Region at a glance
› 16-county area across three states — Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama› 2010 population of 1.02 million is projected to grow to more than 1.4 million by 2055› Employment of nearly 540,000 persons› Three metropolitan areas — Chattanooga, Cleveland and Dalton, Ga.
Piggybacking off the regional planning efforts of Thrive 2055, a new 16-county job-recruiting initiative has emerged and supporters believe it will bolster the area’s economic growth.
Called the Greater Chattanooga Economic Partnership, it will allow counties in the three-state region around Hamilton County to cooperate in wooing more companies and business to the area, officials said.
“It’s a way to drive economic activity,” said Charles Wood, the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce’s vice president of economic development. “You want your neighbor to be successful, too.”
Gary Farlow, who heads the Cleveland/Bradley County Chamber of Commerce, said companies wanting to build a new plant or open an office are looking regionally anyway.
“We knew we wanted to do something that would kind of pull this region together and market as a region,” he said. “Most industrial prospects don’t recognize political boundaries until you get down to the very last stages and you’re negotiating incentives.”
Rob Bradham, the Greater Dalton, Ga., Chamber of Commerce chief executive, said he helped get Thrive 2055 off the ground while he worked at the Chattanooga Chamber prior to taking his current post. That 40-year, 16-county growth planning effort began about four years ago looking at a variety of factors in the region from transportation to economic development to preserving the environment.
Bradham said there has been some skepticism in Whitfield County about the usefulness of the regional economic development initiative for that area.
“I had to sell a lot of folks in our community it will be OK,” he said. “Let’s give it a shot and see how it works.”
Carl Campbell, who directs the Dalton-Whitfield County Joint Development Authority, said he originally was skeptical about how much activity it would see from a regional economic partnership.
As the partnership has ramped up, he has been pleased so far, he said.
“We’ve gotten looks from projects we wouldn’t otherwise,” Campbell said.
Wood said he expects the effort to increase competition for industrial and business projects in the area because there will be more companies looking at the region.
“It generates more economic activity,” he said. “The goal is more deal flow. This is a way to drive bigger economic activity.”
Bradham said that because Chattanooga is the biggest city in the region, it’s going to receive more leads for projects. But, if there are leads that won’t work in Chattanooga, those can be handed off to Dalton or Cleveland or another location in the 16 counties.
Farlow said that when talking to prospects, it can tout the region’s 1 million population and its labor force of more than 500,000 residents.
“[Companies are] drawing from a wider pool,” he said. “That’s another big thing.”
Farlow said prospects are looking at filling their supply chains and need the legal, financial and other support services available only in other nearby cities or counties.
In Tennessee, the Knoxville and Nashville areas are examples which are using a regional economic development approach already. In developing the new partnership, organizers also looked at muti-governmental arrangements in Cincinnati, Northwest Arkansas and Columbus, Ga.
“Going to [industrial prospects] as a region has more impact than going as Cleveland or Dalton or even Chattanooga,” Farlow said.
The Greater Chattanooga Economic Partnership has set up a pair of advisory panels – one made up of people representing major economic development funding parties and another of professionals in the sector.
The officials said that money raised from the private sector for economic development, such as from Chattanooga’s Can-Do initiative, is used for the regional job-growth effort.
Wood said that no Chattanooga or Hamilton County government money is used to support the regional approach.
Farlow said that smaller counties in the region, which may not have a dedicated economic development staff, are represented by the Southeast Industrial Development Association.
Plans are to put together a series of metrics next year to measure the success of the regional development program, focusing on job growth in the region.
“There will be specific metrics put into place,” Wood said.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.