Thursday, February 3, 2011

Here's an economic development angle

If you didn't know, Philadelphia-based Reinhold Residential recently sold Peach Alley Court along Poplar Street and Peach Alley to AGM Management, owned by Allen and Gary Segal, also of the Philadelphia area.

The Central Penn Business Journal reported on the transaction in this week's issue. I'd post a link, but you have to be a paid subscriber. I will, however, report on one aspect of the article:

"Elizabethtown's stability also helped persuade the pair to buy the property, Allen Segal said.

"'You got (Elizabethtown College) and good industry there. There is a stable population there. It's not real transient,' he said."

Segal goes on to lavish praise about the historic nature of Peach Alley Court and what makes it stand out as an apartment building. But I'm hung up -- in a good way -- on the comments above.

Here we have a businessman from well outside the community and Lancaster County who recognizes one of the things that makes our town so valuable: We have a stable population that's not transient.

This, in my mind, is a built-in economic development angle that local entrepreneurs need to exploit and take advantage of now. We do an awful lot of teeth gnashing about empty storefronts and a lack of business downtown -- and here's one more way we can find creative ways for economic development.

So let's get some solid business plans written and the investment capital flowing!

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