By: Amy Liu and Richard Shearer
Via: The New Republic

It’s game day. Kentucky’s two largest metro areas face off tonight as the University of Louisville Cardinals and the University of Kentucky Wildcats, of Lexington, go head-to-head in New Orleans in the final showdown before Monday’s NCAA championship game.

As this legendary rivalry reaches its boiling point this weekend, you won’t see a punch fly between Mayor Fischer of Louisville and Mayor Gray of Lexington. Instead, behind their playful wager and exchange of good-luck bourbon and IPA, these two mayors and their metros are acting in stark contrast to their teams’ fierce on-court competition. Louisville and Lexington are collaborating to compete economically.

Fischer and Gray are two former-businessmen-turned-mayors who took office right at the tail of the recession. Both inherently understood that rising competition abroad required them to act boldly to innovate and grow jobs at home. It didn’t take long for these two entrepreneurial mayors to look across Interstate 64 and recognize the opportunity to bring their metro areas together in ways that will put their combined region – and assets – on the global map.

Last summer, these mayors, with their high-caliber private and public sector partners, launched the Bluegrass Economic Advancement Movement (BEAM), an effort to create a metro business plan for growth that will unify and leverage their common markets assets – such as manufacturing, university innovation, transportation/logistics – to boost the economic prospects of their two metros. To demonstrate their commitment to an historic alliance, the mayors jointly appointed Jim Host as chairman of BEAM, an influential statesman and Lexington businessman who chaired the Louisville Arena Authority.

Lexington, Louisville, and the surrounding counties represent a mega region of over 1.9 million people, roughly the size of Las Vegas, NV. Encompassing 22 counties, including the four southern Indiana counties in the Louisville metro, the BEAM region comprises roughly half of the commonwealth’s population, jobs, and economy. This makes the BEAM effort of vital importance not only to the economic prosperity of the two metros but the entire commonwealth.

To date, the region has been hard at work undertaking a rigorous market analysis of the strengths and opportunities facing their two metro areas and adjoining counties. The Bluegrass region boasts over 100,000 manufacturing jobs, anchored by global giants like GE, Ford, and Toyota. Both metro areas benefit from the UPS Air headquarters in Louisville, which provides an easy port of entry to the world for area firms and travelers. Both these assets may explain why both Louisville and Lexington are major exporters, besting the nation on their share of economic output generated by exports. And the presence of both University of Kentucky and University of Louisville helps the region attract talent, especially among skilled immigrants.

But the challenges are clear: Despite these assets, the Bluegrass region has been lagging the nation in economic output and productivity growth, and median household incomes have fallen faster than the national average. This is the right time for a forward-leaning vision and plan of action for making the Louisville-Lexington super region a true hub of manufacturing innovation and growth. Mayor Gray and Mayor Fisher, with their rare leadership and genuine friendship, are the right CEOs to drive this plan forward.

No matter the outcome of tonight’s game, Louisville and Lexington make a winning team.

By: Molly Bryant
Via: The Pampa News

Consultants from TIP Strategies, Inc. unveiled the Pampa Economic Development Corporation’s (PEDC) plan to energize economic growth in Pampa during a meeting yesterday at 3 p.m. at the Pampa Chamber of Commerce.

The plan identifies the vision for Pampa as “the premier destination for the northeastern Panhandle, offering a diversified energy economy, expanded educational opportunities and excellent community assets that will retain and attract a talented workforce.”

“We toured the community several times and went through the Pampa Energy Center, but also went through other sites in the area,” said Tom Stellman, president and CEO of TIP Strategies.

By: Michael J. Coren
Via: Co.EXIST

The best way to give economies a little juice is to get their Internet going faster, and not just because it’s annoying to wait for that YouTube video to load.

Each time a country doubles its broadband speed, economic output increases by 0.3%. That may not sound like much, but for the club of rich countries known as the OECD that’s equivalent to $126 billion every year, or more than 14% of the average annual growth rate of those countries during the last decade.

The findings come from a new study conducted in 33 OECD countries that attempts to quantify the impact of broadband speed. One interpretation of the report is that broadband will become the interstate highways of the 21st century: infrastructure that radically improves the exchange of valuable goods (or services and ideas) leading to explosive economic growth over time.


Governments have certainly thrown their support behind it. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act alone committed the U.S. to invest $7.2 billion, including a “National Broadband Plan” promoting universal access. Globally, the International Telecommunication Union reports about 70 countries have adopted plans to promote broadband Internet access.

But the path might not always be smooth. Patrik Regardh, head of strategic marketing for Ericsson, pointed out that broadband would have direct effects (infrastructure investments to build out the wires or wireless), as well as the far larger indirect effects by creating the foundation for new ways of doing business.

Broadband has already created new sectors and redefined (or destroyed) old ones. The music industry, which after years of sales decline as it adopted digital distribution models, is growing again with new players and entirely new ways to deliver and share music online. As broadband becomes ubiquitous, and faster, everything from retail to government services may find ways to reinvent itself, especially in knowledge-based sectors where such speed and efficiency can enhance competitiveness.

