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<br />Lamar County - Paris Economic Development Plan <br /> <br />Real Estate <br /> <br />There are two basic issues regarding real estate which relate to economic development. The first <br />is the availability of sites or buildings for existing or new primary employers to occupy. The <br />second is housing for the employees of companies expanding or locating to the area. <br /> <br />Real Estate RESEARCHER Community <br />Cost - Availability of industrial sites. 2.5 3.4 <br />Cost - Availability of existing buildings. 2.0 3.1 <br />Cost - Availability of housing for hourly workers. 4.5 4 <br />Cost - Availability of housing for executives. 4 4 <br /> <br />Industrial Sites: <br /> <br />The most important issue relative to economic development is the availability of "improved, <br />approved" real estate upon which a company can construct a facility. Without having a site, a <br />company (new or existing) cannot construct a facility for which it will hire its employees. <br /> <br />"Improved" means the horizontal infrastructure is in place at the site. Basically the land is <br />"building ready." <br /> <br />"Approved" means all zoning issues, which would enable the company to begin construction, <br />have been enacted by local government. <br /> <br />The lack of either improved or approved designation places a cloud of uncertainty on the <br />property and companies will not consider the land as "available" for their purposes. <br />Communities which do not have a supply of industrial real estate have little hope of improving <br />their economy. <br /> <br />Not only is the availability of industrial real estate important, but also is its cost. Communities <br />which have a limited supply of expensive property are at a competitive disadvantage with areas <br />which have comparable locations at a lower price. Communities which have an abundant supply <br />of inexpensive real estate have the greatest competitive advantage. <br /> <br />It is not an accident the strongest local economies have an abundant supply of properties. The <br />Reno-Sparks area, one of the fastest growing economies, has a 5,000 acre park. The Raleigh- <br />Durham North Carolina area, one ofthe best economies in the nation, built itself upon the 7,000 <br />acre Research Triangle Industrial Park. The economic development organization in Amarillo, a <br />direct competitor of Paris, has the financial resources to purchase and develop "as much land as <br />they need." <br /> <br />Paris Economic Development Corporation <br /> <br />Page 17 <br />