During the past four years Blue Springs has witnessed a change that has fostered growth and investment, much of which has been the outcome of work done in collaboration with the Blue Springs Economic Development Corporation, www.bluespringsedc.com.
The EDC has long viewed nurturing growth and development in Blue Springs like the steps in building a layer cake.
The foundation layer was laid with the community’s decision in 2004 to create a public and private membership investment organization that created collaboration between the city, Blue Springs Chamber of Commerce, Blue Springs School District and a broad cross-section of the business community.
Addressing both our challenges and opportunities builds as we lay down each progressive layer of development, redevelopment and investment, just like a layer cake.
Since the EDC’s creation in 2005, its board and membership have directed staff’s work to address the basics of growth and investment … focus on redevelopment in the major transportation corridors throughout Blue Springs that address attracting and supporting more retail choices for local residents.
These key priority focus areas have accomplished many goals, including reducing vacancies, addressing blight and deterioration, enhancing quality of life, and perhaps most importantly keeping the tax dollars of local residents working in Blue Springs rather than in our neighboring communities.
Blue Springs is in the midst of a renaissance of new investment, development and redevelopment advancing throughout every major transportation corridor in our community, which today represents over 1.8 million square feet of new retail and restaurants either just completed, announced, planned or now underway.
Telling the story of Blue Springs renaissance regionally and nationally has been centered on promoting our growth, investment momentum and the transformation we’ve just begun. The EDC has developed a new promotional theme: Think…Believe…Do, which reflects this renaissance by combining strategic thinking, an attitude of optimism, and seizing opportunity to direct our future growth and investment momentum.
Think. The leadership among key stakeholder organizations from throughout Blue Springs are working in partnership with the EDC to target new growth opportunities and supporting strategies that will help our existing businesses; create new growth strategies that will attract new and compatible employers to the community, and advocating for high value development opportunities.
The EDC has been building relationships with regional and statewide partners and allies so that they Think of Blue Springs when they are asked to refer companies and development projects to consider communities to locate a new development, company or investment.
