DeKalb County Economic Development Partnership Will Focus on Housing and Broadband

Article by KPC News | May 13, 2021

AUBURN — Housing and internet service will be priorities for the DeKalb County Economic Development Partnership in the year ahead.

“We’re really getting intentional and focused on housing and broadband initiatives,” Anton King, executive director for the partnership, told the Auburn Board of Public Works and Safety at its meeting Thursday.

In June, the partnership will launch a countywide housing strategy— a year-long process — King said.

The plan is “to take a formal analysis of where we stand, countywide, where our potential growth areas are, and how we can help incentivize and cultivate growth to meet our county housing demands,” King said.

“Obviously, as the greater Fort Wayne area continues to expand and grow, we sit at a very logical place for that next level of growth. How can we best capitalize on that and make sure we get ahead of that plan?” he said.

The partnership also will work on ways to assist local internet providers with extending broadband to underserved areas

King called broadband “a crucial component to community development and quality of life.”

Federal Communications Commission maps show that more than 50% of rural areas in DeKalb County, especially on the east side, are underserved.

King received approval of the partnership’s annual contract with the City of Auburn at $43,684 with no rate increase.

The contract calls for the partnership “to promote, attract and retain commercial employers in city,” King said.

“Our job is to push and sell DeKalb County on a regional and state level,” King added. “We want to make sure that folks are aware that our communities and DeKalb County are doing big, next-level things.”

King reported that in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic, DeKalb County saw a record-setting $125 million of investments in projects during 2020.

The investment total made DeKalb County a top-five micropolitan among U.S. communities under 50,000 last year.

“Deals in the pipeline continue to grow,” King told the city board.

Article source: https://www.kpcnews.com/thestar/article_b8d66cce-dfbd-5919-858c-75e6877bec74.html