Past Strategies and Plans
The Comprehensive Plan focuses economic development efforts on office, commercial and industrial redevelopment. Redevelopment efforts began with projects in downtown neighborhoods and in development of the underutilized waterfront property. The City developed an aggressive program to renew and revitalize the older portions of the City near and south of downtown.
The City has been engaged for the past two years in the renewal of the City Comprehensive Plan. The City has conducted extensive citizen participation as part of this process, conducting numerous focus groups and surveys. The Economic Development Council for Central Illinois has also developed a wide range of strategies to lead economic development. This strategy is consistent with and builds on those efforts.
Previous studies included improvements to the Southern Gateway of the City, the redevelopment of Renaissance Park, the, Riverfront, Downtown, the Warehouse District, and the Heart of Peoria. Each one of the ten Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Districts also includes a redevelopment plan.
Strategy Task Force
In 2009 a task force of key economic development staff from the City, County, EDC and consultants met to briefly evaluate past accomplishments. The continuing national and local recession has created a need to review and reassess past strategies. The team reviewed strategy and proposed needed changes.
Key Findings
· City efforts were succeeding despite the national recession
· The City is concerned about lost jobs and investment
· The training of our workforce is vital
· Improvements to the performance of our Schools are required
· More shovel ready industrial sites are needed
· The City core must be a vibrant civic, cultural and living environment
· Peoria continues to lose middle income residents
· Parts of the inner city continue to decline
Post Recession Economy Challenges:
· Competition for business will increase
· The USA will continue to lose unskilled jobs
· Business retention will become more difficult
· Globalization will provide challenges / opportunities
· Business will become more high tech and white collar
Strategy
This strategy continues the efforts of previous plans and strategies, further refining existing programs, and improving our implementation strategy. It incorporates citizen input that was part of the comprehensive planning process and addresses negative trends that were identified in the development of the Comprehensive Plan. It adds some additional strategies which create a cohesive comprehensive economic development approach combining current programs with a vision for future opportunities. The strategy also incorporates current trends appropriate for Peoria in the development of business and industry.
Economic Development Goals
· Retain and Expand Existing Businesses
· Nurture and Grow New Businesses
· Attract New investment and Business
· Create a Positive Image of the City
· Increase the Diversity of the Economic Base
· Rebuild the Heart of Peoria
· Increase Sustainable Development and “Green” Technology
· Provide Solid Jobs at Good Wages
Retain and Expand Existing Businesses
Keep what you have. Grow what you have. These two statements are a key for a successful economic development strategy and program. Too many economic development departments spend their time seeking new companies. Success begins with working to keep your existing business owners’ satisfied with their city, and then helping them expand.
The City operates a dynamic Business Retention Program (PBI). Staff calls and meets with businesses in the community to better understand businesses and to determine if there are any concerns with City services or ordinances. Staff then works with the business toward a resolution of those concerns. This is also an excellent opportunity to inform business owners of city programs and incentives to help business expand in the City. It further advises staff of what the business community thinks, and lets staff know if changes are needed in City programs or services. This program will be continued and improved.
The City also must continue to nurture relationships with its major employers. In this day and age when industry is no longer led by local CEO’s, it continues to be important that the CEO of the City, its Mayor, be on a first name and relationship basis with the CEO’s of major industry. The recent move by Boeing from its long time Seattle headquarters, because among other items, its dissatisfaction with its treatment by the community, highlights the need for this effort. Attention should be paid to the industrial and medical sectors of the City. This would be an effort supported the Economic Development Department and City Manager, but led by the Mayor with participation from other elected officials.
Nurture and Grow Start-Up Businesses
The City nurtures new and expanding businesses. Such efforts as the Peoria Next Innovation Center and Enterprise Zone as well as other incentives help to create new jobs from existing talent within the community. The City will continue to move as it has recently done to capture the results of its nurturing efforts by locating new business or industries in the City. The City should not support developmental efforts of business only to lose production facilities and active business as they enter the market. This will require all of the above strategies to work as well as creative thought to make incentives work.
The City will also use Bradley University programs and the incubator as precursors for these efforts as well as discussions surrounding retirees and spin-offs from existing industries. What can the City do to support developing businesses, especially job producing businesses and industries that will be leaders in the new economy? The City should create an environment where it hears about new business creation opportunities. It should also try to capture the ensuing business or industry when providing incentives for development of the business or industries.
Attract New Investment and Business
Attracting new investment and business to the City is a vital function. Some businesses will fail or move to overseas locations. New investment and new businesses must be sought to replace lost business and jobs, and to further grow our economy.
