JR Blog: Ready to Go Sites are a Must to Attract Industry

Ready-To-Go Sites are a Must to Attract Industry

Christmas is around the corner, and we are all looking for the perfect gift.  But how many times have you groaned when a toy box says, “Some Assembly Required?”  To me, there is nothing more frustrating than reading 10 pages of instructions at midnight on Christmas Eve. 

When it comes to finding a location for a new business, a prospective company feels the exact same way.  They want a perfectly flat site with all of the utilities in place, zoned for their use, and a row of golden shovels ready to turn the ceremonial dirt.  Time is money, and time spent pulling resources together equals lost dollars.  That is why communities across the United States have site development programs.  Communities that successfully recruit companies are the ones who do all the hard work up front: acquiring a site, making it flat, installing the infrastructure, and zoning it to industrial use.

Companies consider three things when considering locations for a new facility: Speed, Risk, and Money. 

• ·         Speed: Time = Money, and the more time a company spends in the construction of a facility, the less money it will make.  Not only is the construction speed of the facility a factor, but so is the speed of the training program for its workers.  In short, the longer a company has to spend on construction, training, or preparation, the less money it will make. Communities that can demonstrate efficiency will win projects.
• ·         Risk: When companies consider a site for a new facility, they assume it will have challenges.  There may be large rocks in the ground, an endangered species habitat, or water just under the soil surface.  All of these risks can cause a delay, which ends up costing the prospective company time. Again, Time = Money, so a community should prove that there are no challenges to construction. By completing environmental reports ahead of time, the community can demonstrate that their site is ready to go.
• ·         Money: Companies exist to make money, so they will listen when a community offers cost-saving measures.  If a community is willing to reduce some of the red ink on a balance sheet, companies will give that community strong consideration.  Communities across the United States have reduced the price of land, offer cost-sharing of services, or even given cash grant awards to companies that bring lots of jobs with them.

At Carroll Tomorrow, we strive to attract high-quality jobs and new investment to Carroll Tomorrow, and we have a wonderful reputation for offering industrial sites with competitive advantages.  When a company brings new jobs to a community, that puts money in the pockets of small business owners. It also gives local citizens a chance to improve their economic condition by either earning a better job or receiving better pay.  In the end, these new opportunities help push Carroll County to new heights of progress, a goal we can all agree is worth pursuing.