Saturday, April 17, 2004
Denham Springs is locatedd tothe east of baton Rouge, and its a site of a planned Bass Pro Shops. Although Bass is viewed as a destination retailer, locating a store within a region will give rise to some painful dislocations.
For example, sales tax reveneus in East Baton Rouge parish will go down, while revenues in the more prosperous Livingston Parish will go up. In sum, the Bass Pro Shop development will accelerate a suburban sprawl and leave behind a bigger budget hole.
In contrast to the Denham Springs store, the bass Pro Shops in Bossier City, LA and Oklahoma City are located downtown, and they serve to strengthen the region's core.
Is the Denham Spring project the type of development that deserves subsidies? Not likely.
Some Background on EDPro Weblog
The purpose of this weblog is to help economic development professionals -- EDPros -- keep up with the changes sweeping our profession. Strap on your goggles. It's a whole new game. There are no experts any more. The only place to learn about economic development is from other EDPros who are doing it.
One other point: the prevaling approach (paradigm, if you like) in economic development is shifting from competition to collaboration. There are a lot of reaasons underlying this shift, but here's the important insight: You, your community, and your region will do better by collaborating and sharing information.
If you are using a news reader, here is the link to syndicate this site:
Here's the link if you are a bloglines subscriber:
Speaking and workshops on Open Source Economic Development
As the idea of Open Source Economic Development starts spreading, more people are asking about it. Visit the I-Open web site to learn more. My colleagues and I are happy to explain the basic concepts in a talk or a workshop. E-mail Susan Alshuler if you'd like to learn more about workshops and speaking.
Background on Ed Morrison
Download some background information on me here.
Anatomy of a deal: Bass Pro Shops
