Economic Development

During the last election, we promised to focus on commercial growth, and it’s a promised we’ve kept. 

Before being elected, Fountain Inn outsourced its economic development, leaving our future in the hands of an out-of-state consulting firm - and it showed. Since ending that contract and making local economic development a priority, we’ve seen more ribbon cuttings than ever, more jobs announced, and stronger relationships with existing businesses.

On the Record

• Commercial Growth
  Each year since 2019, we’ve seen an average increase of 10% in the number of business licenses we’ve issued, even during COVID. That’s signals growth in every area, from larger companies to at-home ventures.

• 20+ Ribbon Cuttings on Small Businesses
  We've held ribbon cuttings on nearly two dozen small businesses, most of them right in the heart of downtown. Small business drives our local economy, and it’s a testament to our hometown that these entrepreneurs chose us to make their livelihood.

• 1,200+ Jobs Announced, $350+ Million Invested
  Industrial and manufacturing sectors are leading the regional economy, the Fountain Inn area has been critical these last few years on that front. Automotive suppliers and an increasing number of medical-related companies are choosing Fountain Inn for all the right reasons.

• Downtown Vacancy Rates Dropped
  Nearly every Main Street storefront has an active lease on it. And while the pace of each project varies, they’re all moving forward. Our Main Street is catching another wave, and it’s going to be very exciting.

• Downtown Visitor Growth
  We’ve invested in data these last few years to help understand our trends, measure impact, and help our town flourish. With that, we know for a fact that our downtown visitor numbers are stronger than ever, providing our local businesses with customers every day, and using our special events to provide them with regular boosts in sales and exposure to new customers.

• Stronger Relationships
  We’ve worked hard to strengthen relationships, with everyone. We now have excellent rapports with our regional economic development corporations, two county councils, peer cities, local business owners, commercial brokers, and more. Our relationship with our Chamber of Commerce is stronger than it has been in a number of years, and we’ve even made changes to our physical City Hall to improve how businesses interact with the City.

• Permit Review Improvements
  While the average resident may not see it, one of the biggest changes we made that has helped our local businesses has been in how permits are reviewed and approved. We made a significant change recently in this, and we’ve seen faster and more reliable service, plus a reduced burden on our city staff day-to-day.

• Main Street Program
  We enrolled our city into the Main Street SC program, a statewide effort to help smaller towns capitalize on their historic downtowns, and increase vibrancy and economic development. We’ve become a leading city in this program, and have backed it with new Main Street branding, stronger tools to measure impact, and even created a dedicated grant program to help support downtown merchants when they tackle physical improvements to their building.