Economic Development Division
IT'S COMING! The long-awaited Big H Streetscape Project will begin downtown in early June 2012.
A Big H Project Community/ Neighborhood Meeting will be held on:
Thursday, May 31 from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Eastern Oregon Fire Museum at 102 Depot Street. This is a great oppourtunity to meet with the contractor and ask questions and receive more information about the project.
This Fire Museum will serve as "Project Central" for the duration of the project. For more information on the meeting and the project, click here.
For a copy of the letter that was sent to the business and property owners within the project boundaries, click here.
If you'd like to download a PDF copy of the promotional project sign to place in your business to show support for the project, please click here.
The City of La Grande Economic Development Division is primarily responsible for implementation of the City's Urban Renewal Plan. The current primary focus is the management of the La Grande Main Street program. Downtown revitalization has been a top priorty for the City Council. In addition, a new Economic Development Strategic Plan is in place, adopted by the Council in 2010. The Plan is comprehensive and covers all aspects of local economic development strategy. The City aims to grow its economic base through the creation of family wage jobs and the expansion, retention and attraction of businesses.
The City's economic development efforts provide support to those of other organizations, as well, including the Union County Economic Development Corporation (UCEDC), Northeast Oregon Economic Development District (NEOEDD), Union County, and the Union County Chamber of Commerce to name a few.
The City's role and plans with economic development include support of the following initiatives:
- Business retention & expansion
- Business attraction, recruitment and community marketing
- Downtown revitalization (Main Street program)
- Urban Renewal (includes downtown, the La Grande Business Park and other commercial/ industrial sites)
- Tourism marketing, promotions and product development
- Workforce development
La Grande is also home to one of Oregon's Enterprise Zones, which provide property tax abatement to qualifying new business investments.
Most importantly, for existing and new businesses alike, the City's Economic Development division is a part of the Community & Economic Development Department, which includes Planning and Building Inspection services. What this means to the business owner is that under single leadership with a single vision is the assurance of the highest level of business-friendly quality customer service aimed at providing assistance to project completion.
Mission Statement:
The Community & Economic Development Department provides the citizens of La Grande order, safety and vitality by facilitating, managing and supporting customer-driven development projects, offering excellent service and value.
