Vice President of Economic Development Tim Evans has shed light on the economic successes of 2022 and has shared what is on the horizon for Hall County in the coming years.
As the year comes to a close, the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce reflects on economic expansion, job production and commercial development spread throughout Hall County. To help bolster the success of 2022, Georgia earned the number-one ranking for its business environment for the ninth year in a row. Hand-in-hand with that is Gainesville-Hall County’s ranking as the Top Job Producing Metropolitan Area in the state. Since 2015, the Chamber’s economic development program has helped 149 new and expanding businesses, adding 8,400 jobs and over $2.4 billion in capital investment.
One of the biggest economic factors moving ahead is the inland port, which is slated to begin construction in 2023. Tim Evans said the new piece of infrastructure will connect important trade routes between Hall County and the Port of Savannah.
“The Georgia Port Authority started this project, looking in this region of the state about 2015,” Evans said. “It would be operational probably in the beginning of 2025. And we have many, many, many existing industries in Gainesville Hall County that are importing parts and components for the manufacturing processes and exporting finished goods, including a lot of chicken that goes throughout the world via the Port of Savannah.”
Another topic of community interest is the expansion of hospitals in the county. Evans said in Hall County alone there are over 500 healthcare service providers, employing approximately 16,000 people, or roughly 15% of the workforce population. The local medical industry serves almost 1.8 million people.
“The two largest employment centers are certainly Northeast Georgia Medical Center Gainesville and Northeast Georgia Medical Center Braselton, and they're both expanding,” Evans said. “And we've seen the expansion underway here in Gainesville for a couple of years now in the new tower that's being built. I believe that will ultimately be the tallest building in Hall County when it's done. But that is nearly a $600 million expansion.”
The medical center in Braselton recently announced a $500 million expansion as well, which totals more than a billion-dollar capital investment in Northeast Georgia healthcare. In addition to those expansions, the Gainesville location is currently in the process of obtaining a Level 1 Trauma Certification, which will bring more research opportunities and resident training programs to the facility.
A development of particular interest has been the new Renaissance building on the southeastern side of Gainesville Square. Evans said he's grateful to the city for expanding the parking deck next door, allowing for more foot traffic around the historic district. The first floor of the Renaissance building is retail, the second floor is Brenau University’s College of Psychology and Adolescent Counseling and the third floor is residential.
“We're seeing that repeated on a large scale all throughout downtown Gainesville of retail, restaurants and residential,” Evans said. “And that's exciting to see, especially as the residential grows, because that supports more retail and more restaurants, beyond the working hours, Monday through Friday, into the evenings and weekends, and makes the downtown center just that much more vibrant.”
As businesses continue their recovery from a downswing during COVID, the Chamber has provided assistance via a direct hiring portal on its website. Hiring and job opportunity are becoming a greater area of focus as older generations move into retirement and new trade skills are needed to be taught to those taking their place.
“It's hard to replace 40 plus years of experience with someone that's brand new to the workforce, without really providing them training and skills that they need—whether it's healthcare services, advanced manufacturing or professional services,” Evans said. “There's a lot of talent that's exiting the workforce. And it's not just happening here in Hall County. It's a national trend.”
Evans said Hall County is well equipped to handle training issues with the help of local technical institutions like the University of North Georgia, Lanier Technical College and Brenau University.
“There's a real focus on providing those job-specific skills and professional skills that are needed,” Evans said. “And I think that's a big part of the solution. We're in a world where we have to all focus on lifelong learning. And that's not going to change anytime soon for any of us.”
Evans reports that 2022 was a strong year for Hall County, putting a particular emphasis on the support the Chamber provided to existing industries. He says keeping a diverse economy by bolstering both big and small businesses helps the county feel less tension from recessions.
“Hall County more than doubled the previous record of over $700 million in capital investment, and largely from our existing industries, our world-class healthcare and the growth in the healthcare business and healthcare service providers,” Evans said. “That's something that we always support. We're excited about that and what future lies ahead.”
When looking down the road, Evans is hopeful for the expansion and development projects that are gearing up to begin in Gainesville and neighboring cities as well.
“The growing residential, restaurant and retail activity that’s happening, not just in Gainesville, but also in Flowery Branch and Oakwood,” Evans said. “Oakwood is creating a downtown where they have not had a big downtown area and INK is breaking ground, we expect in 2023. So there's a lot going on in those downtown areas of Hall County, and we're excited about that.”
With Hall County as the reported top contributor to economic value and employment-related agriculture in Georgia, the Chamber is proud of what it has accomplished, and perhaps most importantly, motivated for what is to come.
The Chamber will host a Job Fair & Career Expo on April 23 at the Gainesville Civic Center from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
You can learn more about the Chamber’s history and future initiatives by visiting its website.
