Community support is the cornerstone of W&A Engineering’ Community Economic Development Program (CEDP). W&A currently serves 28 Georgia communities with economic development services.
Earlier this year, one of our CEDP clients, Kyle Fletcher, reached out to W&A’s economic development team for design assistance. Kyle is the Director of the Thomaston-Upson County Industrial Development Authority, and she had a speculative building in her community in need of “sprucing up.”
The goal of our community economic development program is to utilize our engineering and design expertise to help localities attract and retain job-creating businesses.
Teaming Up with Thomaston with “Electric” Results
To assist Kyle, W&A’s Director of Economic Development, Justin Greer, teamed up with fellow W&A team member & landscape architect, Mary Charles Howard, to create a solution to improve the Thomaston site. The final plan included planting trees and shrubs along the front drive, entrance, and side of the building, as well as highlighting the building entrance with a new paint color.
The newly planted & painted spec building received a grand reveal on Electric Cities of Georgia (ECG) bus tour on May 11, 2016. The ECG group made a stop-over at the building as part of their Middle Georgia Economic Development bus tour.
In attendance to greet the ECG tour group were about 30 Thomaston-Upson County IDA board members, mayor “J.D.” Stallings, and other community leaders. All leaders present spoke to how the project’s location in Thomaston-Upson was critical to its ultimate success.
Kyle Fletcher, IDA
Community Economic Development Program Offers Myriad Rewards
Seeing an idea of our community economic developers rapidly transition from concept to successful completion in the service of a Community Economic Development Program client is one of the most rewarding aspects of our work.
Nothing beats a happy client, and Kyle’s excitement in the completion of the project was apparent in her much-appreciated correspondence to us:
“We are so pleased with the plan you developed and the results made an immediate impact. I look forward to working with W&A Engineering in the future.” – Kyle Fletcher, IDA
If your community is interested in learning more about partnering with W&A Engineering on economic development projects, please contact us today.