The City works closely with the regional EDC and with the State DCEO on an aggressive attraction program. The City has professionally prepared brochures, an active electronic marketing program, and attends national business development conventions. Working with the State and EDC, the City responds to RFP’s from a variety of business interested in moving into the Midwest. The City also reaches out to a variety of businesses with direct mail, and initiates contacts with business that staff or the Council believes may fit the City.
The City works with developers to provide affordable land, to make the development process seamless and to find incentives that will make this City more competitive in today’s market.
Create a Positive Image of the City
Some citizens feel that Peoria has a negative image or they feel negatively toward the City. Rather than help promote the success of the City, these citizens inadvertently work to the City’s worst interest. It is important that the City promote itself internally. The City must work to instill pride in its citizens and staff.
Likewise, the City must continue to promote itself externally. These efforts can be combined through regional efforts that showcase the metropolitan area. The City will continue to work with the EDC and others to showcase our City and region at various national events such as the International Shopping Center Conferences. We will cooperate in joint advertising in appropriate real estate magazines and in the development of promotional materials.
The City has developed its own promotional materials and has a wide selection of materials available through E-Resources (Electronic Information on the Internet). The City should continue to use written materials and continue its efforts with E-Resources. The City has aggressively moved to provide very frequent E-updates of information about the City’s economic development opportunities. Currently, much of the City’s Economic Development information is published at: http://peoria.blog.com/ The City will continue its E-Resource efforts, updating and improving them over time. The City will continue its wide use of Web Sites, Blogs, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to market the City.
Increase the Diversity of the Economic Base
Peoria was and still is a major manufacturing City, but during the past ten years the City has diversified with professional and medical services increasing dramatically.
The City will continue to encourage the diversification of the City economic base. High tech, medical, and “green” technology businesses are opening and expanding, and the City will support this encouraging trend.
Rebuild the Heart of Peoria
The City of Peoria continues to lose middle income residents. There are many reasons that can be sited for that trend. One is the international change in industrial production and the corresponding reduction in the need for semi and low skilled labor in the United States and the mid West specifically. Second, there was and continues to be a reduction in workers due to productivity improvements. Finally, workers have left as industries have relocated or closed.
These trends have resulted in a loss of workers and the overstock of moderate income housing they once occupied; artificially suppressing home values. Homes in older neighborhoods have not gained in value, making middle income residents reluctant to purchase older homes in traditional middle income older neighborhoods. Instead, they choose newer housing both in and unfortunately, many times outside of the City. Discussions about crime have also lead to a fear of older neighborhoods. Finally, there are few alternatives for young professional and new empty nesters who prefer urban lifestyles.
The City completed quality plans for the redevelopment of the Heart of Peoria, Renaissance Park, and the Warehouse District. This Strategy follows and expands the goals developed in those plans.
The following strategies will be continued to resolve this problem.
· Continue to seek jobs with good wages in job development strategies further developed in other sections of this Strategy.
· Continue and expand upon marketing the first time home buyer incentives. This incentive should regularly be promoted with young professional and first time home buyers. These residents tend to be less fearful of crime and the incentive will help overcome concerns about property values. Because of fears of falling property values, the program might be enhanced to include all buyers in troubled neighborhoods to shore up pricing values and to maintain and reintroduce middle income buyers to these neighborhoods. As values increase in these neighborhoods, the need for the program is reduced and it can be phased out. An increase in housing values in these homes will also help to pay for the program.
· Enhance Quality of Life programs. Efforts should be made to promote all recreational and arts programs within the City. Current cable and public television promotions are not enough. The City should consider a yearly calendar of events which is then produced as a promotion item for both the Economic Development Department and the City as a whole. This could be updated monthly.
· Improve and implement the Artist Relocation Program that encourages artists to locate their homes, studios, and shops in older neighborhoods.
· Continue the incentive program to support the purchase and rehabilitation of older homes and investigate new programs. Older homes inherently have additional maintenance costs. The City could recognize these maintenance costs in a program that promotes the purchase of older and historic homes through tax credits. As values increase in these neighborhoods, the need for the program is reduced and it can be phased out. This tax credit could encourage the maintenance and upkeep of single family historic homes. An increase in housing values in these homes will also help to pay for the program. Criteria would be necessary to target this program. Working with other departments the Economic Development Department should identify land which could be purchased and cleared. Although there is a small budget for this, if done correctly, land banking could allow for additional new housing and commercial developments in redevelopment areas. The continued implementation of the Warehouse, Renaissance Park, and River trail Drive developments are examples of areas where this strategy could be successful. Additional housing alternatives in the downtown area are an attraction to the young and new workforce members as well as those seeking to downsize and down responsibility related to housing.
