From WCTV
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) — The Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce has packed up and gone north.
The Chamber is visiting Greenville, South Carolina, where it hopes to learn more about how the city has redeveloped economically.
“Everything they do is very intentional,” said Chamber Vice President Jay Revell.
Greenville was once built around the textile industry. But, after decades of careful planning, the city has transformed into a technology hub, attracting manufacturers like BMW to relocate there. That intentional planning is something Revell believes can be done in Tallahassee.
“If you’re very intentional about who you want to be as a community, you can go on to do some very impressive things. And our community has some amazing potential as well,” he said.
Nearly 90 business leaders and elected officials are on the trip, including Mayor John Dailey.
“You go on these trips to learn best practices, to be the best that you can be,” he said.
Dailey said so far, Greenville’s downtown has stuck out to him the most. He noted that careful urban planning was done to revitalize the downtown, which he compares to the city’s five year strategic plan that is currently being developed.
“When we listen to the success stories of other communities, and we are currently doing it or have done it, it helps to remind us that we’re on the right track,” he said.
Both Dailey and Revell agreed that the purpose of the trip is not to replicate what Greenville is, but to learn more about how the city successfully built off its own strengths.
“They’ve shown that with a commitment to your future, with a real inspiration for becoming the best possible version of yourself, you can do amazing things as a community. And that’s what we’re really here to learn about,” said Revell.
The group will return later this week.
