Housing Inventory Metrics used to guide Economic Development Investments

Is anyone aware of research that has been done to demonstrate the myriad of factors private non-residential developers look at when making their investment decisions? Obvious issues like land value and access to transportation aside, I'm curious about how much weight is put on community and/or regional demographics, workforce availability, diversity of housing stock and levels of education.

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by ken olson on September 8, 2011 at 3:55pm

My previous years in economic development have taught me this is a very complex and difficult question to answer. i presume your interest is in non-residential developers from outside your area. thoses comparing your community to other possible communities.

I see you've all ready factored in similar land costs, shovel-ready sites and access to transportation as criteria, if i understand your question the answer may depend on what segment of teh economy your are considering.

In general retail development considers demographics (population within a certain radius) and disposable income. Chain retailers have this down to a science. The service industry tends to look at demand for services, demographics, education levels and wage rates.

Manufacturers and producers of goods are more complex as their criteria can vary on what is deemed to be the most critical component to their production. It may be proximity to raw material or proximity to market. If these are not determinate factors then wrokforce availability and wage rates (we've all ready factored out land and transportation costs). While community features (schools, housing, parks, shopping, etc.) may start to be considerations they become more important if the leadership/ownership of the company are going to be moving to the community.

As you can see there is not an easy answer or formula to apply.

Permalink Reply by Keith Henderson on September 9, 2011 at 9:51am

Thanks Ken. What I'm really looking for is fodder to make the case that public support for affordable workforce housing is an integral component of any long term economic development initiative. I'd love to find some set of metrics used by non-residential investors to suggest that an adequate supply of diverse and affordable housing stock guides their investment decisions.

Permalink Reply by Rebecca Cohen on September 15, 2011 at 3:30pm

Keith: It may be worth checking in with folks at Social Compact (http://www.socialcompact.org/). Social Compact is a nonprofit organization that seeks to promote private investment in low-income neighborhoods. They prepare "Drilldown" reports to demonstrate the untapped market in inner-city neighborhoods. Working backwards, perhaps you could use a similar report to demonstrate that residents of affordable housing generate economic activity...may be a stretch but could be worth pursuing.