· Celebrate and ballyhoo the recent passage of the referendum for the museum. http://buildtheblock.com/ This is a major development. Passage of a referendum during an economic downturn where referenda for basic items as education and infrastructure failed across the State is a major accomplishment. This should be recognized as a symbol of the City’s support of and recognition of the importance of arts, culture and recreation.
· Continue marketing and improving Renaissance Park, Warehouse, and River Trail Drive areas to attract homebuyers back to the inner city.
Increase Sustainable Development and “Green” Technology
The Environmental movement is now fully part of American and World thinking. Almost everyone agrees that we should improve our air and water quality, and use less energy. Local governments are becoming leaders in efforts to enhance Sustainability and implement Green Technology.
The City of Peoria has created a Commission on Sustainability and Green Technology. This Commission is charged with “greening” our City. The following are items the Commission has identified for implementation:
· Promote more efficient buildings
· Use passive solar orientation of buildings
· Encourage solar and wind energy systems
· Use recycled material in buildings
· Recycle building material waste
· Encourage rain harvesting & irrigation
· Support the use of natural landscaping
· Employ green roofs
· Improve City and County staff knowledge of “green” techniques
· Support quality construction for long lived buildings
· Encourage mixed use development
· Support walk to work programs
· Encourage development that supports transit
· Support efforts to redevelop older communities
· Permit Live / Work Space development
· Support natural open space and parks
· Design wetlands, drainage systems, retention and bio swales into parks
· Use open surface natural drainage where feasible
· Require street trees
· Encourage the use of geothermal energy
· Revisit development requirements, minimizing pavement widths and cost
· Update City / County codes to permit and encourage “green” development
· Support the development of the local production of “green” technology equipment
· Incorporate bikeways and pedestrian paths into new and older developments
· Support recycling
Provide Solid Jobs at Good Wages
The recent national recession has reached Peoria, and unemployment reached 9% in early 2009. A major effort of this strategy must be to help restore our businesses and increase jobs, wages and income. To achieve that end we must:
Create New Industrial Parks
The need for a diversification of the economic base with its accompanying increase in good wage jobs is an ongoing theme for all economic development programs. Peoria finds itself at a competitive disadvantage with neighboring communities. Surrounding communities are prepared with low cost improved land ready for industry. Peoria does not have these sites and parks.
Peoria currently lacks land ready for industrial development. Industrial redevelopment sites are available, but are not readily marketable even with incentives. Small redevelopment sites are available, but no improved land has been set aside for industrial purposes. When opportunities are available, either they bypass the City or the City scrambles to accommodate them. The City should work on a strategy to develop an industrial park that provides improved land at competitive prices.
Improve the School System
There have been many references to the need for improved schools in comments by residents, professionals and elected officials. While the continued improvement and provision of a quality education are laudable goals, they are ones which can have only one response by the City’s economic development program. If economic development programs result in an increase the City’s tax base within the School District’s boundaries, then the decreasing tax base and ongoing funding problems of the school system will diminish. However, to create the tax base, it must be recognized that there is a need for the City and School District to collaborate on targeted incentives that result in a long term viable tax base for the City and its other taxing districts.
Continue County, Regional, State and National Participation
Working with other groups, learning from others mistakes and understanding new programs are all benefits for working outside the City. The City should continue its ongoing participation with other groups to nurture, refine and enhance economic development
In addition, the City should use these groups to refine and enhance its economic development incentives themselves. Most knowledge of “best practices” for programs and incentives comes from associations with these groups. To know what is on the horizon and appropriately make it part of its program and incentive arsenal makes the City competitive in economic development. Participation in these groups allows the City to stay on top of, improve, and evaluate its program and incentive arsenal.
Finally, participation in these groups helps educate staff. This education helps to make the staff more professional in their interactions within and out of the City. It improves the caliber of the City’s economic development efforts.
Embrace the Future
It has already been noted that the City should embrace the future by nurturing businesses that are going to create the jobs base for the future. The City should also embrace new technical programs that have the opportunity to result in long term job viability for the City. Such items as sustainability and new technologies are musts in this endeavor. Support of sustainability means more efficient businesses which are more likely to thrive. These efforts should continue in concert with Bradley University, Illinois Central College, the medical base as well as other industries and businesses in the City.
Continue and Refine Existing Urban Redevelopment Programs
While these are the last strategies listed, as they are not new endeavors; they are the most important strategies. They combine with many of the above strategies and are key to the future success of the City. These programs and their current status and the next key steps in their implementation are identified below.
Conclusions
Trend is not destiny. The current recession demands that the City work hard to improve our economy. This Strategy is dynamic, and must be frequently reviewed and revised as necessary. The City will follow this strategy, and revitalize our City and our economy.
Following this strategy will promote economic growth, increase the diversity of the economic base, provide good wages for Peoria’s citizens, and assist the City in recovering from the current recession.