“Sectors of society will increasingly base value creation and stakeholder interactions on digital infrastructure [as] this opens up possibilities for more advanced online services, smarter utility services, e-health, telecommuting, and tele-presence,” says Regardh. “All [are] dependent on high-performing broadband networks.”


But this isn’t true for everyone right now. Developing countries, as well as industries less reliant on the digital economy, are unlikely to see the large jumps in productivity that are driving growth elsewhere. For now, simply expanding Internet access, rather than improving speed, gets better bang for the buck in terms of economic growth.

Still, the broadband connection is generally seen as an economic boom once it arrives. The Public Policy Institute of California also found a positive correlation between broadband expansion and economic growth. The strongest effects (verging on causation) were for information technology reliant industries and in sparsely populated regions.

Don’t expect to see your paycheck rise once broadband arrives. Most California residents did not see direct benefits from expanding broadband, as average wages and the employment rate were unaffected. But when looking economy wide, faster gigabytes do seem to give GDP a boost.

Ericsson, which would [sic] to build some of that hardware for the broadband future, sees the benefits only becoming clear in hindsight. “In 20 years, we are likely to see and fully comprehend the importance of digital highways as we currently understand the importance of the interstate highway system,” says Regardh.

By: William Pentland
Via: Forbes

Say what you will about the benefits of clean energy or the costs of pollution, the jury has returned an unambiguous verdict on the greening of the commercial real-estate market. The niche has become mainstream. Anyone who says green buildings, which are certified by third-party verifiers as demonstrating superior environmental performance and resource efficiency, are “boutique” has not been paying attention.

The commercial buildings sector boasts the most explosive growth in green building. In 2010, a third of all new commercial construction was green, amounting to a $54 billion market for commercial green buildings. By 2015, green buildings in the commercial sector are expected to triple, accounting for $120 billion to $145 billion in new construction and $14 billion to $18 billion in major retrofit and renovation projects.

But not all commercial buildings are the same. For all practical purposes, there are three classes of commercial buildings – Class A, Class B and Class C. These classifications are commonly used as a proxy for a building’s ability to attract high-value tenants.

While there is no standard definition for what qualifies as Class A, Class B and Class C commercial buildings, the Building Owners and Managers Association suggests considering the following criteria when classifying commercial buildings:

Class A: Most prestigious buildings competing for premier office users with rents above average for the area. Buildings have high quality standard finishes, state of the art systems, exceptional accessibility and a definite market presence.

Class B: Buildings competing for a wide range of users with rents in the average range for the area. Building finishes are fair to good for the area. Building finishes are fair to good for the area and systems are adequate, but the building does not compete with Class A at the same price.

Class C: Buildings competing for tenants requiring functional space at rents below the average for the area.

In other words, Class A buildings are the most desirable and Class C buildings are the least desirable from the typical tenant’s perspective. Greater desirability means more money. It turns out Class A is where the green paradigm has achieved the deepest penetration.

“Green building is fundamentally altering real estate market dynamics – the nature of the product demanded by tenants, constructed by developers, required by governments and favored by capital providers,” according to RREEF Research. “The upshot will be a redefinition of what constitutes Class A properties and even institutional-quality real estate.”

The predicted “upshot” is rapidly becoming a reality in Manhattan‘s commercial real-estate markets, which is dominated by Class A properties. In Manhattan, Class A office buildings account for 61% of the total market. Class B buildings make up 26% of the market and Class C accounts for the remaining 13%, according to Cushman & Wakefield.

While stricter government regulation may ultimately make green buildings the de-facto standard for new and renovated buildings in the future, tenant demand is the primary reason why green buildings are becoming mainstream in today’s Class A commercial real-estate market.

“At Hines, we specialize in Class A space, and we’ve reached the point where clients don’t think it’s Class A unless it’s green,” said Jerry Lea, the Executive Vice President of the real-estate investment and management firm.

Many tenants are willing to pay a premium for space in green buildings because of the lower operating costs, higher worker productivity and reputational benefits associated with the superior environmental performance of green buildings.

If the past presages the future, today’s green buildings market is chump change compared to the opportunity likely to come down the pike over the next decade. To put the scale in perspective, in 1995, the total floorspace of U.S. commercial buildings – 58.8 billion square feet of floorspace – exceeded the total area of the State of Delaware and amounted to more than 200 square feet for every U.S. resident.

Talk about a sea of green.

By: Becca Aaronson
Via: The Texas Tribune

In late 2009, when Texas was at its lowest employment total during the the recession, the state had lost more than 400,000 jobs. But since then, Texas has regained nearly 500,000 jobs and began 2012 with the highest employment total in its history.

There are 10.7 million people who currently work in Texas, but nearly 1 million more are still unemployed. Although the unemployment rate has dropped, at 7.3 percent, there’s still room to improve.

