What’s in Store for 2012? (Part 1 of 3)

Posted by Rickey Hayes on March 12, 2012 in Blog | No Comments

“LOCAL POLITICS”

Written by
Rickey Hayes
Retail Attractions, LLC

This year has been an amazing year for Retail Attractions. We have seen positive impact in all of our client cities. As 2011 comes to a close and I reminisce over the last year’s scope of work, I am both excited and concerned about what is ahead for communities, large and small, across the country. On one hand, I am excited about the potential that is waiting for communities that really have a grasp on what it takes to market themselves and get noticed by investors while 43,000 other cities across the country are trying to capture the same attention. Good times are in store for many cities in 2012. Increased revenues through sales tax, new residential and retail development, and improved quality of life are all possible. City governments must be willing to take a look at reality and see what is missing, or see what is actually taking place, and be prepared to take an honest and realistic look at what is going to have to happen to change their current circumstances. If a city is willing to do that, they are going to be pleasantly surprised when they see that change is possible. One thing is for sure, if you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’re going to keep getting what you always got.

On the other hand, I see some really tough times coming for lots of communities as well. In recent months, many communities across the country have fallen victim to ultra conservative ideology that has trickled down to the local administrations because of political activism spawned at higher levels of government. In any political realm, it is inevitable that differences of opinion are going to rise. That is the beautiful thing about democracy. It works well when the diversity in local political ideologies have at the core of their belief systems the overall good of the community. If the goal is to improve the overall quality of life in a local setting, and everybody is working together for the common good, then differing opinions on how to reach the goals make life fun and exciting. However, if the goal is not to fix what is wrong and build consensus but to stir up more unrest, more dissension, then this ideology can get in the way of progress and may cause communities to turn away from opportunities that they might not get again. Our total scope of work in our client cities is improving the quality of life, improving revenues, and improving the way cities do business in terms of retail development. Every community has a story to tell. It only takes three things to improve the quality of life in any city: VISION, UNIFIED EFFORT, and FUNDING. In most cases, funding change is relatively easy. But creating vision is tougher. And getting people to gather around a dream or a vision and work hard to get it done is tougher still. But it can and should be done.

As overwhelming as this list seems, it is all necessary to make your community the most attractive destination possible to retailers looking to expand. Competition is fierce. If you don’t want to be left out, you need to do the same. Retail Attractions can help you put your best foot forward. We provide a wide range of services to help you turn your vision into your reality.

Contact us today to make a seemingly overwhelming task more manageable.