From the February 13 print edition
West Sacramento Hires Austin Firm for City Makeover
Mike McCarthy
Staff Writer
West Sacramento has hired an Austin, Texas-based consultant to help the city craft an economic development strategy over the next six months, probably including a focus on ways to encourage job growth by creating an "entrepreneurial culture."The company, AngelouEconomics, has worked with cities across the United States on similar projects, and has a strong background in working with communities to attract high-tech companies.
The approach here under the $70,000 city contract includes extensive interviewing of West Sacramento residents and other players to ensure that the end product reflects the wishes -- and attracts the support -- of the whole community.
"For it to be successful, it has to be the community's plan," said Jeff Marcell, Angelou's project manager for West Sacramento's economic development strategy.
West Sacramento has seen accelerating change in recent years, as rundown housing, heavy industry and transportation hubs have been joined by new neighborhoods, infill development, rising interest in the riverfront and continuing revitalization efforts along West Capitol Avenue (see story, Page 3).
Local leaders are trying to hasten the town's make-over. Among other things, they see a need for a high-quality, citywide economic development plan.
"The timing of this plan is critical, because now there is demand for commercial, residential and retail growth here," said Mayor Chris Cabaldon. "We need to decide what we want. We didn't have to do this before, because we were competitive in only a couple of niches."
Texas tech: AngelouEconomics boasts roots in Austin's emergence as a high-tech center. Angelos Angelou, before starting the 8-year-old company, was a key player in the Austin Chamber of Commerce's effort to attract companies to the ambitious city.
The chamber and Angelou claim a large measure of responsibility for luring 400 companies with 70,000 employees to town. Many were high-tech ventures, and the company touts itself as specializing in technology-based economic development.
Angelou devises economic development strategies. It also helps companies such as Dell Computer, Intel Corp. and Oracle Corp. select sites for new facilities, according to Marcell.
Whether West Sacramento will target high-tech growth is an open question; it's up to the city to pick its future, Marcell said. The consultant, which has helped clients as diverse as New Orleans and the Czech Republic develop economic plans, will guide the city for six months while it creates its own scenario for the future.
But one of Marcell's priorities is to get the city to "take responsibility" for making it happen. "If we put together the greatest strategic economic plan and it sits on the shelf, it won't do anybody any good."
To that end, the company will meet with residents to find out what kind of economy the city really wants. "City input is needed so it's not our plan," he said. "We take their vision for what the community wants to be and help them implement it."
Matchmaking: Among its other tasks, Angelou will assess what companies are best suited to West Sacramento. "We'll match target industries with the city," Marcell said. "And show why they are a good match."
Big employers, for instance, may be interested in the 700 acres of space zoned for commercial building development, including light-industrial, said Diane Richards, the city's economic development director.
Finally, Angelou will help the city devise a long-term marketing plan for luring the targeted industries. The whole program will be capped sometime around midyear by a public event to unveil the plan.
Marcell was reticent about predicting the plan's structure. One possibility is a push in town to create an "entrepreneurial culture" -- a civic atmosphere that fosters new business. That's because 70 percent of job growth comes from companies already in a community, often from companies that started there and grew, he said.
"Even the largest companies started small," he said. "There can be a culture where people feel they can create their own businesses."
In such communities, schools, civic leaders and other elements pull together to create that culture. The effort can include mentoring, educational programs and even business incubators, he said. The city now is home to at least one business incubator, the Technology Development Center.
A program to create an entrepreneurial culture would likely target those between the ages of 24 and 45, the slice of the demographic pie most likely to start small businesses, Richards said.
Cabaldon said future development, especially on the waterfront, could attract "creative types," including software designers, who can be crucial to business growth.
Richards said Austin's success came from a mix of nurturing local startups and recruiting national firms.
The interest in nurturing an entrepreneurial culture, including a high-tech and biotech angle, is emerging strongly in cities around the country, said Robert Burress, deputy director of the Sacramento Area Commerce and Trade Organization.
"I don't think we've seen a lot of that in Sacramento," he added. "It might be that West Sacramento is taking a step further than some areas here have done."
The city might find that it's a good fit for just that kind of approach, he added, although creating an atmosphere that lures the entrepreneurial techie type is complicated.
© 2004 American City Business Journals Inc.
© 2007, AngelouEconomics Inc., Technology-based Economic Development Consulting.