I wonder if we will look back at June 2012 as a monumental month in Savannah’s economic development history.
In recent weeks, a slew of real estate development deals have caught a full head of steam, the Chamber/Visit Savannah released 2011 numbers reflecting the financial impact of our region’s robust tourism industry, and perhaps the quietest of all, Savannah Economic Development Authority (SEDA) hosted what must have been their most energized board meeting to date.
SEDA board President David Paddison and SEDA President Steve Weathers had trouble quieting the crowd but eventually calmed everyone down and began the meeting. What unfolded was nearly two hours of highly energetic dialogue, creative expression and out-of-the box thinking.
SEDA staffer Brandt Herndon rushed through his monthly report, then introduced Don Schoenl, president and CEO of Nordic Logistics and Warehousing, LLC. Schoenl and his group went on to describe a $50 million, 100 employee facility to be completed by year end in our region.
This was exciting news for everyone in the room and a much needed win for the local economy.
Curtis Foltz, Georgia Ports Authority executive director, spoke about how important the Nordic addition was to our community, and Mayor Edna Jackson remarked on the importance of continued growth.
Following the Nordic announcement, SEDA’s Brynn Grant spoke about recent international developments advanced by World Trade Center Savannah. They seem to have played a valuable role in Hussey, Gay, Bell & DeYoung’s international business development efforts, and the group is talking with other regional businesses about international expansion opportunities as well.
At this point, I couldn’t help but focus my attention on the recent changes made within SEDA. For those who don’t know, the past year has been a transition-on-steroids for SEDA.
Historically, SEDA has operated as a traditional economic development group with real estate deals, bond issuance and tax abatement being their bread and butter. And because they’re good at what they do, business has been good for SEDA. Really good.
SEDA’s traditional business model has led to a substantial annuity-like revenue stream for the organization. Their past successes help fund current operations and initiatives.
In 2010, SEDA could have rested on its laurels and continued down the traditional economic development path. Or they could have widened their net and tried additional approaches to economic development. To their credit, SEDA chose the latter.
SEDA decided more than a year ago to plan for a more diversified, forward-looking business model. Step One: SEDA recruited Weathers, an experienced economic facilitator (ie rain maker) to serve as president. They then promptly tasked Weathers with convincing regional leaders, local politicians and Savannah influencers that additional economic development strategies were worth investigating.
Step Two: Stanford Research Institute was brought in to develop a new growth model. Six months later, the SRI plan was presented to SEDA’s board and the public. SEDA staffers have been advancing this model inside SEDA and throughout the community ever since.
The Stanford plan outlined four key areas for economic development. two of these areas, advanced manufacturing and transportation/logistics, are traditional plays in our region. Both are squarely in SEDA’s wheelhouse and everyone agrees SEDA should stay focused on these core strengths.
Stanford’s other two areas for economic development, specialized business services and digital media (including film and TV), are a bit more of a challenge for SEDA, both in terms of skill sets and public support.
The SRI study provides an objective third-party perspective of Savannah’s assets and greatest job creation opportunities.
Making these two high-wage, high-growth categories become serious economic development engines for our region is the responsibility of our entire community, not just SEDA. Creating, growing and attracting businesses in these categories aligns local job opportunities with the skill sets of our local college graduates and will help us keep more of that talent right here in Savannah.
If we can’t get behind these findings, we’ll miss an enormous opportunity.
2012 marks a brave new world for SEDA, and if the vibe at their June board meeting was any indication, the next few years will be incredibly exciting for Savannah. While traditional economic deals for our region are starting to take form again, the real challenge, and in my opinion the most exciting one, is beginning to take shape.
Can SEDA convince the entire region to adopt these broader strategies?
Can the regional power brokers who were so excited last Tuesday agree to support a more diversified approach to economic development?
I’m betting the answer is yes. If so, this will benefit us all. As a unified community, we can broaden our vision and move Savannah toward a more financially stable ecosystem.
Jake Hodesh is the executive director of The Creative Coast, a not-for-profit organization that promotes the creative and entrepreneurial community within the region. Jake can be reached at 912-447-8457 or jake@thecreativecoast.org.