Page 3 - Murfreesboro, TN Comprehensive Plan: Chapter 7, Economic Development

Economic Development 7.3

DRAFT 12.02.15

low-skilled, asset-poor manufacturing communities, incentives, low taxes and low regulations. For their part,
it no longer applies to places like Murfreesboro that the companies, in pursuit of development predictability,
have many more options available to them. More than will often also welcome a stricter planning regime to
ever before, today’s family/lifestyle-first, talent-driven, help protect their own real estate investments and the
technology-enabled, mobile economy demands more place-quality that their workers increasingly demand.
emphasis on enhancing and preserving place-quality In today’s world then, basic economic development
than the old thinking of development for development’s practice looks largely like good overall planning and
sake. This new reality makes planning and land controls community management practice. It means good:
more important than ever.
transportation, schools, public safety, housing/
EMPLOYEE-FIRST VS. EMPLOYER-DIRECT BUSINESS neighborhood choices, recreation opportunities and
ATTRACTION varied places to shop. It also means a quality public
domain as reflected in attractive streets, an active
Today talent is king, and in its war for mobile, lifestyle- downtown, quality parks and other public infrastructure
focused talent workers, companies are increasingly - in short - all of the things that attract talented people
following the talent as much as the other way around. and the companies that wish to hire (and will follow)
Because of this, communities that want to attract them. Taxes should strive to be reasonable for the public
high-wage companies would be wise to focus first on benefits conferred, rather than the lowest around with a
attracting workers with good public amenities and greater emphasis on value for the tax dollar rather than
services instead of vying for the companies directly just on the cost of taxes.
Barren River Lake using the traditional “slings and arrows” of high

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ROBERTSON £
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MURFREESBORO AIRPORT
§ ¨ SUMNER MACON GAME CHANGER: REVITALIZING DOWNTOWN Source: City of Murfreesboro
65
“... the city needs to be able
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£
MONTGOMERY £ 31W £ TROUSDALE
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CHEATHAM § ¨ £ £ to attract major corporations
31e
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431
DICKSON DAVIDSON Old Hickory Lake Cordell Hull Reservoir
Cheatham Lake that will invest heavily
£ SMITH
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£
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§ ¨ and create large bases of
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§ ¨ § ¨
40
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440
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£ £ § ¨ £ operation. Bringing the city’s
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§ ¨ J. Percy Priest Lake £
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§ ¨ £ WILSON
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£ Center Hill Lake downtown into the future can
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DEKALB help with that - increasing
HICKMAN § ¨
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WILLIAMSON public transit, promoting
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the construction of multi-
MAURY CANNON
£ RUTHERFORD
business towers, etc.”
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£ £ £
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MARSHALL £
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BEDFORD COFFEE