Bernardi
Long effort pays off with more jobs
When Gov. Nathan Deal announced last week that Bed Bath & Beyond will locate a regional online distribution center in Jackson County, more than five months of local effort finally paid off.
Jackson County stands to gain 900 jobs over the next four years, but landing that big of a project began with a routine inquiry back in June.
“They came to us through the State Department of Economic Development,” recalled Courtney Bernardi, who as the Jackson County Area Chamber of Commerce’s director of economic development, works point for the county’s efforts at attracting new industry.
All Bernardi learned initially was that the state project named “June” required a building of 800,000 square feet. There were three available at the time — the Rooker building in Commerce, the Progressive Lighting building at Park 85 in Braselton and the Spectrum Brands building in Walnut Fork Industrial Park. Bernardi submitted all of those to the state.
Then the company made unannounced site visits.
“They liked the area enough and said we made it to the next round,” Bernardi recalled. The company did not indicate which of the three Jackson buildings it preferred.
The next step was for Bernardi to complete a request for information (RFI) relating to demographics, employment, transportation… “anything and everything they wanted to know about our community, I completed and sent it back,” she said. “It’s a pretty in-depth process. You may have to pull topo maps, find traffic counts — each project is different.”
She forwarded the information to the state, which sent it to the consultant working for the company. Bernardi did not deal directly with the company.
“I have yet to deal with the company face to face,” she acknowledged.
The county, she estimated, was competing with locations in five other states at this point.
At the beginning of September, Bernardi learned that Jackson County had made it to the final three in the company’s process of elimination.
“They’ll follow up with a few more requests for information that they want, or clarification they need,” she said. “Once you reach the short list, that’s when they start talking about incentives.”
That discussion fell to the Industrial Development Authority.
“We have to get information from them, on their investment, their wage data, the number of employees or new hires,” Bernardi said. “Based on that, Scott (Martin, IDA chairman) and his team make a proposal.”
The IDA made its offer in September. Following negotiations, Bed Bath & Beyond announced that Jackson County’s Spectrum Brands building would become its e-fulfillment center and asked for a formal IDA vote.
“These projects can take years,” Bernardi pointed out. “This was lengthy, but there are some that take two years or longer. For sure, it’s not something that happens overnight.”
More often than not, the project does not locate in Jackson County. It may go to another Georgia location, head for another state or simply go on hold as a company reconsiders whether it wants to make a move.
“The economy has caused a lot of other delays,” Bernard said. “Companies are doing a lot more research and due diligence than they were five years ago.”
At the Nov. 18 meeting of the chamber’s directors, Bernardi reported that Jackson County had 43 “open” projects. Of those, she said last week, there are “probably at least three I think we have a good chance at. We will be as competitive as we can possibly be.”
“They came to us through the State Department of Economic Development,” recalled Courtney Bernardi, who as the Jackson County Area Chamber of Commerce’s director of economic development, works point for the county’s efforts at attracting new industry.
All Bernardi learned initially was that the state project named “June” required a building of 800,000 square feet. There were three available at the time — the Rooker building in Commerce, the Progressive Lighting building at Park 85 in Braselton and the Spectrum Brands building in Walnut Fork Industrial Park. Bernardi submitted all of those to the state.
Then the company made unannounced site visits.
“They liked the area enough and said we made it to the next round,” Bernardi recalled. The company did not indicate which of the three Jackson buildings it preferred.
The next step was for Bernardi to complete a request for information (RFI) relating to demographics, employment, transportation… “anything and everything they wanted to know about our community, I completed and sent it back,” she said. “It’s a pretty in-depth process. You may have to pull topo maps, find traffic counts — each project is different.”
She forwarded the information to the state, which sent it to the consultant working for the company. Bernardi did not deal directly with the company.
“I have yet to deal with the company face to face,” she acknowledged.
The county, she estimated, was competing with locations in five other states at this point.
At the beginning of September, Bernardi learned that Jackson County had made it to the final three in the company’s process of elimination.
“They’ll follow up with a few more requests for information that they want, or clarification they need,” she said. “Once you reach the short list, that’s when they start talking about incentives.”
That discussion fell to the Industrial Development Authority.
“We have to get information from them, on their investment, their wage data, the number of employees or new hires,” Bernardi said. “Based on that, Scott (Martin, IDA chairman) and his team make a proposal.”
The IDA made its offer in September. Following negotiations, Bed Bath & Beyond announced that Jackson County’s Spectrum Brands building would become its e-fulfillment center and asked for a formal IDA vote.
“These projects can take years,” Bernardi pointed out. “This was lengthy, but there are some that take two years or longer. For sure, it’s not something that happens overnight.”
More often than not, the project does not locate in Jackson County. It may go to another Georgia location, head for another state or simply go on hold as a company reconsiders whether it wants to make a move.
“The economy has caused a lot of other delays,” Bernard said. “Companies are doing a lot more research and due diligence than they were five years ago.”
At the Nov. 18 meeting of the chamber’s directors, Bernardi reported that Jackson County had 43 “open” projects. Of those, she said last week, there are “probably at least three I think we have a good chance at. We will be as competitive as we can possibly be.”
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