TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Suncoast Pinellas News

Dunedin plans united effort to lure business

ADVERTISEMENT

By Mark  Schantz | The Suncoast News

Published: May 10, 2008

DUNEDIN - Local officials plan to show businesses looking to expand how delightful the city can be.

Last week, the City Commission agreed to try to galvanize public support for an effort to lure desirable retailers to the city in general and the proposed downtown Gateway development in particular.

The Gateway project will be a mixed-use, retail-office commercial center. Construction is slated to be completed in about two years.

Local officials view the Gateway as a commercial anchor at the eastern entrance to the downtown retail and entertainment district. The Gateway will be at the intersection of S.R. 580 and Main Street.

City Manager Robert DiSpirito says the city is working with the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce and other interested parties in developing an economic master plan that would focus on luring desirable businesses.

Wooing the sort of businesses local residents and officials would prefer, Commissioner Deborah Kynes said, would best be served by a concentrated public-private effort. That effort should enlist public support in the form of a letter- and e-mail-writing campaign, she said.

A public outpouring can demonstrate how much community support there is for their business to move to the city, Kynes said.

Kynes has been trying to get a gourmet market into the Gateway project. On a recent trip she visited a store of the California-based Trader Joe's grocery chain and wants one in Dunedin.

She called on residents and anyone interested in luring the trendy gourmet market to write or e-mail the chain, with almost 300 company owned stores in 23 states, and tell them how much support they would garner in Dunedin.

According to its Web site, however, the Trader Joe's chain has no Florida branches and does not plan expansion in the state in the near future. The chain, based in California, has branched out to the Midwest and East and plans to open new groceries as far south as Georgia.

Dunedin commissioners agreed the city would work with the Gateway developer, Ohio-based Pizzuti Solutions, and roll out the red carpet for Trader Joe's officials, showing them how welcoming the town can be.

They also agreed to work with the developer to woo other desired retailers to the complex.

Commissioner Dave Eggers agreed the city should work closely with the Pizzuti in a concentrated marketing effort.

Commissioner Julie Scales would take the marketing effort even further. Everyone interested in the city's economic development should be part of a cohesive effort to create a "branding campaign" for the city, she said

The city, Kynes said, should also utilize webcams, viewed worldwide on the internet, to show off the city's tourist areas.

Staff will look into the possibility as part of the economic master plan, DiSpirito said.

Mark Schantz can be reached at 727-815-1075 or mschantz@suncoastnews.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT