Industry Growth Initiative Aims To Attract People By CASEY MURPHY, Staff Writer - Tyler Morning Telegraph   |   Nov 29, 2009

It's not just about attracting businesses anymore. The new economy is all about attracting people.

The Industry Growth Initiative, recently formed from the Tyler Leadership Roundtable, details a pyramid of 10 building blocks leading the city to an Innovation Economy, which brings higher-paying jobs, economic growth, job creation and a higher standard of living.

The initiative begins now with the foundation of creating a public/private partnership within the community, is built with nine strategies and is capped off in 20 years with the goal of an Innovation Economy.

Tyler Mayor Barbara Bass said the roundtable, which includes governmental entities and representatives from medical, educational, for-profit and nonprofit organizations, came together to come up with ways to make Tyler a better place and a marketing plan to grow its industry base.

Mayor Bass, City Manager Mark McDaniel and Communications Director Susan Guthrie recently discussed the 85-page draft report with the Tyler Courier-Times--Telegraph editorial board.

McDaniel said plans for 20 years out, which are at the top of the pyramid, are much more long-term, loftier and ambitious but need to be started today.

Beginning at the bottom of the pyramid, which strategies are planned to begin after the foundation of creating a public-private partnership within the community is paved, the building blocks are:

STRATEGY 1: HIGHER EDUCATION

The project calls for capitalizing on Tyler's key strength of higher education.

McDaniel said officials want to brand Tyler as a college town, support efforts to expand magnet schools and accelerate efforts of academic consortium to enhance communication and collaboration.
Mayor Bass said they want to start early to get children college ready and build the pipeline here to have better education opportunities.

Ms. Guthrie said creating a more educated work force would also attract more businesses.

The economic impact of higher education in Tyler, which has The University of Texas at Tyler, Texas College and Tyler Junior College, is dramatically lower than at a major research university, where the economic impact can be as high as $100,000 per student, the study shows. "Tyler's college students only generate $7,500."

STRATEGY 2: HEALTH CARE/BIO-MED

Mayor Bass said the plan would make Tyler more of a medical destination.

McDaniel said they are looking at how to accelerate the impact the medical field has on the community.

He said they need to foster more collaboration between the local hospitals and the city needs to aggressively recruit more medical supply companies.

The project also shows the need to secure additional funding to further clinical, air quality and respiratory research hubs and define and expand residency programs.

The report shows that the $3.11 billion industry supports 25,000 jobs in the Tyler region. The health care sector is the largest industry for employment and economic impact and each Tyler doctor has an economic impact of $1.3 million and supports eight full-time jobs.

STRATEGY 3: TOURISM

McDaniel said they haven't fully explored what they could do in the area of tourism, but the city needs to focus on working with what it has, such as nature trails and sport tourism.

He said they want to establish a local community awareness campaign and market it nationally, instead of just regionally. The Tyler community already has a lot of events; they just need to be marketed more, he added.

The project also plans for providing a springboard and external tax revenue source for other economic development strategies and marketing Tyler to prospective employers and residents.

McDaniel said Tyler is already a regional hub for its medical services and can become that for tourism.

STRATEGY 4: ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT HUB

McDaniel said they want to focus on continuing the downtown revitalization efforts and bring in more arts and culture, which attracts the entrepreneurial/professional class and creates a need for more housing and services. He said that has already been seen in downtown.

McDaniel said they are looking at establishing a boutique hotel with about 150 rooms and a conference meeting space downtown. The project also lists plans such as recruiting new anchors, such as an art incubator, culinary school or arts institute and a farmers market.

STRATEGY 5: LEGAL

The initiative calls for leveraging existing strength in local legal specialization, such as patent cases filed here in federal court from across the nation.

McDaniel said lawyers have a significant impact on the economy, estimated at about $500,000 per year per lawyer.

The plan looks at recruiting office management companies to establish shared office spaces for out-of-town lawyers in town for extended court cases and creating a task force for targeted recruitment of intellectual property legal practices.

STRATEGY 6: RETIREE

Tyler needs to supercharge the recruitment of its retirement community with a national campaign to market its assets, McDaniel said. When people are looking at where to retire, they do extensive research, he added.

A national campaign to draw more retirees here could focus on the community's medical facilities, continuing education opportunities, outdoor recreation and faith-based organizations.

McDaniel said they could launch a university retirement community geared toward retired professors and other college personnel in an area near campus.

"The average retiree's economic impact is more than three times that of a traditional factory job," the report shows.

STRATEGY 7: INFRASTRUCTURE

"Infrastructure is central to economic development" the document states. "To build an innovation economy, entertainment and professional class amenities must be bolstered."

McDaniel said they need to develop and enhance the city's entry points, such as U.S. highways 69 and 271 and Texas Highway 64. Tyler also needs to secure more event venues, expand its trail systems, increase airport services and continue construction of Loop 49, which, when completed, could become another entry way to Tyler.

STRATEGY 8: GRADUATE EDUCATION

Tyler's strongest economic industry opportunities are medicine and education so long-term economic development should focus on these sectors, as well as the legal industry, the report states.

A typical four-year medical school with 100 students has an economic impact of $100 million annually.

McDaniel said Tyler needs to develop more graduate education in the targeted areas of medicine and law, such as developing branches of existing law schools and expanding offered courses at Tyler colleges.

The project also plans for convening a graduate education planning group, commissioning an economic impact study, galvanizing support by establishing a public relations strategy, initiating lobbying efforts and developing a University of Texas at Tyler Honors College.

STRATEGY 9: 21ST CENTURY TRANSPORTATION

McDaniel said the transportation plans contained in the project are looking at 20 years out but certain aspects of it, such as creating a business park around Tyler Regional Pounds Airport, could happen sooner.

"Tyler is well-positioned to expand its transportation infrastructure to state-of-the-art levels in air and rail," the report states.

McDaniel said they will look at increasing airport services and explore high-speed rail opportunities.

Mayor Bass said 15-20 years down the road Tyler needs to be in a position to be a good connection for high-speed rail connecting Dallas to Shreveport.

Although it would be further down the list from other projects, 'that's the kind of thing you plan today," she said.

Ms. Guthrie said Tyler needs to make sure it plans to take advantage of high-speed rail in the future.

The plan also looks at creating a flight training hub and aircraft maintenance center and tying the airport into the rail system.

THE GOAL: INNOVATION ECONOMY

"Twenty years out we have our capstone, which is the innovation economy," McDaniel said. The new economy is about attracting people, not only businesses, he added.

The agrarian economy evolved into the industrial economy, which has now evolved into the innovation economy.

"A high rate of innovation contributes to more intellectual capital, economic growth, job creation and a high standard of living," the report states.