Evaluating the Economic Impact of Community Development Projects

The Hudson Group provides clients with clear and professional assessments of the economic and fiscal impact of community development projects, achieved through a thorough review of often-voluminous information provided by applicants and developers.

Commercial and residential development can generate positive benefits for communities and regions, such as new business establishments, jobs, an enhanced tax base, revitalization of the local and regional economy, and improved quality-of-life amenities.

But often overlooked, or not fully addressed, are the increased demands on the community, such as local governmental and educational services, improvements in community infrastructure, shifts in the tax burden, modified patterns of land use, and adverse impacts on the environment.

The Hudson Group can assess the full range of these implications for your community and region.

In evaluating the impact of a proposed development, we review the developer's or applicant's proposal with respect to: accuracy of the analytical data bases; relevance of the models submitted; assumptions employed to predict the project's consequences for generating new population and households; direct and indirect impact on local spending; and business and job creation.

The public sector revenue and tax base implications of proposed projects are an important element of the analyses we provide to our clients. We independently assess the data bases employed by the applicant to project how property values, tax levies, and revenue flows to localities will be affected by the development.

Furthermore, we estimate the increased demand for local public services, such as police and fire protection, road improvements and maintenance, parks and recreational opportunities, and the impact on the local public school system. We also include recommendations we believe will enhance the overall economic and fiscal benefits of the project.

We often partner with other firms that have developed unique expertise in land use planning, engineering, environmental assessment, open space protection, or the law when such specialization is required for the tasks involved.

And you may be fully confident that The Hudson Group's reviews will meet state and federal requirements.