How the Decatur EDC Helps the Local Business Economy

I recently sat down with Ryan McCrady, president of the Decatur Macon Economic Development Corporation, to talk about everything they do for business and economic growth in our community.

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I recently sat down with Ryan McCrady, president of the Economic Development Corporation (EDC), to talk about everything they do for our local business economy.

As Ryan says, the EDC focuses on non-residential, non-retail economic development. They help businesses here in Decatur/Macon County expand their footprint and help the community retain businesses in the event of things like zoning, workforce, or regulatory issues. They also work on attracting new business to the area to expand the job base and bring new people to the community as well as provide opportunities to the workers here.

The EDC also administers two big initiatives, starting with the Enterprise Zone of Decatur/Macon County. If you operate a business and you're looking to expand or locate a business in the area, there may be incentives they can offer you to do so. As Ryan says, they are administered locally and easy to get your hands. They also oversee the Midwest Inland Port LLC, as well as the community marketing and branding campaign called Limitless Decatur & Macon County.

Ryan added that the staff consists of five people with most tasks coming with an 'all hands on deck' approach so they can do everything possible to get involved and promote the community, grow jobs, and grow the economy overall.

Decatur has a very skilled and loyal workforce.

Just like in our business of real estate, Ryan says that referrals are gold for the EDC. If you or someone you know owns a business and is having some issues, send them Ryan's way and he may be able to help them out.

Economic development can be a mystery to a lot of people, Ryan says. While many people think of it as attracting a business like Chik-fil-A, that's not the whole of it; the whole basis for economic development is job growth and retention. When CEOs want to locate or expand a business, they look at a number of factors.

They start looking at the available workforce, and Decatur scores very high in this category due to a highly skilled and loyal workforce. It's a workforce of more than 500,000 people located within a 45-minute drive. The next factor they focus on is transportation logistics, where Decatur also ranks high. Then, they look at the quality of life, which companies value a lot since they want to attract and retain top talent regardless of the location, which requires a great community. The EDC shows businesses all these great things about our community.

Check out the video above for my full interview with Ryan and all the details about the EDC. If you have any questions, you can reach Ryan at 217-422-9520 or visit DecaturEDC.com to learn more.

As always, give me a call or send me an email with any questions, comments, or concerns you have about real estate or the market here in the Decatur area. We look forward to hearing from you!