Megasite Strategies

Thinking about luring a big ED project to your community? Step one is having a ready-to-use site. That was the logic behind a cooperative agreement signed by the states of Alabama and Mississippi a month ago to create a shared megasite for the next major auto project. Now, Georgia is headed down the same path--that is to get a highly competitive megasite to attract the next big deal coming along.

This is what I would call a "systems solution" in economic development. It involves having an integrated strategy to compete that includes a site, pre-approvals for identified site uses, an incentive package defined, and a list of companies that might be looking for the type of "location product" you're offering. It's a smart strategy, provided that you do not go crazy with incentives and approach the deal in a performance-based manner. Remember that it cost Alabama $250 million to land the Hyundai plant. Texas got lucky with the Toyota truck plant, which actually left incentive dollars on the negotiating table.

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