If you spend time moving around the Village CID area, you will see lots of trucks and trains. Each one makes me smile because, to me they mean good jobs and prosperity. What do you see?
Most of what we consume is produced by others and to reach us they have to travel.
They may start their journey on a boat or a train, at some point there is likely going to be some travel by truck. You may think about traffic congestion because of all the trucks you see lined up on the roads. Does it make you a bit grumpy?
I look at them and see opportunity. Among other things, I see shelves in stores fully stocked and people working to bring you the products you
need. I see manufacturers receiving supplies to create new goods. I know that restaurants will have the fresh ingredients to prepare great meals. But there is so much more that I appreciate and want to share with you.
The Panama Canal has been widened and the bigger ships with more containers are on their way. The Port of Savannah soon will be receiving more cargo than ever and to get ready has been fixing the waterways and adding new cranes. The Georgia DOT has been building road improvements. Railroads have been building capacity; trucking companies have been preparing. Communities that recognize the possibilities are getting ready, too.
I see BIG possibilities for the Gwinnett Village CID! Let me tell you why….
Another piece of the puzzle is where to put everything- where to handle everything and that takes warehouse/distribution facilities. Guess what we have in our area – about 25% of all the w/d facilities in Gwinnett County.
All my life I have heard that real estate success is about Location, Location, Location. Let me tell you – the Gwinnett Village is a GREAT location.
With ready access to both I-85 and I-285 and important arterials like Buford Highway and Jimmy Carter Blvd. as well as Norfolk Southern RR service, we are sitting in a Catbird Seat[i].
The Good News – we have an appetite and an opportunity.
The Rest of the Story – we need land and some infrastructure improvements to ensure that we are as ready as the Port, the RR, and the trucking companies.
So why am I smiling? There are solutions that we can put in place to be a premier area for additional warehouse/distribution activity. We need to transform some outdated properties to allow new facilities to be built. We need to partner with the Counties and State to implement technology to manage the infrastructure we have so it maximizes the effectiveness of our roads. We need to make a few road modifications and open up some new access routes.
Interestingly, some of the road improvements will not only enhance our place in the freight arena but also have the possibility of solving existing transportation challenges.
The redevelopment of some of the land in our District will lay the groundwork for the new facilities we need to take advantage of this growing segment of the economy. As new facilities come on board it means our tax base increases and we have new employment possibilities.
All of this is possible through partnerships and leveraging our CID funds. Is there a role that you can play? How do you see us moving forward?
[i] From Wikipedia – “The catbird seat” is an American English idiomatic phrase used to describe an enviable position, often in terms of having the upper hand or greater advantage in all types of dealings among parties. Term first used by James Thurber in a short story of the same name.
