Greater Canandaigua Economic Development

What is the Greater Canandaigua Community?

Residents of the Town or the City of Canandaigua do not necessarily adhere to the idea that there is more than one Canandaigua community. We all share one Main Street and downtown, our pretty lakeside scenic drives, our rolling farm fields, and our lakefront parks. We don't stop to think about crossing between municipal borders as we run errands or visit spots around Canandaigua.  

Our local economy isn't tied to municipal boundaries either. If a new business moves in on Rochester Road near the car dealerships, it doesn't only benefit Town Residents. Likewise if a downtown building looses a tenant, City residents aren't the only ones affected by it. 

The greater Canandaigua community is, therefore, the whole community of residents living and working in the Town and the City of Canandaigua. The municipalities and the Chamber of Commerce need to work together to encourage local business retention, growth, and expansion in addition to recruiting new businesses to the greater Canandaigua area. A strong economy in both municipalities is a boost to the whole community. 

Canandaigua Local Development Corporation

On that note, the three entities--the Town of Canandaigua, the City of Canandaigua, and the Chamber of Commerce--created a joint economic development entity in early 2019: the Canandaigua Local Development Corporation (Canandaigua LDC), to foster economic growth in the greater Canandaigua area by working to attract new businesses to the region while helping existing businesses with retention and expansion. The structure of the LDC is made up of the three entities' governing bodies and includes an eight-member board of directors; there is a mix of voting and non-voting members and about half will be elected officials. 

There will eventually be a website dedicated to the LDC with information abou their meetings and current projects. Rules of transparency will apply to this quasi-governmental body as will open meeting laws. See the contact information at right (or below on a mobile device) if you have any questions. 

What is Group Concept Mapping?

Prior to the creation of the LDC, the Town, the City, and the Chamber realized that one entity couldn't achieve a strong and sustainable regional economy acting in isolation from each other. We needed input from the entire business community on how best to preserve and enhance greater Canandaigua's economic vitality. To do that, we enlisted the help of an innovative and interactive software program called Group Concept Mapping, that is part brainstorming, part survey, and part statistical data mining.

Unlike a traditional board room meeting, this software allowed the Town, City, and Chamber to include hundreds of local business and community leaders to participate equally in generating ideas to help our economy. And unlike a survey or poll, in addition to generating ideas, the participants were able to sort through, prioritize, and rate all of the ideas. 

The results of the project include the formation of the LDC, among other recommendations, and the May 2018 final report is available to view below. The three entities continue to work towards the implementation of the recommendations from the report and have already begun to implement some of those ideas generated by the community to improve our economy and outlook for the future of the whole, Greater Canandaigua Community. 

Group Concept Mapping - Final Report (May 2018)

For questions or comments about the project, see contacts at right (or below on a mobile device). For information about the process or the software, please contact Karen Dworaczyk, of Insightovation.