Today’s Morning Buzz is brought to you by Alexander Fung, Economic Development Manager from the City of Eastvale, CA. Connect with Alexander on LinkedIn.
- What I’m eating: The delicious chicken piccata dish that my wife has perfected.
- What I’m watching: Reactions to the 2024 presidential election.
- What I’m working on: Establishing a new downtown for Eastvale.
According to the California Association for Local Economic Development, economic development is the creation of wealth from which community benefits are realized. Traditionally, economic development has been associated with business attraction, sales tax generation, and job creation efforts. Recently, economic developers began to embrace innovative and collaborative approaches alongside traditional economic development activities. As for Eastvale’s Economic Development Division, we have taken innovative and collaborative approaches to heart and moved beyond traditional economic development to create business-friendly programs and initiatives for our community.
Working Across County Lines
Eastvale is situated close to the corner of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino counties, making it difficult for the city to partner with neighboring cities since most special districts and regional planning agencies are divided by county lines. Nonetheless, the city initiated the I-15 Corridor Collaborative with its neighboring cities and cities along the I-15 corridor in Northwestern Inland Empire to leverage resources and foster collaboration. This initiative allows the economic development teams from member cities to share best practices and work collectively to market the Inland Empire region in preparation for the 2028 Summer Olympic Games.
Innovative Incentive Programs
Eastvale is proud to host its own Business Incentive Loan Program to attract and retain upscale, high-end, and premium casual restaurants since 2019. This program provides forgivable loans to assist eligible small and medium-sized restaurants to purchase furniture, fixtures, and equipment and cover working expenses. Additionally, the city recently launched a grant program to assist local shopping centers to install Flock Safety Cameras, thereby promoting public safety and elevating the city’s shopping experience.
Cultivating Lasting Business Connections
Eastvale’s Economic Development Team implements Monthly Business Walks to connect with each local business and offer proactive support. Every month, Eastvale staff spends about one to two hours visiting and connecting with local businesses. On average, the city is able to visit each business twice a year. Each visit involves a brief and quick conversation with store managers, with staff sharing important and helpful information for businesses. This initiative became a cornerstone in Eastvale’s business engagement efforts, and it is now expanded to involve workforce development partners to share available training programs, law enforcement partners to share public safety information, and the city’s events staff to share sponsorship opportunities.
A Business First Mindset
Eastvale has unveiled its “Business First” initiative earlier this year to further brand itself as a business-friendly city. This involves the city’s departments embracing a mindset that encourages a culture of innovation and continuous improvement. In addition to identifying opportunities to streamline development review processes across multiple departments, the city will also recognize and showcase businesses’ success stories.
These programs and initiatives are several of the many examples in which the Eastvale Economic Development Team has embraced innovative and collaborative approaches. These approaches allow the city to adapt to today’s dynamic economic landscape and meet the evolving needs of residents, businesses, and stakeholders. Through innovation and collaboration, economic development teams can position themselves as both enablers of growth and visionaries of resilient communities.
Additional information regarding Eastvale’s economic development programs can be found at eastvaleca.gov/business.