Attracting And Retaining Business: Economic Development Directors Share Strategies And Outlook

Mercer Business, Dec 01, 2002 by Lamberg, Erica

Herb Ames, Mercer County's director of Economic Development, believes that Mercer County's strong and steady business growth is due in part to the team effort that all the municipalities here share. I have great working relationships with all the municipalities here because we all share a common goal of bringing more commercial and real estate projects to our county," said Ames.

Not only is bringing in new business important, Ames said, but keeping existing companies in Mercer County is just as vital. "We want to understand their needs and respond quickly when there's a concern to them," Ames said. "They know they can come to me and express a problem and we will try and work out a plan to solve it."

Some common challenges facing businesses in Mercer County include raising capital, training employees and handling rising costs of doing business here. "We help direct them to the local, state or federal sources to get money, training and all types of assistance," Ames said. "The Workforce Investment Board is also a strong resource in the community. Through a lot of partnerships we can make things happen."

For a distribution company in Washington Township, the Mercer County Office of Economic Development assisted with some human resource issues, said Wayne Staub, Mercer County's business representative. "This particular company was looking to hire about 200 employees and we helped facilitate interviews and pre-screened applicants," Staub said. Because of the nature of the company's business, they only had warehouse space in the County, which was not conducive for interviewing that volume of potential employees. "The interviews were held at our offices and we were able to provide nearly 75 qualified applicants for this company," Staub added.

Likewise, the County is stepping up to meet the needs of training existing firms to help keep them local. For growing industries including healthcare and biotech firms, Staub said finding and retaining qualified employees in becoming difficult for these companies. "We want to expand the labor pool for healthcare jobs and our hope is to get more people trained in this field to fill the growing need," Staub said. "We are listening to their problems, and addressing the issues."

As far as attracting business to Mercer County, Ames said several strategies are in place. Through targeted advertising and the County's official website (www.mercercounty.org), Ames believes that this is the first step for potential companies to learn about the benefits of doing business here.

For inquires that come in to the Office of Economic Development that are from minority or women owned businesses, Don Addison, is the designated person who responds to these requests. "Don helps these companies and expresses how much we want their business," Ames said.

Looking to the future, another noteworthy project in Mercer County is the commitment from Peforma Entertainment Real Estate to develop the South Broad Street Village on the former Apex Lumber site from South Broad Street to Hudson Street in Trenton. According to Ames, Performa's plans include a project to include restaurants, nightclubs, shops, and market rate housing. "The potential for this project is incredible," said Ames. "Performa has great experience in renovating old buildings and turning them into destination nightspots."

Ames said talks with Performa have lasted over two years. "There's been an ongoing dialogue with Performa and other developers interested in developing sites in Trenton," Ames said. Based in Memphis, TN, Performa is credited with redeveloping the booming Beale Street in Memphis, a popular destination for entertainment. "Not only will this project continue to create a thriving nightlife in downtown Trenton, I think the project will have positive spillover effects," Ames predicts. To that end, Ames believes that consumers will venture into Trenton to enjoy dinner, patronize local retailers and perhaps spend the night at the new Marriott Hotel.

Certain municipalities in Mercer County are experiencing noteworthy growth including Hamilton and Trenton. In Trenton, the office of economic development is currently in discussions with two companies, which will bring over 200 jobs to the downtown area. "There are two private companies who wish to bring their offices to Trenton," said Dennis Gonzalez, director of Housing and Economic Development in Trenton. "One is interested in renovating an existing building and the other is looking to build a new building on a vacant lot."

Gonzalez said that many of the business leads he receives are through lawyers of developers. "Through many sources we start a dialogue and for these two projects attorneys played an important role," he added. And, for the anticipated Manex project, Gonzalez expects a final deal on the table by year's end. "The building will be used for a centralized distribution point for materials for movie production and the site of a studio for special effects production."

In addition to attracting new business, Gonzalez stresses that serving existing businesses is just as important. "If businesses are doing well here other businesses will want to come here," he said. To that end, Trenton officials have stepped in several times to help fledging businesses. In one instance, a restaurant near the new Marriott Hotel contacted Gonzalez to find more operating capital. "We were able to provide a low interest loan through the Urban Enterprise Loan Funds and also put them in touch with Trenton's Economic Development Corporation." The Economic Development Corporation is a non-profit entity, which assists the city to encourage private investment in Trenton and also provides employment assistance in low income or distressed areas. "Our goal is to improve our neighborhoods," noted Elgin Clemons, director. The EDC acts as an equity investor with collaborative projects.