How to tell where businesses move

Question

Hey everyone. I was curious as to how one would be able to see where businesses would move to. For instance how would you know a new Walmart is going to be developed and running in the next year. Is there a site that gives information on future developments?  I want to know since it will help to figure if I should invest in certain neighborhoods that are on the cusp of Improving due to future developments and help to know where businesses are moving. I'm interested in the Atlanta area. Any input would be very much appreciated guys

Joel Owens · Answer

Bryan,

Step 1.

Determine if where you want to invest is in the county limits or the city limits.

Step 2.

Look online for the city or county current and future land use plan.  Current is what it is today. Future is what the county or city wants things to look like 20 years from now.

Step 3.

Look for zoning applications with site plans attached. These are proposed projects happening in the area where a zoning hearing is set.

From there you can get an idea of what is happening or slated to happen for the area.

Step 4.

You could take the economic developer for the city or county out to lunch or dinner and pay for the meal. You could get insight on what is coming down the pike for the local area and rumblings of new businesses going in.

Wal-mart scouts sights by the way years in advance. By the time a story goes out about one being built things have been in the works for a very long time. Wal-mart is not the only anchor going in that will make an area boom. Lowe's, Home depot, Kohl's, Best Buy, etc.

Once a big one goes in all the smaller businesses like to build up around them and create a commercial corridor. They want the anchor to drive the most traffic and pay for most of the road improvements or the developer who is building that large development to front most of the costs.

This should give you a basic idea of things to look into.

Bryan Vincent · Answer

Wow thank you so much guys. This is really great information

Karen Margrave · Answer

I don't know there's any site per se that you can get that type of information. @Joel Owens might have some insight.

Other than that, staying up on local planning meetings, business reporting, etc. helps. Believe me, every investor tries to get the same information, a crystal ball per se.