has the need or would benefit from building an office tower downtown. It is even more difficult to drag one in. You will just have to live with the fact that most growth downtown will be residential, medical, and institutional. I for one have no problem with this. As these sectors expand I think you will be surprised to see what comes of it in terms of services growth downtown and the eventual need for an office tower or two.

These things take time and you cannot create your own demand overnight. I think that the leadership in this community is taking the proper steps to insure long term and sustainable growth.

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I caught something interesting in this morning's WSJ. They profiled Nashville's commercial real estate industry. In 2.5 years the city has attracted 8 corporate headquarters that came with 3,800 new jobs. Those companies occupied a total of 550,000 sf of office space and 250,000 sf of industrial space. The article implied that this all happened for 3 reasons, the regions low cost of living, its low cost of doing business, and to a lesser extent the music industry.

I see no reason Grand Rapids couldn

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That is interesting about Nashville. I guess I fall more on the side of 201test. I'm excited to see all the developments under way, not because they are under way, but because what they may BRING to the area. There is still A LOT more that needs to be done and could be done with downtown. I also disagree that office towers are filled with low payed drones.

Nashville attracted a Dell facility, Caremark Rx (Pharmacies), Louisiana Pacific (building materials) and Nissan.

Here's an interesting quote from an article regarding Nashville:

"If there is something that may hold Nashville back as it seeks to attract other headquarters like Nissan, Sweeney said Nashville International Airport's lack of direct international flights is high on the list. Traditionally, large companies including Nissan look to locate their headquarters in cities that have a major hub airport."

http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/articl...8/1044/BUSINESS

Here's some more reading on Nashville making the #1 Hottest Cities in Expansion Management Mag:

http://www.expansionmanagement.com/smo/art...leid=16327&st=5

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The hook for Orlando is warm, sunny weather and Disney. The hook for Vegas is gambling. The hook for Nashville is country music.

Tourism is not a hook to attract industry, it's an industry in itself.

The hook needs to be the one big benefit or idea that potential visitors wouldn't receive somewhere else. A big zoo? Go to Brookfield, IL, or San Diego. A big aquarium? Go to Sea World in N.Ohio or Orlando. Being competitive means having something nobody else has.

The Michigan's West Coast campaign is doing a pretty good job. The billboards are everywhere. the convention and visitors bureau of GR has teamed up with some of the Lakeshore cities to present West Michigan on a unified front, the best beaches (GHaven, Holland) and the best culture and nightlife (GR). That's where it starts. It's a matter of focusing from there.

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