Minden Economic Development showcases city at three-day conference
What happened in Vegas, didn’t stay in Vegas. City of Minden Economic Development Director James Graham updated the Minden City Council on progress made during a recent trip to Nevada to the International Council of Shopping Centers Show last month.
“It is the largest retail developers conference in the country — actually, in the world,” Graham said.
“We went there to represent Minden and we had three objectives.”
Those objectives were outlined in a handout provided by Graham. They were:
To raise the visibility of the City of Minden among investors in the real estate retail industry.
To identify potential developers and investors of hotels and other retail entities to encourage them to consider Minden as an investment option.
Gather intelligence on the retail industry to be considered when developing new initiatives, projects and programs encouraging new jobs, business expansion, and population growth.
Graham said during his meetings with developers, mostly in the hotel industry, a trend of similar questions emerged. He also provided those on the handout:
What is the population of Minden?
How many major events does Minden have on an annual basis?
How many tourists visit Minden on an annual basis and by event?
How many tourists attend these events that could justify the development of a hotel in Minden (can you show real data)? Can you or do you track money spent and tourists by event?
How much money do tourists spend and can you show real data?
Lindsey Realty participated with Graham in the full conference, including the assembly and tear down of the City of Minden Exhibit. During the three-day trade show, they worked from the City of Minden exhibit booth as well as visited with other exhibitors.
“I would like to thank Debra Lindsey and Catherine Hunt, who attended with me to the conference.”
Lindsey offered some takeaways from the conference for the council to consider.
“We went in with our eyes on what we can do for Minden,” she said.
In addition to the exhibits, the conference featured classes on the future of retail, according to Lindsey. The trends for shopping habits, involve a departure from traditional anchor tenant centers.
“What they are looking at is anchor attractions,” Lindsey said. “Retail today is built around attractions, built around experiences. It’s being called, ‘experience retail.’”
One example Lindsey gave was how retailers were now building around gathering places like craft breweries.
“Whether it is a brewery, or a soccer field or a baseball field, you start developing around those areas. That is the future of retail.”