Last week I attended a conference dedicated to economic development. That might sound boring to some, but it was eye opening and a little surprising to me.
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It was an opportunity to hear from the professionals about what it takes to make a city and region sing economically. The conference was organized by SVEDA, which stands for the Silicon Valley Economic Development Alliance—with the emphasis on alliance.
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The members of SVEDA represent the diverse economies of our region, some of which you might think have no need for economic development plan—just plans to spend all of that money they’re raking in.
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Well, there are different aspects to economic development, which includes things like industrial, commercial, downtown business districts, residential development and a whole host of other elements. No single element’s singular success declares an overall healthy economy in a community.
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Most of the region has such commercial and industrial vigor that some cities are now gladly willing to give up some of it to address the huge housing issue which, along with traffic congestion, represents a serious long-term drag on regional economic growth. That’s very different from our community where so far we only share the traffic issue and can only dream of the day when our commercial and industrial vitality has us sacrificing them for housing.
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I really enjoyed the retail development sessions, where it was loudly proclaimed that brick-and-mortar retail is not dead, but will thrive in different ways. It may look different and some unexpected players may get involved, so don’t write off going to town to shop just yet. You’ll be hearing a lot more about “experience based retail,” where shopping will become more interesting and fun to assist in luring you in. Many in the community are working to bring it here sooner than later.
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The big surprise was the focus on how well Morgan Hill is doing. Our little community was the darling of the conference.
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To start with, the concept for the conference itself was the brainchild of our own Economic Development Director and team.
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Apparently we are well-known for our spider sculpture on the parking garage, and the parking garage itself is a hit.
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There was a panel discussion focusing on two downtowns—ours and Redwood City’s. These are two very different cities and, considering the size of their budget, I declare we are the budget kings that don’t look like we’re on a budget.
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We’re also known as a community that fought the State for Redevelopment Agency funds and won. Approximately $25 million of recovered funds got us a new parking garage and all of the other improvements, which included redoing the streetscape through the downtown.
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Four RDA owned properties were strategically sold, which created or inspired $80 million of private development. A big part of that is the Leal Hotel and Spa, which promises to anchor our downtown like a Nordstrom in a shopping center. That development should create some foot traffic to help that experience based retail along.
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Morgan Hill is doing it right in so many ways that our little community is the inspiration for superstar cities. Way to go, Morgan Hill.
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John McKay is president of the Morgan Hill Downtown Association, city planning commissioner and co-founder of the Morgan Hill Tourism Alliance. He can be reached at
ta*****@ya***.com
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