Everman staff told the City Council on Nov. 11 that the Everman Community Development Corporation (CDC) has approved a contract with Retail Strategies LLC to recruit retail businesses and fill vacant leases.

Staff said the CDC has already held a kickoff meeting with Retail Strategies and the firm has begun market research and outreach. “They are already hitting the ground running on getting a lot of research done,” staff said. Staff emphasized the engagement will focus on recruiting larger chains and proven retail concepts to fill existing vacancies and to market development-ready sites.

The contract cost was reported as approximately $45,000 per year to be paid from CDC funds; staff said CDC will return to approve a budget amendment to cover the amount. “The CDC is paying for it,” staff told the council, and staff cautioned that community expectations should be realistic: results from retail recruitment typically take time and staff said to “not expect any results for about 18 months.”

The item was informational — no direct appropriation from the general fund was proposed at the Nov. 11 meeting. Staff said it will coordinate with council and CDC board members on priorities and return with progress reports.

Proposed deliverables include recruitment packages for conferences such as ICSC and outreach to national chains and regional developers; staff cited Forest Hill as a nearby example of the firm’s prior work.