Wednesday, April 06, 2005
The Scripps Saga in Florida continues, and it is an good lesson of how not to move ahead with a big project.
The governor has insisted that any site must be big...100 acres for Scripps plus the ability to draw 8 million square feet of development. That's enough space to fill eight regional shopping malls. Scripps has selected a site, but that choice has triggered environmental law suits.
According to one commentator: "An institution renowned for its research apparently did next to nothing to check out the problems at the site." (They discovered that Florida has wetlands.)
Now the county wants to find an insurance company that will cover its construction costs in the event that a court orders them to tear down the Scripps headquarters building. Read more.
The chaos surrounding Scripps comes in a large part from the way the governor rushed the process. Palm Beach responded to the pressure to build on a pre-determined site (Mecca Farms). The land grab has turned into a mess.
posted by Ed Morrison |
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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.
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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
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