Strategies are being developed between a company in Birmingham, Alabama and the Carlsbad Development Department (CDOD) to develop retail businesses in Carlsbad.
Christopher Bontrager, portfolio manager of retail development for Retail Strategies, said the company has spent nearly a year developing real estate prospects to improve retail in the city of Carlsbad.
According to the company’s website, they provide real estate expertise, tools, and human effort that position deserving cities as attractive locations for national businesses.
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Bontrager updated the Eddy County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday on CDOD’s efforts to bring more retail to the community.
He said Retail Strategies has made efforts to learn about the community and the real estate market.
“It’s an endless cycle. We were tracking just over 40 properties,” Bontrager said.
Jeff Campbell, CDOD’s marketing director, said the Retail Strategies study could help stop a sales tax leak in the city of Carlsbad.
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Campbell said Carlsbad businesses lose when residents spend their money in other communities.
“It helps us see where consumer spending is leaving our market. That then gives us an idea of what to recruit commercially, so that we can fill in the gaps,” he said.
“We hope to cultivate a good amount of leads through their efforts. We have already obtained the leak study, which we needed because the last one was carried out in 2011.”
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During his address to the commissioners, Bontrager said about 70 business leads were identified as targets for potential retailers.
“At the moment we have 23 companies that are considering entering the market or they have told us they want to be in Carlsbad,” he said.
Campbell said the two groups were working on potential leads. He said the names of the potential companies cannot yet be released.
District 5 Commissioner Susan Crockett sits on the CDOD Board of Directors and said that every time CDOD conducts a study like the one with Retail Strategies, she uncovers new happenings in the community.
“I look forward to each time you do one of these reports because it is an eye opener. The amount of growth that has taken place at Carlsbad over the past nine years has been tremendous,” she said. .
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Campbell said CDOD was able to secure enough funding for a one-year deal with Retail Strategies.
“We hope we can continue to work with them for years to come as well,” he said.
Mike Smith can be reached at 575-628-5546 or by email at MSmith@currentargus.com or @ArgusMichae on Twitter.
