Economic Development

During the reporting period of June, July, and August, the Economic Development team has continued to move forward on its efforts to help diversify the regional economy. Below are highlights of some of our efforts.

North Star Agency Branding Efforts

Representatives from North Star met with staff on August 29th to present the results of their data collection and research and draft a strategy related to the Visit Greater Palm Springs economic development brand and marketing. The findings represented data gathered through onsite focus groups centered on specific industries, one-on-one interviews, a regional business survey, and out-of-market perception surveys. The data is still being finalized with a summary to follow.  

Next steps include brand creative, development of marketing strategy, and the creation of a dedicated web presence. The anticipated launch for these items is the beginning of 2025.  

ICSC Conference

The International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) Western conference is being held September 23-25 at the Palm Springs Convention Center. ICSC is an organization that hosts shows focused on commercial development. In addition to cities and counties, attendees at ICSC conferences include retailers, hotels, brokers, developers, lenders, and consultants.  

After years of being held in San Diego and Los Angeles, ICSC Western is making its long-awaited return to Greater Palm Springs. This is a great opportunity for valley cities to connect with industry representatives while sharing opportunities and showcasing the region.  

VGPS will be attending the conference and sponsoring the opening night reception (Monday September 23, 5:30-7 p.m.) to connect with attendees and increase awareness of our economic development efforts. The sponsorship includes a dedicated lounge area for hosting that includes a table, a sofa, chairs, and high-top tables. Please join us at the reception and feel free to invite any conference guests to stop by.  

Team CA 

VGPS' Director of Economic Development Sean Smith attended Team California’s “Meet the Consultants” event in Visalia, CA, August 6-8. The event included site selectors, brokers, investors, developers, and other economic development professionals. The presentations by, and discussions with, site selectors were insightful. The information shared will be useful in shaping our business attraction efforts.  

Team California is an organization that facilitates events and coordinates attendance at conferences and trade shows throughout the country to market and position California for business attraction. We are in the process of assessing participation in Team California events planned for fiscal year 2024/25. Here are several takeaways from the conference: 

• Energy supply, workforce shortages, and housing needs are nationwide challenges. 

• The perception of California by many site selectors is the state is the worst for getting projects permitted. They are basing perceptions on the Bay area, Los Angeles, and San Diego – all expensive and challenging areas for development. (We have a more appealing story to share.) 

• Speed to market for a project is a significant factor in choosing a location. CEQA-based litigation is a frequent hinderance to getting projects built in California. 

• California remains the epicenter of innovation with 46,564 patent grants in 2021. (The second most was Texas at 12,294.) 

• Capital is more available in California than most states. 

• Having the Pacific Rim connection is an advantage. 

• Energy supply is such an issue that many site selectors and companies are initiating discussions with energy companies first during site assessment. 

• Quality of place is an important consideration, and California offers an exceptional level.

Site Selectors Guild State Rankings 

CNBC, in collaboration with the Site Selectors Guild, released their 2024 report of the top states for doing business. The rankings can be accessed here.

Based on the average of the various categories taken into consideration, California received a ranking of 23rd overall. The state ranked well in the categories of “Infrastructure,” “Workforce,” “Quality of Life,” and “Technology & Innovation.” However, poor scores in the categories of “Economy,” “Cost of Doing Business,” and “Business Friendliness” brought the overall ranking down. “Cost of Doing Business” and “Business Friendliness” were particularly bad categories for California, with a ranking of 45 and 47 respectively.  

Amateur Sports Complex 

Amateur sports is a fast-growing industry with an increasing number of teams and leagues representing a variety of sports seeking locations for practice, games, and tournaments. Destinations across the country are realizing the positive economic impact of amateur sports and are working to create spaces and facilities to meet the demand.  

Visit Greater Palm Springs and Riverside County recently partnered with Conventions, Sports & Leisure International (CSL) on the completion of a regional feasibility study. The results of the study were very favorable, particularly for a multi-sport indoor facility. The impact of such a facility would be significant for the region given the opportunity for year-round use. It would provide an attractive option for hosting travel sports tournaments while also offering space for local activities.  

We are actively exploring potential locations, partners, and funding mechanisms for a facility. If you have thoughts on potential opportunities and/or would like to discuss the concept in more detail, please reach out to sean@visitgreaterps.com. This would be a significant addition to our valley, and it will certainly require a group effort.  

The Amateur Sports Complex Feasibility Study can be found here (PDF).

Riverside County Economic Development Strategic Plan 

The Riverside County Office of Economic Development initiated a Request for Proposals (RFP) for Economic Development Strategic Plan services. The RFP calls for the creation of a subregional analysis for Greater Palm Springs, thus providing the nine cities and surrounding unincorporated communities with a separate regional economic development strategic plan inclusive of unique goals, objectives, and implementation measures.  

JobsEQ 

Visit Greater Palm Springs has contracted with labor market software platform JobsEQ for access to data related to regional workforce. Workforce availability and development is an area of concern for nearly every industry, and it’s difficult to produce relevant data to assist in addressing it.  

JobsEQ will provide us with the ability to pull information related to existing demand for industries, number of jobs per industry, wage data, academic needs, trends, “what if” analysis to show workforce availability for a potential business, and more. We will be digging into the program over the next several weeks and share findings as appropriate.  

VGPS will gladly assist partner agencies with providing relevant data to support business attraction or project assessment efforts if needed.  

For more information about economic development in the destination, please contact:
Sean Smith
Director of Economic Development
sean@visitgreaterps.com | 760.969.1308