The Golden Triangle Development LINK is reporting “moderate” response from communities in the region to its reinvigorated retail development strategy.
The LINK, which contracts with Lowndes, Clay and Oktibbeha counties — as well as the cities of Columbus, Starkville and West Point — for industrial and retail development, has asked area chambers of commerce to help identify available retail sites, according to LINK Vice President of Internal and External Affairs Macaulay Whitaker.
The organization is compiling a database of sites that are 10,000 square feet or larger to help better market them for development.
Whitaker said the LINK has asked for site submissions to include the property’s name, address, size (in square feet or acres), contact information and at least two photographs of the property. So far, she said the LINK has received only three complete submissions and several that are incomplete.
“We are in no way limiting the properties we market (to 10,000 square feet or larger),” Whitaker said. “That’s just the minimum the software we use (for the database) will allow. It does not mean we’re not working on marketing locations smaller than that.”
In many cases, Whitaker said, retailers already know where they want to locate, based on where other businesses are enjoying success, and they know what size properties they need to accommodate their facilities. So she said retail recruitment ran at a different pace than industrial recruitment because it involved less “back and forth” engagement.
“Often times, the retailers will call us and say, ‘We’re interested in these properties. What information do you have on them?'” Whitaker said. “Sometimes you can go out and find them. We help by marketing those properties, showing those properties and finding financing options for the businesses if necessary…We’re wanting the communities to (define) where they want their retail base to go. Then (we attempt) the chambers in those communities to make those cold calls, and we’ll take it from there.”
Still, Whitaker said the LINK wants to open the lines of communication between it and its client communities to better match those communities’ retail goals and assets to actual businesses they can attract. Working with chambers, area Realtors and commercial property owners to streamline the process of marketing available properties, she said, brings every Golden Triangle community closer to achieving its respective goals.
She added that being realistic, however, is also important.
“We can call Target all day long, but we don’t fit their demographics,” Whitaker said. “In order to do that, we would literally have to drag Starkville and Columbus 10 miles closer together, but we obviously can’t do that.”
Potential is there
Whitaker said each city in the Golden Triangle showed strong potential for retail growth, with each of the three bringing different personalities and strengths to the marketplace.
In West Point, she said population and job growth spawned from Yokohama Tire Company’s upcoming plant opening made the area very attractive for retail development over the next two to three years. As for Starkville, Whitaker said she expects the retail market to continue to expand for niche businesses aimed to attract college students, as well as more family-oriented stores.
Though Columbus is seeing population decline, Whitaker said that hasn’t seemed to stop its retail growth. Big box stores like DICKS Sporting Goods and Michael’s have recently opened on Highway 45 North, and chain restaurant Cracker Barrel announced earlier this year it would open a location in Columbus.
Columbus–Lowndes Chamber of Commerce President Joey Bragg said he also sees great retail potential for Columbus. But he wants to focus on “quality above quantity.” He said he’s emphasizing the Highway 45 North area in his recruitment efforts, based on traffic and building space available.
“We’ve looked to east Columbus, but honestly, the traffic is just not there,” Bragg said. “There’s plenty of retail space available, and there are opportunities to bring businesses into existing spaces without having to build.”
One of Bragg’s key goals, he said, is partnering with Leigh Mall to fill its vacant spaces. He said that right now Leigh Mall has four available spaces greater than 15,000 square feet, as well as several other smaller spaces ripe for development. Bragg is talking with mall leadership about better recruitment strategies for those spaces.
Whitaker said retail development remains a key component of community development because it raises community morale and feeds industrial recruitment.
“People appreciate retail development because it’s fast, visible and accessible,” Whitaker said. “It makes people feel good, and that’s why retail does so well. Retail development, in turn, strengthens industrial development because it builds a community’s amenities and reflects what a community prioritizes.”
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
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