Last week I was in 90 degree sunshine in Las Vegas – five days without rain! For the most part, it was a working trip, though. I joined Maple Valley City Manager David Johnston and Bob and Cheryl Castagna representing H&L Properties, to explore the world of The Global Retail Real Estate Convention presented by the International Council of Shopping Centers. David said as first time attendees, we needed to get over the ‘awe’ factor in preparation for next year when we participate at a bit higher level. (David had attended this convention before but this was his very first visit to Las Vegas – there was a bit of an ‘awe’ factor for him, too . . . . ).
The RECON is a huge convention. For example, Westfield Southcenter was competing with malls in Italy, Canada, Australia, and California for the Best-of-the-Best Awards in Design and Development. The convention halls were cavernous and reminded me of jet airplane hangars. 30,000 attendees from retailers, land developers, financial institutions, cities, and property owners were vying for attention to close on big development deals. It was ‘awesome’. I went seeking answers about successful economic development but came home with a lot more questions. One thing is for sure, there are no easy answers regarding development.
A lot of it is the numbers game. The demographics have to be right and sometimes that’s a shell game; there are numerous studies and surveys that come up with sometimes conflicting data. Most developers do agree that a community needs 20,000 day time workers to attract the type of diverse retail people always ask for: the restaurants, the movie theaters, the big store, and the boutique shops - the Kent Station type developments. But to achieve that day time population means attracting employers on a large scale. That hasn’t happened here since before the coal mines closed and the timber and railroad industries died. Successful economic development requires creating real jobs.
And as we heard at the convention, we also live in a changed economic reality. Emerging trends include rising inter-generational living, people moving to smaller cities to gain that sense of self, and technology enabling more telecommuters than transcommuters. Now there’s an opportunity.
That whole idea of telecommuting is something reflected by our Small Business Development Center here in Maple Valley Center. We have two tenants that both had rather long, tedious, daily commutes to work. One of them has cut his daily commute from nearly 3 hours a day to 5 minutes. By being here during the day, Obie adds to our local economy, too. In a typical day he runs errands like dropping off his car for service, visiting the gym, and grabbing lunch at a local deli. As an added bonus, he gets to spend more time with his family. “By telecommuting, I have been able to focus on my work without the distractions of a busy office setting. Our communication technology, like integrated phone, instant messaging and web conferencing allows me to work as if I am sitting next to my colleagues and our Microsoft Dynamics (ERP and CRM) business system gives me access to any information I need to perform my daily tasks from anywhere. As a result, I get more done in less time. As an added bonus, staying off the road gives me more time at home and I am saving almost $200 per month on fuel.”
How cool is that? Personally, I know the absolute joy of being able to live and work in my community. Losing all that commute time freed up me and Bill to attend school activities with the boys, get involved in local organizations and connect strongly to our local businesses.
Telecommuting harkens back to the Chamber’s motto in 2005 – Live here, work here, play here. As board president, Gary LaSala of JR Hayes embraced that phrase used by a local realtor. How can we make that possible for more of us while balancing our quality of life with successful economic development? As a member of the City of Maple Valley’s new Economic Development Committee under the leadership of the city manager, I look forward to exploring the possibilities.
In the meantime, if you are a candidate for telecommuting or if you are thinking of opening a satellite office in this area, call me. We have an office suite waiting for you complete with internet in a professional office environment. We also have a conference room open to any business person that would like to meet with clients in a professional setting close to home. You, too, can live here, work here, and play here.
Added on 06/07/2011
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Exec's Corner by Chamber blog
