Roswell Economic Development Strategy
Roswell, GA
Roswell, GA has historically served as a high-value bedroom community for the City of Atlanta. Within northern Fulton County, Roswell functioned as a local commercial and residential center well into the 1980's. As the rest of northern Fulton County began seeing increased development by the 1990's, however, Roswell began losing out as new businesses and residents chose newer, neighboring communities. Understanding the benefits of strategic investment and economic diversification, the City retained the services of RKG Associates to complete the City’s first ever Strategic Economic Development Plan.
RKG Associates, in partnership with FOCOM, Inc., prepared a comprehensive analysis of the City’s competitive ability to attract new jobs, current and future opportunities for the City to encourage job creation, and the City’s capacity to implement an overall economic development plan. The effort included a regional cluster and target industry analysis that identifed target business sectors that would have the highest probability of success in Roswell. The plan also addressed workforce readiness, entrepreneurial development and opportunities and barriers to business growth and retention. The effort culminated in an implementation “road map” for the City to succeed in attracting private investment within an extremely vibrant but competitive regional market.
The City began implementing recommendations during the plan development process, including the creation of an external economic development entity, the creation of is Downtown Development Authority, the approval of a mixed-use development in the City’s downtown area, and the complete rewrite of the City’s zoning code. Within days of the project’s completion, publicity surrounding the City's new approach to economic development led several interested property owners and developers to approach the City to explore opportunities.
Image Credit: Shelly Sears Team, Inc.