No Toyota plant for Chattanooga: Disappointed, but not surprised.
This press release from the Chattanoogan gives disappointing news to Chattanooga- Toyota picked Tupelo, Mississippi as the site of its new plant. The Times Free Press has an article that indicates the official announcement will be given tomorrow, and they will have a full article in tomorrow’s paper.
So, this is pretty disappointing news. But it really comes as no surprise. This blog article from TennesseeTicket.com makes an excellent point.
A megasite doesn’t have to be inhabited by a mega company, in my view. And look at the original(?) Industrial Revolution as an example: entrepreneurship breeds entrepreneurship.
One of the aspects of Chattanooga that I love is the spirit of entrepreneurship that is flowing throughout the city. Downtown’s resurgence has allowed so many small, unique, and wonderful small businesses to flourish. We have been disappointed twice now in the search for that one big savior of a company. Shouldn’t the city start looking for another solution? Is there another solution?
I am looking forward to the Time Free Press article tomorrow.
[tags]Chattanooga, Toyota, Enterprise South, megasite[/tags]
February 27th, 2007 at 7:43 am
Chattanooga has done a great deal to position itself for further growth and I’m glad our team working on this had us in the running for this site selection.
Being a contending city is a huge step for our city and its significance shouldn’t be overlooked. Every day there are hundreds of communities actively vying for the attention of companies expanding or relocating; the fact the Chattanooga was on this particular list is very telling that not only has the site come a long way, but that our state and local government has positioned this region for growth.
As to the notion that they have only been looking for big business - that’s a false presumption – but an understandable one. “Chattanooga considered for Auto Plant” is a better headline than “City considered for Fuel Cell Testing Lab.” Knowing the folks involved who are presenting our community to developers they are merely being selective in the types of industries they want here - and size has little to do with that.
February 27th, 2007 at 6:26 pm
Living in the land of automakers - southeastern Michigan - having the auto industry around does wonders for the economy on the upswing and kills it on the down swing. It’s good and it can be bad. I’m sorry this wasn’t “it” for your city.