Program and Project Selection

Many of the Priority Sites and Priority Projects/Partnerships that appear below represent long-held strategic goals. They have appeared – in some shape or form – in numerous planning efforts that came before this document. These include: prior regional Comprehensive Economic Development Strategies; local, regional, and state Priority Development Area plans and other priority investment areas, such as District Improvement Financing (DIF) and Tax Increment Financing (TIF) designations; and local master plans, economic development plans, Chapter 43D designations, and other incentive and permitting programs.

Additionally, these key sites and initiatives are the subject of regular public presentations to and discussions with the Regional Economic Development Strategy Committee (RESC); they are discussed during regular project scoping and project development meetings with potential partners in the public and private sectors; and – most importantly – they are frequent topics at working sessions between SRPEDD’s senior staff and our colleagues at the U.S. Economic Development Administration.

Moving forward, it is important to note that SRPEDD will also respond to new U.S. EDA recommendations that CEDS documents should be flexible and responsive to changing economic conditions by making room for annual updates, tracking performance measures, and creating direct links to our new EDD web page. In practice, this will mean that, as we achieve goals and new ideas emerge, we will add and subtract from the following priorities to ensure that this CEDS, its subsequent updates, and all its future iterations are as current and nimble as possible.