The interactive below explores how the Texas economy has changed over the last four years. Use the graph to see how each major industry has fared. You can also compare how industries have changed by using the “command” key on a Mac or the “control” key on a PC to select more than one industry.

Below the graph is a map showing the January 2012 unemployment rate in Texas’ largest metropolitan areas. If you click on a region, details about that region’s economy will pop up in the table below. [click image to view the original interactive version at The Texas Tribune]

Source: Texas Workforce Commission, Texas Labor Market Review Feb. 2012

U.S. 19 construction may bring change for area businesses

By: Trevor Pettiford , Reporter
Via: Bay News 9


As work on the 6.2 mile stretch of U.S. 19 in Clearwater hits the midpoint of construction, developers are looking for feedback from business owners and residents along the busy strip.


CLEARWATER – U.S. Highway 19 in Clearwater has been even busier of late with construction taking place along the roadway.

As work on the 6.2 mile stretch of the roadway in Clearwater from Belleair Road north to Curlew Road hits the midpoint of construction, developers are looking for feedback from business owners and residents along the busy strip.

Today, meetings are being held where residents, drivers and business owners can offer opinions and options.

Developers have said many of the businesses may have to relocate somewhere else on 19 where retailers could be grouped together.

Recommendations will address the future of property fronting directly on US 19 and property with long-term development potential within a half-mile of the corridor. The study will also consider the future of sites located in the area defined by U.S. 19, Gulf to Bay Boulevard, Drew Street, and North McMullen Booth Road.

“I would hope that they’d put…like a billboard, stuff like that, that people would still be able to see the business when they drive on 19,” said Nancy Pisaie, who owns the A&N Italian Deli located on the roadway. “Because otherwise, there would be a wall from 19 into the shopping centers and they wouldn’t be able to even see us anymore.”

The heavily traveled road is transitioning into more of a highway with less access to businesses along the corridor. Planning and Development Director Michael Delk said businesses will have to transition as well.

“Due to the changes in the roadway, some properties may not be sustainable anymore in terms of the kind of retail focus that they’ve had in the past,” Delk said. “And so what we’re trying to do through the study in this work is to provide options and opportunities for those property owners.”

The changes could mean shops like Nancy’s may have to move to a new location along 19 where retailers may be congregated. That idea, along with others, will be a part of today’s discussion.

U.S. 19 Highway construction TIMELINE

Focus groups will be held to discuss the plan. Each will be geared toward specific participant groups, although the public is welcome to attend any of the following:

Auto Dealerships: March 13 8:30 to 9:30 a.m., Grimaldis Pizzeria, 27001 US Hwy. 19 N
Retailers & Offices: March 13 2 to 3 p.m., Celebration Station, 24546 US Hwy. 19 N.
Neighborhood Association Leaders and Multi-Family Property Managers: March 13 5:30 to 7 p.m., Countryside Recreation Center, 2640 Sabal Springs Dr.
Realtors, Developers and Architects: March 14 8 to 9:30 a.m., UBS Financial Services, 18167 US. Hwy. 19 N #200
Entertainment & Lodging: March 14 2 to 3 p.m., Celebration Station, 24546 US Hwy. 19 N.

The city wants feedback from those who live, work, and travel along the US 19 corridor to help identify problems, offer improvement ideas, and suggest possible solutions.

An online discussion board is available at myUS19plan.com.

Vision emerges for U.S. 19

By: Steve Nichols
via: My Fox Tampa Bay
CLEARWATER – The city of Clearwater wants to take a long, hard look at U.S. 19. Kevin Schauer, general manager of Lenny’s, looks at it every day out the restaurant’s front window.

“We went through three years [of construction] here and we were down probably 25 or 30%,” Schauer said. “A lot of other businesses are suffering or they just go out. No one’s going to get to their place,” he continued.

Over the past several years, Pinellas County’s major north-south spine has been largely transformed into an elevated, limited access expressway.

LINK: U.S. 19 plan

At least another three years of construction remains. But when it is completed, the commercial landscape will be forever changed.

Clearwater officials envision turning 6.2 miles of U.S. 19 into a regional employment center.

That will probably involve changing the rules of what can be built and where.

Retail is only one option. “It will be a range of office [buildings], some technology companies, residential, so it could be a mix of uses and hopefully in some cases a mix of all three,” planning director Michael Delk explained.

Noting there are a lot of parcels now sitting vacant, Delk added, “What we want to do is plan for and give those [land owners] an opportunity to successfully redevelop that property to a higher and better use.”

The city has hired a consultant to help write the plan, in part with public input gathered through a new website. Myus19plan.com has a map showing the study area [Belleair Road to Tampa Road], a brief statement of the goal, a series of questions and a place to make comments.

Delk expects to have a U.S. 19 plan in six months. However, it will take many more months to make any changes in Clearwater’s land development regulations, and years more to find out whether they work as hoped.