Changing Family Trees: How Industrial Development Reshapes Communities

Richard Blackwell has lived every phase of economic development on projects across 23 states. From spec buildings to industrial parks with built-in career centers.

In this episode of The Ribbon Cut, we cover:

  • How to build real public-private partnerships in smaller markets.
  • What economic developers can learn from supply chain modeling.
  • The site criteria Agracel uses to pick its next location.
  • Why rural doesn’t mean risky, and how long-term holds shape better outcomes.

Richard also shares how one manufacturing project in Greer changed the course of his family’s future, and why that still drives his work today.