Charlottesville, VA
Ensuring Equitable and Sustained Economic Growth for Virginia’s Cultural and Creative Heart
Greenville
A Economic Development Strategic Action Plan to Create More Opportunity in a Growing City
Named by the Wall Street Journal as one of three “breakout cities” at the forefront of America’s post-COVID economic recovery, the City of Greenville wanted to review its current organization, management, policies, and processes in order to fully grow into one of the best places for businesses to locate, grow and flourish. Resonance was engaged by the City to develop an Economic Development Strategic Action Plan that would help stakeholders understand the current environment, identify strengths, weaknesses and key industry clusters, and address barriers to attracting additional investment and job growth.
Fundamental to the development of the plan was input and engagement from a diverse, multicultural group of stakeholders. Our team’s demographic and economic assessment evaluated the City’s performance across a variety of metrics, benchmarked it against competing cities, and studied industry and occupational clusters to guide future business attraction and expansion efforts. We also assessed the retail landscape to provide a foundation for long-term planning and recruitment.
The plan has aided in the creation of a five-year plan for the city that will focus on high-growth sectors. Recommendations include: creating an entrepreneurial ecosystem to make the city more resilient; promoting stronger ties with higher education institutions to promote technology transfer and commercialization in the city; grow awareness of Greenville as a remote work location among young professionals by leveraging its “From Here…” campaign; and make DEI an economic development priority by ensuring all residents and enterprises have access to resources by extending placemaking efforts to underserved corridors and neighborhoods.
Similar Projects