Soon after its incorporation in 2016, the City of Tucker began work on its first Comprehensive Plan, Tucker Tomorrow. When Tucker Tomorrow was adopted in April 2018, it included five primary goals for the community’s future – which included Bolster the Economic Base. This goal called for the implementation and creation of programs and initiatives that would leverage and support the growth of Tucker’s primary job centers including the Mountain Industrial Area, Northlake Commercial Center, Lawrenceville Highway Medical Area, and Downtown Tucker.
In August 2022 the Mayor and City Council approved and awarded the contract for the creation of an Economic Development Strategic Plan to the consultants at KB Advisory Group.
“Economic Development Strategic Plans are critical because they create a focused pathway for growth and business support that the community agrees on,” Economic Development Manager Jackie Moffo shared.
In September 2022 the research and planning period for the plan began with public outreach. Over three months, the City of Tucker and KB Advisory Group conducted six public meetings and received nearly 300 online survey responses, and five business and community partner focus groups interviewed nine members of the City of Tucker Staff, Mayor and City Council. This community and business input helped to create a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) Analysis for Tucker.
In addition to public input, KB Advisory also did extensive research to provide Tucker with a demographic profile and an economic profile. As are a key component of any Economic Development Strategic Plan, Tucker was tasked with establishing target industries. These allow the economic development team to dedicate time and resources to set actionable goals and create programming to support these industries. Based on employment concentration, regional job growth, and contributions to Gross Regional Product (GRP), as well as community input, Tucker’s target industries have been identified as Professional Services, Manufacturing, and Healthcare.
Tucker’s Economic Development Strategic Plan also highlights specific industry zones called Character Areas. Understanding these is also critical in order to recognize essential real estate trends for setting development objectives. The three primary real estate categories in Tucker include the Northlake office district, Mountain Industrial and Lawrenceville Highway Industrial and Commercial districts, and the Downtown Tucker retail district.
Over the next five years in partnership with the Tucker Downtown Development Authority and other community partners, such as the Tucker-Northlake Community Improvement District and Tucker Summit Community Improvement District, the City of Tucker will work to implement this five-year plan.
Tucker’s Economic Development Strategic Plan can be downloaded here.
