In this episode, Devin talks through a topic he's passionate about - activating your real estate for economic development purposes. A community's land is one of its most precious assets, and if you don't take control of its future then someone sure as heck will. We explore how to break down the steps to real estate activation through a simple process and bring some order to the chaos. So let's roll up our sleeves, get down and dirty, and discuss some actionable steps to tackling real estate in economic development.

Here's some resources for those interested in learning more (see Site Selectors Are People, Too | Devin Hillsdon-Smith (podbean.com) if your app doesn't show links):

• National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP)
• Urban Land Institute (ULI)
• The Counselors of Real Estate (CRE)
• CCIM Institute
• Journal of Property Investment & Finance
• An Overview of DMAIC for Beginners
• Measuring Commercial Real Estate's Impact
• Understanding the Real Estate Development Process (& 4 Ways to Scale)
• Real Estate Development Timeline: The Complete Developer’s Guide
• Real Estate Development Process
• Real Estate Development Crash Course: The Development Process in 7-Minutes

Stories from the Road, a miniseries within the podcast, features the people behind the profession in the communities Devin visits and within his network of esteemed misfits.

In this installment of the miniseries, Devin is joined by Keith Gillenwater, the president & CEO of The Enterprise Group of Jackson in Michigan. We discuss what it's like as an economic developer to land in a new community and how to host a top tier familiarization (FAM) tour for site selectors.

Keith can be reached at:

keith@enterprisegroup.org

(517) 788-4456

Stories from the Road, a miniseries within the podcast, features the people behind the profession in the communities Devin visits and within his network of esteemed misfits.

In this installment of the miniseries, Devin is joined by Jonathan Sackett, head of marketing and communications at the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership.

How do economic development professionals market their communities? How do you create a compelling brand for a community? Tune in to find out and much, much more.

If you enjoyed this episode, you're in luck - this is Part 2 of 2 of a much larger conversation! Go check out Part 1 on The NEI Pioneer Podcast and follow them here: Podcast | Pioneer Starts Here