The EDC has created a six-step BR&E workplan in an effort to:

• organize a local business inventory

• establish metrics of company visits to be completed

• create a flexible portfolio of business assistance

• develop a virtual response task force

• adopt a business assistance brand (BIZ360°), ultimately leading to the final step of meetings with local executives.

This will enable the EDC to establish strategic local business assistance objectives leading to capital investment and job creation.

• We are developing an analysis to identify business sectors with the greatest potential for the region, in conjunction with our retention program initiative in Priority 1.

• Our goal is to have at least one target market analyzed by the end of the year.

Once we have, we will:

• Integrate research and pro-formas into marketing strategies

• Work with identified foreign markets for direct investment and/or trade with existing companies.

• The One Voice program is underway. The planning for the One Voice DC Fly-in is completed. As of this date, we have 23 participants.

• Speaking engagements have been coordinated with various community organizations. During the month of January, Marty and Christina have spoken to the Farm Bureau Government Affairs Committee, U of I Extension Council and Sunrise Rotary.

• Community Outreach: Marty and Christina have met with directors of the McLean County Urban League, Western Avenue Community Center and the McLean County East India Association. More meetings with various community groups are being planned.

We are currently undertaking several initiatives to make sure our investors are receiving information:

• EDC Public Relations Program – Launched in January ’07. We are communicating at different levels working with the media and getting the word out about what we are doing and what we want to accomplish.

• Investors Roundtable discussion – Our meeting with $50K-plus investors was February 6th at the McLean County Historical Museum.

• The Campaign Operations Committee has met, and we are continuing to follow up on Navigating a New Direction investors who are still interested in investing in our mission.
  

When businesses look to relocate or expand in other communities, a dating game takes place between the company’s decision makers and economic development professionals. Typically, a company will contact several communities with a list of requirements for its project, and the communities will then submit proposals based on available facilities or sites within their jurisdictions. It is a game of give and take; compromises must happen on both sides before any deals actually take place.

At the EDC, site location assistance takes place in a methodological way, but is approached with flexibility for each unique project. We maintain a database of commercial properties using the Location One Information System (LOIS), a public search utility for finding developable sites, and also maintain several in-house databases of our own. Company officials can search through the properties listed on LOIS on their own if they choose, or they may elect to submit a project proposal. When companies would rather have us prepare something for them, an EDC staff member searches for facilities that best match the needs of the company as outlined by the company’s project profile.

The site location process depends on two very important factors: speed and quality information. Companies can be extremely demanding when making site proposals; it has been remarked that companies want all site proposals submitted to them "yesterday." The EDC must maintain up-to-date records of all of its potential development sites and be able to quickly produce professional-grade site proposals on short notice. Currently, the average turnaround time for EDC site proposals is about a half-day. It is the philosophy of the EDC that the best way to garner interest in our community from outsiders is to be able to present useful and well-designed materials and to do so on a moment’s notice. Common features of EDC site proposals include detailed information regarding the property’s size, location and unique features which are supported by GIS-generated plat maps, digital photographs and a personalized cover letter.

The EDC handles a wide variety of site proposals. In one week, we may see proposals asking for more than 1,000 acres of land alongside office space requests that require less than 1,000 square feet. The EDC takes all site proposals seriously, regardless of the company’s size. If you know of a company that would like to move to the area or expand into a new location, the EDC would be happy to help find the perfect site for their business.

Learn more about our building and sites locator

Learn more about AFNI

This building is currently the only industrial building on the local market that has interior rail access. The building was designed with expansion in mind, with loads of space, electric capacity and acreage to grow. Just minutes away from three major regional interstates and right on the Norfolk Southern rail line, this building is waiting for a producer to truly utilize its potential.

Learn more about our building and sites locator

The McLean County Regional Planning Commission, led by Executive Director Paul Russell, performs three basic functions: transportation planning, comprehensive community planning and management of the regional Geographic Information System (MCGIS). It assists local governments with planning for land use and community facilities such as parks, water and sewer. The commission also works with the Illinois Department of Transportation and local governments to coordinate area transportation improvements and other projects that cross jurisdictional boundaries such as the East Side Highway Study and the Redevelopment Plan for the Main Street Corridor.

The commission was created in 1966 to provide transportation planning for the community. It later developed other services, at one time serving as zoning and subdivision administrator for the local governments. However, Russell said that with all the growth occurring, these duties did not leave enough time to devote to long range planning. As a result, the commission was restructured in 1993 to concentrate on long-range planning and related growth issues, while leaving most day-to-day development issues to the local governments.

Presently, the commission is comprised of seven employees and 11 commissioners: three direct representatives from McLean County; two from the City of Bloomington and two from the Town of Normal; and one each from the Unit 5 school district, the District 87 school district, the Bloomington-Normal Airport Authority and the Bloomington-Normal Water Reclamation District. The commission supports orderly growth and development that is consistent with the goals of the local comprehensive plans. It also reports on innovative development practices from around the nation through its Visions newsletter, technical reports, information forums and other public presentations. The commission also has an executive committee comprised of the Commission’s chairman and vice-chairman, the Bloomington and Normal city managers and the county administrator. This committee mainly handles personnel and budgetary issues.

The commission has recently completed updates of several local comprehensive plans, including those of Bloomington and Normal, and is currently working on updating the McLean County Regional Comprehensive Plan. GIS Internet mapping capability was recently developed and made available to the public, and Russell said this has proved to be a very valuable tool for the community. GIS management is one of the commission’s growing services, now comprising nearly half of the staff. The commission is also coordinating with the design consultant and the Main Street planning partners on the Redevelopment Plan for the Main Street Corridor. The Main Street planning partners include the City, Town, Illinois State University, Illinois Wesleyan University and BroMenn Regional Medical Center. In the future, Russell said the commission will likely remain active with both local and regional projects as community leaders seek to effectively plan for the area’s growth and development. He also sees the potential for continued GIS growth as technology advances and new applications are developed.

The EDC values its partnership with the McLean County Regional Planning Commission and has taken advantage of its services, including the GIS mapping system, on a regular basis. In 2006, the EDC sponsored the commission’s community forum featuring guest speaker William Hudnut, former mayor of Indianapolis, who spoke on “How Good Community Planning Can Attract People and Business." The EDC will also be a sponsor of this year’s forum on “Encouraging Mixed-Use Economic Development." This upcoming event is scheduled for 7:00 a.m. on Wednesday, March 7^th at the Doubletree Conference Center in Bloomington and will feature guest speaker, Bryan Powell, a Portland, Ore. developer and attorney with extensive experience in this field.