Martinsville-Henry County, Virginia
Community and Economic Development Strategy (2004-2005)
With a combined population of nearly 75,000 people, the
Martinsville-Henry County community is located in the strategic center
of a broader region that includes Roanoke, Virginia to the north, and
North Carolina’s Piedmont Triad and Raleigh-Durham Triangle regions to
the south. Like many of its Southern neighbors, Martinsville and Henry
County’s regional economy had traditionally been supported by the
manufacture of textiles and other non-durable goods. In late 2003,
Market Street was retained by the Martinsville-Henry County Chamber of
Commerce’s Partnership for Economic Growth to develop a short-term and
long-term community and economic development strategy for the area.
As
the national economy shifted from a manufacturing base to one centered
on the information and services sectors, Market Street analyzed the
Martinsville’s area strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to
determine the best means to secure a sustainable, equitable and
profitable future for the area. Partnering with a diverse group of
local constituents in this six-month process, Market Street helped
local officials develop a comprehensive strategy to stabilize and
diversify Martinsville’s existing economy.
Pairing
quantitative research with qualitative input from hundreds of local
stakeholders, Market Street combined analysis from an economic and
demographic profile, a local competitive assessment, and an analysis of
the area’s most viable target business sectors to create a Community
and Economic Development Strategy geared towards short-term growth and
long-term job and income sustainability.
The Strategy addressed the following four goals:
-
Economic Sustainability;
- Education and Workforce Development;
- Leadership, Vision and Community Outlook; and
- Quality of Life.
An
Implementation Plan later
provided local leaders with the tools to begin putting the Strategy
into action. Within two months of the
Strategy’s release, Martinsville
and Henry County’s elected officials agreed to fold their collective
economic development offices into a new public-private economic
development organization with an annual budget of $2 million – double
the community’s previous economic development capacity. The local
business community also stepped up to contribute their time and money
to the new effort.
Market Street was later retained to provide
additional implementation assistance to the community as
Martinsville-Henry County’s new public-private Economic Development
Corporation (EDC) ramped up to full capacity. In addition to assisting
with development of the EDC’s staff structure and crafting of job
descriptions,
Market Street coordinated and attended initial meetings
of the Strategic Implementation Committee and performed ongoing data
analyses of regional economic and demographic trends.
As implementation
progressed, a top-flight, nationally known developer was hired to head
the EDC, which is now fully staffed and housed in completely renovated
offices. Additionally, the local Harvest Foundation announced
grants to help implement several key initiatives of the strategy,
ranging from revitalizing Martinsville’s historic downtown, enhancing
recreational opportunities, and expanding services at the local
business incubator. In the summer 2005, an education and workforce
development plan was also approved to help implement priority
initiatives of that component of the strategy.
A key element of
Market
Street’s strategy was business retention and expansion efforts for
Martinsville-Henry County. The EDC was able to respond quickly to
Hooker Furniture, a local firm of 625 employees, when it said it may
have to close its Martinsville facility. The programs for capital
expansion and employee training offered by the EDC ensured that Hooker
would remain in Martinsville.
Another key component of
Market Street’s
strategic recommendations was the effective marketing and branding of
the Martinsville-Henry County region, especially in relation to tourism
and business attraction. The EDC subsequently completed a full re-branding
of the Martinsville-Henry County community, accompanied by the launch
of a tourism-specific website and other promotional materials.