Economic roadmap to guide Charleston metro-area growth for next 10 years

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - One Region is a document intended to guide the next decade and beyond in the Charleston metro area.

The economic recovery and resiliency plan was presented yesterday to the Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester Council of Governments after 18 months in the development and feedback stages.

The document is aimed at keeping the Charleston metro economy growing by highlighting areas of improvement across the Tri-Country area. It’s authored as a partnership between the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce, the Charleston Regional Development Alliance, and the Tri-County Council of Governments.

It splits areas of improvement into six action areas. The first three are affordability, infrastructure and quality of place, which would include things like traffic, broadband access and the housing market.

Then there’s talent, global fluency and innovation and entrepreneurship, which includes making sure employers and employees feel involved, supported, and creative here in the Lowcountry.

More than 5,000 people commented on the plan. One Region Chairman Shawn Saulsberry said it is time to put it into action by partnering with local organizations, which they’re calling “lead agents.”

“The beauty of it is, we’re not finding lead agents out there who haven’t done this work,” Saulsberry said. “A lot of the folks in talent and affordability and global fluency, they’re already doing this work. So we get to partner with them and others that they bring on board to find solutions for these areas.”

There is no hard timetable for executing some of the action areas, but One Region staff say the plan is multi-year or longer.

Saulsberry said he sees the plan as one big puzzle. As one area, such as housing affordability, is improved, it will attract another area, like talent.

Click here to read the document and learn more about the plan.

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