by Ken Springer, Project Analyst

A community can talk up its connectivity, talk up its telecommunications, talk up its workforce and talk up its incentives, but without the right real estate assets supporting business attraction, the community really doesn’t have much to say to relocating companies. 

The argument about what matters most for relocating companies has raged in the economic development industry for years.  Many people believe that the location decision comes down to incentives, while others argue that the available workforce in an area is the main driver.  I’d argue that without a reasonably-priced, high-quality piece of real estate, no company is going to even bother looking at your incentive package or workforce, or anything else in your community for that matter.  To even get the negotiations started, an economic developer must be able to point to a piece of real estate that is “in the ballpark” for a company.  Without this critical element, subsequent conversations will fail to materialize. 

Achieving this real estate readiness requires the local economic developer and the local real estate community to have an understanding about the intertwined relationship between the respective disciplines.  Fortunately, the EDC here in Bloomington-Normal has an outstanding relationship with the commercial real estate community.  With that said, we’re always looking to take this relationship to the next level.  If you know of someone with leasable commercial space or a building/site for sale, please tell that person to contact the EDC.  If you are a commercial realtor who does not regularly send the EDC your inventory, please start doing so!  We can help promote any available commercial real estate to companies from outside the community, generating new leads and possibly buyers.  Best of all, the EDC provides this service at no cost.