Summertime. and we all scream for ice scream! Enjoy the pleasant summer weather for events and activities as communities draw visitors to parks, greenways, town greens and recreational places. How can you turn your assets into an economic development opportunity? See the five things below your community can do to grow tourism.
5 Things to Grow Tourism
- Emphasize a “second place” for visitors to linger longer, such as a downtown, farmer’s market, brewery or other place to shop. Connect the dots through maps and visitor information guides. Post weekend itineraries.
- Seasonal and holiday themed events bring residents and visitors. There are dozens of opportunities throughout the year, get creative!
- Bring the food & drink through attracting a café, restaurants, street carts and food trucks. Many types and varieties of food and drink choices only enhance the experience and draw more customers – don’t let existing operators discourage competition.
- Add music! A hired band, high school music students, a D.J. or street musicians. Folks gravitate toward sound when visiting your downtown or venue.
- Got lodging? It doesn’t have to be a hotel – an inn, bed & breakfast or short-term rentals such as Airbnb or VRBO provide unique options. Need a policy? View this link for a useful toolkit
FEATURED ARTICLE
History in the Making – Dillon, SC
While many of the major metro regions of the Carolinas are enjoying robust growth, our rural communities in between these metros often struggle to find their place in the new economy. Dillon is located on interstate 95 and its most notable claim to fame is the road stop “South of the Border” given it’s location as the first exit in South Carolina for travelers headed south toward the beaches and Florida.
However, what it may not be known for is its unique downtown, a stop on the Amtrak route, and rich history. The downtown boasts a number of historic homes and buildings, including the Dillon County Courthouse. And it has a number of murals that create an artistic scavenger hunt. Back on the interstate, hotels dot the landscape and it is home to South Carolina’s second and only other inland port (Greer is the other one), bringing jobs and manufacturing and logistics operations to this Pee Dee Region. This together with a growing number of recreational amenities make Dillon a great place to live and work. Worthy of a visit when passing through! We were honored to assist them (see below). Check it out here: City of Dillon
News and Events
The latest – folks are back to the office, well mostly.
According to the latest report from Kastle’s Weekly Office Barometer, last week, average occupancy among the Barometer’s Class A+ buildings was 72% and Class A+ peak day occupancy reached 87.1% last Tuesday. They provide insights from this subset of over 100 buildings within the Barometer dataset, which have been categorized as Class A+.
Luminaries Podcast
Episode #4 of our podcast series continues with leading economic development professionals! We had a great conversation with Jenn Bosser, CEcD the President of Iredell County Economic Development Corporation about the explosive growth in this county. See all the episodes here. Next up: Episode #5 with Dr. Lexi Lain about the economic benefits of healthy communities.
CityVision 2025
Rose Associates was a sponsor this year for this annual event in Greenville, NC hosted by the North Carolina League of Municipalities. Quite a few takeaways from the conference, including some cool “SWAG” – was great to visit with the attending communities and share information.
2025 NC-CCIM Chapter Charlotte Market Forecast
Kathleen Rose was a featured speaker and moderator at the NC-CCIM Chapter Charlotte Market Forecast. She highlighted the generational impacts on real estate markets. The panel featured the Charlotte Regional Alliance and industry contributors on office, industrial and retail markets in the Charlotte region.
Find Us Now on SubStack
In addition to our social media page on LinkedIn, we have ventured into Substack. This media platform is for writers, creators and storytellers. Here we are going to tell the stories of our clients – current and past – and how they are building prosperity and improving quality of life. We begin with our own story…
PROSPERITY BUILDER SCORECARD
Prosperity Builder Scorecard™ is a tool we developed in collecting demographic and economic data and evaluating quality of life for attracting talent and investment, and other policy priorities. Get your overall score and a score for each of 12 categories. For more information on how the scorecard works and details on each category, send a note to: info@roseassociates.com and be sure to put SCORECARD in the subject line!
WHERE IN THE CAROLINAS ARE WE?
We have been busy! Whether real estate or economic development related, Rose Associates’ continued work with communities across the Carolinas is focused on one goal – Building Prosperity and Curating Quality of Life:
- Dillon, SC ~ Market & Development Strategy (complete & being implemented – including investment in 5 downtown buildings!).
- Pender County, NC ~ Market Analysis and Prosperity Builder Scorecard to support the County Comprehensive Plan.
- Mebane, NC – Community Needs Assessment to support Mebane Comprehensive Plan.
- New Hanover County, NC – Market Analysis & Development Strategy to support the County Comprehensive Plan.
- Rolesville, NC – Economic Development Plan Update to support the Rolesville Comprehensive Plan.
- Lillington, NC – Market, Economic & Land Use Strategies to support the Lillington Land Use Plan Update.
- SAGA/Lee County, NC – Prosperity Builder Scorecard to support regional Economic Development Organization.
Farmland loss due to development is a growing concern for many rural communities. Iredell County, NC ranked 38th in the nation for farmland loss. In 2023 we assisted in developing land use policies and economic development strategies to preserve their farmland while continuing to expand jobs and tourism opportunities. See it here in their adopted 2045 Horizon Plan.
How Can We Help?
Do you have a problem you need to tackle or help to implement a plan in 2025?
With 35 years of experience and expertise in real estate and economic development, we can help make decisions that will expand your fiscal performance and get closer to your vision. Need help with implementation? We provide fractional services for real estate and/or economic development to fill the gap until you hire new staff.
Reach out to Kathleen at krose@roseassociates.com if your community wants to know more and put “Help” in the subject line.
Need a speaker for your next podcast/event on real estate and/or economic development?
Kathleen Rose, CCIM, CRE® our subject matter expert can deliver engaging, insightful and informative insights that bring value to your event or organization.
