Consultancies to build economic strategy for Pittsylvania County and Danville
Three US consulting firms - Dewberry, Economic Leadership, and Jones Lang LaSalle – have been selected to create a regional economic development plan for Pittsylvania County, the city of Danville, and the Danville Regional Foundation. The aim of the development plan is to grow the amount of well-paying jobs in Danville and Pittsylvania County – which are both in southern Virginia.
Pittsylvania County is located in southern Virginia, and has a population of around 63,000. It borders Danville, an independent city with a population of 43,000. The median household income for Pittsylvania is $43,087 – a fair amount lower than the US median household income of $57,617. The poverty rate – 15.1% – is also 1.1% higher than the US average.
The County and Danville want to bring well-paying and stable jobs to the area, something that rural regions and counties are always eager to do as the world’s megacities siphon up all the ‘good’ jobs. As such, they build economic development plans to attract firms and jobs while building up human capital with training and education programs. Consulting firms are often called in help build plans, crunching numbers and crafting strategy.
Earlier this month, US consulting firms Dewberry, Economic Leadership, and Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) were selected to create a regional economic development plan for Pittsylvania County, the city of Danville, and the Danville Regional Foundation. The consultants will be paid $85,000 for the plan, which will take about a year to complete.
Dewberry is a design and engineering consultancy based in Fairfax, Virginia. Established in 1956, the firm employs over 2,000 professionals across 50 offices nationwide. Economic Leadership is a boutique consulting firm specializing in the development of economic and workforce strategies. The firm is helmed by Ted Abernathy, a seasoned consultant with 35 years’ experience in economic and workforce development. Economic Leadership is based out of Raleigh, NC. The largest of the three is JLL, a Chicago-based investment management and real estate consultancy. The global firm had revenues of $6.8 billion last year, and employs 77,000 worldwide.
In crafting the development strategy, Dewberry will responsible for providing local experience and site assessment, while Economic Leadership will conduct economic assessments. Meanwhile, JLL will be responsible for adding market perspective. Dewberry and Economic Leadership previously provided consulting support to Berry Hill Industrial Park – a project to attract manufacturing to Pittsylvania County.
The strategic plan will provide metrics to gauge success, as well as a communication strategy and executive summary. The plan will also provide clear, actionable steps for the city and county to take in order to optimize economic growth.
The city of Danville and Pittsylvania joined together in contracting a strategy because their economies and fortunes are heavily intertwined – with success and failure flowing to both in equal measure. The ultimate goal of the development plan for both, though, is the growth of well-paying jobs for their communities.
