How You Build It: Creating Cutting-Edge Developments
http://www.iedconline.org/HowYouBuildIt/index.html

June 6-8, 2010
Oklahoma City, OK
Register before Friday, April 2 and save $100!
http://www.iedconline.org/HowYouBuildIt/Registration.html

How You Build It from the International Economic Development Council

With a growing demand for publicly funded and public-private partnership projects, now is the time for communities both large and small to take proposed developments off the shelf, reexamine stalled projects and bring them into reality. Understanding how to conceive, finance, construct and operate complex – and all the steps in between – can be a challenge.

In the spring of 2010, IEDC will showcase a new technical conference that teaches economic developers, local government staff and elected officials and the development community how to complete projects that contribute to local economic development and community competitiveness.

There are three conference tracks available. They can be mixed and matched or adhered to. Let's take a closer look at one of them

Track B: The Critical Pre-Development Process

Your community is interested in adding a new development, now what? Many great development ideas never get "out of the box" due to mistakes made in the pre-development process. Understanding the steps to bring the idea into a reality can be daunting. With many moving parts and players involved, reaching the goal can be challenging. Understanding the nuts and bolts before beginning the project is crucial to a successful development.

This track focuses on key steps necessary before project development begins. Starting with concepts and feasibility studies, you will learn sources to finance the project; who the new partners are and how to build the partnership; how to work with a design team and how to build public support for the project.

Some of Track B's sessions

Track B: Feasibility: Is the Idea Viable for the Community?

A proposed project can capture a community's imagination and spur excitement – but it's also important to know whether a project is realistic. Financial resources, community support, local and regional market considerations all affect a project's initial feasibility and long-term sustainability. This session will discuss how to evaluate a project's viability and how to make the adjustments that might be needed to make it happen.
Speakers:
• Ralph Basile, Principal, Basile Baumann Prost Cole & Associates, Inc., Annapolis, MD
• Craig R. Seymour, Managing Principal, RKG Associates Inc., Dover, NH

Track B: Financing: Where the Money Is

The economic and financial meltdown has made financing one of the toughest barriers to implementing development projects of all types. Whether the solution is creative fundraising programs, co-located uses, new partners, unique uses of tax credits or other incentives, speakers in this session will show that with creative thinking and action, money is available for new projects.
Speakers:
• Lisa R. Sexton, Senior Vice President, Public Finance Investment Banking, Piper Jaffray & Co., El Segundo, CA
• J. Mark Tobin, CRE, President, HREC Development Resources, Greenwood, CO

Track B: Support: Building Public Support for the Project

It doesn't matter whether a major project's goal is noble, necessary, or visionary – you have to get partners and stakeholders on board, and there will always be at least one faction in the community that opposes it. Public education campaigns, transparency, compromise and advocacy all are important in the toolkit to build public support. But there must be an underlying strategy and timing is important. This session will help you avoid the pitfalls and maximize the opportunities as you plan to make your case.
Speakers:
• Robert M. Lewis, CEcD, AICP, Principal & President, Development Strategies, St. Louis, MO

Conference Program: http://www.iedconline.org/HowYouBuildIt/Program.html

Expert Speakers: http://www.iedconline.org/HowYouBuildIt/Speakers.html

Register Today: http://www.iedconline.org/HowYouBuildIt/Registration.html