the leasing office tied in between the residential and the commercial side, those developers, the property managers are able to curate an experience,” Fairman notes. “They know the demographic that they’re trying to bring on the residential side, and they target businesses that are supporting that demographic. Now you have a community that really is cohesive.” A THREE-PILLAR ECONOMIC VISION Westfield’s economic development strategy rests on three distinct pillars designed to diversify revenue beyond residential property taxes.“Grand Park is this 400-acre campus that no other community, quite frankly in the world, can offer a business,” Mayor Willis states. “It’s a testing ground; it’s a proving ground for products. So, we’re very, very focused on bringing in businesses in the business of sports.” The city plans to have an incubator within Grand Park to create an ecosystem around sports innovation, attracting companies developing products and services for the athletics industry. The second pillar targets the downtown with shops, restaurants, and small businesses. “Right now, we have nobody working downtown.Very few people live downtown,” the mayor says. “So, we’re trying to create more walkability and 24/7/365 in our downtown.” The third pillar focuses on high-tech manufacturing. NorthPoint, an established industrial park, has nearly reached capacity with only a few parcels remaining. NorthPoint II, a new 170-acre campus approved after Mayor Willis took office, will accommodate corporate campuses and single-site manufacturing aligned with the city’s vision. “We don’t want dirty industrial manufacturing in our city, but when you look at medical devices, you look at life sciences, food, there’s a lot of industries out there that do high tech, clean manufacturing,” the mayor explains. Westfield employs targeted incentive strategies including tax increment financing and abatements for qualifying projects. “We are open for business and we will use every tool in our toolbox to get the 208 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 11
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