Economic Development
FY2023-2024 Accomplishments continued
� The third annual GET ( Garner Entrepreneurs of Tomorrow ) program held their “ Business Pitch ” competition . Students from Garner Magnet and South Garner High Schools presented their business plans to compete for prizes . This program is made possible by a donation from the Garner Economic Development Corporation .
� Participated in the Wake County Site Identification Study to identify suitable areas for future business park development . The study was presented to Town Council in November 2023 .
� Established the Garner Social District , which has been operating since March 1 , 2023 . Four Downtown Businesses sell to-go beverages that can be carried throughout a defined area in Downtown .
� Town of Garner received an award for Best In-fill Development Project for the Garner Recreation Center at the North Carolina Main Street Conference .
� Downtown Garner saw $ 427,231 in investment in FY 2023 , which $ 177,321 in public investment and
$ 250,000 in private investment . � Downtown Garner saw the addition of 3 new full-time jobs and 2 new part-time jobs . � Downtown Garner Association saw 185 volunteer hours contributed to Downtown efforts , valued at
$ 5,524 . � There were 8 Downtown Events in FY 2023 , including 2 Night Markets , 3 Food Truck Rodeos , and 3
Pop-Up Markets .
Performance SMART Objectives & Measures
TARGET
SMART OBJECTIVE
FY25
Conduct 14 Business Retention Visits . # of business retention visits conducted 14
TARGET
SMART OBJECTIVE
FY25
Implement Economic Development Department CRM and Project Tracking System . % of CRM and project tracking system implemented 100 %
TARGET
SMART OBJECTIVE
FY25
Increase the number of Launch students by 25 %. % increase of Launch students added 25 %
TARGET
SMART OBJECTIVE
FY26
Achieve NC Economic Development Certification for entire department by FY26 % of staff certified in FY26 100 %
108 3