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News Story Published On 6/26/2004 in Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Also appears on the Greater Richmond Partnership website.
By Gregory H. Wingfield, President, Greater Richmond Partnership, Inc.
Greater Richmond is one of America's Top 10 business locations, according to a Forbes magazine study released in early May. Based on an evaluation of 150 metro areas, the study looked at living and business costs, cultural amenities, the crime rate and other factors. "A metro area for all seasons, Richmond is the only area to rank in the top half of our list for each of the nine criteria we examined," Forbes said. Atlanta and Austin, Texas also ranked in the Top 10. Charlotte came in No. 27.
Later in May, our region earned a similar Top 10 rating for business climate in "America's Best Cities & States: The Annual Gold Guide to Leading Rankings," released by the National Policy Research Council, based in Washington, D. C. The guide is described by The Denver Post as "a veritable mother of all rankings…a master list of the bluebloods of civic achievement."
Earlier this year, Inc. magazine rated Greater Richmond No. 17 among the nation’s Top 25 metro areas for business and the Partners for Livable Communities included Greater Richmond in its once-in-a-decade list of America’s 30 most livable mid-sized cities. In addition, Expansion Management ranked Greater Richmond as a Top 10 metro area for public schools (in the large MSA category with more than 100,000 students), and listed the region as No. 12 among "America's Hottest Cities" for manufacturing expansions and relocations.
Accolades such as these have become so commonplace today that we have come to expect them.
But, ten years ago, things were different. Up through the mid-1990s, Greater Richmond didn't make any of the top lists. By and large, it was invisible.
However, the region over the past decade has made the top cut in more than 50 national and international listings. Many factors have been at work in helping to put Greater Richmond "on the map." But it is the emphasis on regional teamwork that has added a vital new dimension to the dynamics of the region. The Greater Richmond Partnership, Inc. is a good example.
Greater Richmond's political and business leadership took the bold step in 1994 of launching the Partnership as one of the nation's best-funded multi-jurisdictional, public-private economic development organizations. Goals were ambitious. Yet, as a result of cooperative effort, they turned out to be achievable. In fact, since 1994, the Partnership has played a key role in assisting over 290 companies that have invested over $5 billion in the region. Nearly 80,000 net new jobs have been created. Over the last decade the Partnership has spent more than $25 million to promote the region worldwide. This is a return of $206 in new and expanded business capital investment made by assisted companies for every $1 in funding provided by the pubic and private sectors to the Partnership over the past decade.
The Partnership was named one of North America's top economic development organizations for four years in a row in the 1990s, and again in 2003. Over the years, it has been a model for similar regional groups across the United States.
The Partnership is about to embark, beginning July 1, on a new five-year action plan. The plan puts emphasis on retaining and growing existing businesses, and it targets specific industries for recruiting efforts.
New programs will seek to identify and resolve circumstances that may inhibit business growth, focus on education and other building blocks of a high-performance economy, encourage creativity, and assist a greater number of start-up firms.
A nearly completed private sector campaign has raised more than $7.8 million to help fund the 2004-2009 Action Plan, exceeding the $7.0 million goal. The business sector pledges will be matched by equal public sector commitments from the City of Richmond and the counties of Chesterfield, Hanover and Henrico, to provide a regional economic development budget in excess of $15.6 million for the next five years.
This decade-long regional economic development partnership between the business community and our four local government members has been the key to the area's robust and sustained economic rebound.
Over the last nine months, as we visited potential private sector investors, it was most reassuring to hear from the corporate community that the Partnership was addressing their long-term business needs. This point was financially underscored by a nearly 10 percent increase over what was targeted to be the private sector funding goal. Equally heartwarming has been the steady and consistent support provided by our four local government partners, that all contribute equally to the Partnership's funding, a rare occurrence within economic development circles in the United States.
As a region, we have realized that by working together, all reap the benefits of better job opportunities, stable taxes and a higher quality of life.
Economic development teamwork, between business and government and among jurisdictions, is a true civic achievement, and it has helped Greater Richmond earn the kind of recognition it deserves.
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