By Charles Parker, Project Director, The Retail Coach
Most local leaders must wear multiple hats. Whether you're an elected official or municipal staff, your responsibilities to the public vary wildly from one hour to the next. However, few things can catch the public's attention like an announcement of a new Target, Chick-fil-A, Texas Roadhouse, or Publix coming to town — or worse, to another town nearby.
Like so many aspects of our modern world, site selection has become heavily data-driven. Retailers and restaurants know exactly how many people live within any trade area, how many cars pass by the main intersection, income levels of residents and often even the total sales of competitors already established nearby. In an age where an analyst sitting in an Atlanta, Nashville or Dallas headquarters can break down the numbers and sales opportunity of a site anywhere across the country, the most successful communities find ways to promote their strengths that distinguish themselves from peer communities that look similar “on paper.”
Communities in close proximity to one another will frequently compete for retail stores, restaurants or entertainment concepts that need the combined population of both areas to hit site criteria thresholds and required unit sales projections. There's simply not enough “meat on the bone” in terms of population density to justify two new locations so close together. Yet interestingly, it's not always the city with the largest population or highest incomes in a region that lands a brand's first — or only — location.
So how do you compete? How do you become the community that always seems to get the exciting new developments first?
It starts with having a strong economic development and planning team that establishes a consistent and predictable approval process. That's the foundation of what being “business-friendly” truly means. Developers and tenants aren't necessarily deterred by reasonable codes or design standards, and they're typically willing to jump through a few hoops to develop in a market they believe in. What they really want is clarity about the local rules and processes upfront.
Local nuances, like what development requirements are set by different departments, the processes for zoning changes or conditional-use permits, the expected turnaround time for city planning review comments, and the predictability of the timeline for the entire approval process can all significantly impact a community's competitive edge when it comes to attracting new businesses.
It's one thing to have these processes in place, but it's another challenge entirely to effectively communicate them to potential developers and retailers. Your community might be the perfect location with streamlined processes, but if decision-makers don't know about your advantages, you could be overlooked.
The most successful municipalities don't just wait for retailers to discover them — they proactively craft compelling pitches that showcase their community's unique strengths, backed by data and presented with professional polish. They understand that in the competitive landscape of commercial development, how you tell your community's story matters just as much as the story itself.
That's why building relationships is critical to economic development. Making connections with the local broker and commercial real estate community, along with corporate-level real estate managers, is how you build the audience for your pitch and start building buy-in for your community.
Traditional economic development activity has been the focal point for many municipalities, and for good reason. Job creation, new housing, and infrastructure all play a role in retail site selection trends. Still, the most successful communities are the ones that are proactive on the retail front too, not just waiting for shopping and dining concepts to follow the other growth.
To learn more about perfecting your pitch and attracting new retail and commercial development, be sure to catch The Retail Coach session at the Municipal Association’s Annual Conference on Hilton Head Island, where we'll dive deeper into proven strategies that help communities consistently win the commercial development race.