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ELK GROVE
QUICK FACTS:
Population: 153,015Labor Force: 72,017Households: 43,902Median Household Income: $82,700
Per Capita Income: $33,500Median Age: 32Educational Attainment: 73% attended or graduated college
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 State Office Brings 1,500 Jobs to Elk Grove
The California Correctional Health Care Services has announced its new headquarters will be located in Elk Grove, generating up to an estimated $4 million dollars in economic benefit to the City. The Elk Grove Economic Development Corporation worked as a supportive partner with the City of Elk Grove in persuading the State of California to locate state offices here. The EGEDC established a relationship with California Department of General Services and assisted the City of Elk Grove in the development of recruiting state offices. In addition to organizing a tour of Elk Grove's office product for state government real estate officials, the EGEDC also assisted the City in the creation of incentive programs to fit state needs and identified and targeted all expiring state leases. "California Correctional Health Care Services selecting Elk Grove as their new home means high-paying, high-quality jobs for the City of Elk Grove, and is a tremendous shot in the arm for our local economy," said Mayor Steven Detrick. Roughly 50 percent of Correctional Health Care workers already live in Elk Grove and the nearby South Sacramento area. According to state officials who were initially drawn to the site because of free parking, plenty of retail, consumer services and public transit within walking distance, the move will spread more of the state business throughout the region, helping to balance commute routes. "Consolidating headquarters operations for Correctional Health Care will increase our efficiency, reduce expenses, and contribute to building the health care culture I believe we need for the organization to succeed. The selection of this location is the first step in these efforts," said Federal Receiver J. Clark Kelso. The EGEDC participated in the City's State Office Ad Hoc Committee, along with Mayor Steven Detrick and Councilmember Gary Davis, tasked with attracting state agencies to Elk Grove. The EGEDC played a supportive role in the City-sponsored legislation requiring state agencies to take into account the location of employees when considering a move. During this effort, Elk Grove became the first city in California to introduce an incentive program targeting state office buildings. The program is designed to bring state jobs closer to where their employees reside by offering incentives that may be used towards relocation costs, fee reductions, construction costs, building improvements, monthly rent, or even transportation or other quality of life subsidies for the employees. The program was recently expanded to include federal office buildings. "With nearly one out of every three workers in Elk Grove employed by the State of California, the City has worked tirelessly to bring state offices to Elk Grove," said Councilmember Gary Davis. "The new California Correctional Health Care Services facility located in Elk Grove will relieve traffic on the freeways, improve air quality, and be an impetus for even more job creation." California Correctional Health Care Services--which previously split from the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation--will consolidate from six locations currently scattered around the Sacramento area. Negotiations are currently underway with Laguna Springs Corporate Center property owner, Pappas Investments, to complete the arrangement in one of the biggest office lease deals of the year--a 10-year lease at $91 million. The phased move may begin as early as next year. For more information call the EGEDC (916) 691-3895, or send an email to info@elkgroveedc.org. |
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Elk Grove Businesses Embrace "Clean and Green" with Expansion, Growth
Companies in Elk Grove are taking extra steps to ensure business expansion includes environmental-friendly components as the city continues to welcome new and growing business to the community.
Health care includes caring for the environment: Earlier this year, Catholic Healthcare West--one of the nations largest not-for-profit health care systems and the largest private hospital system in California--celebrated the groundbreaking of the new Mercy Medical Plaza that will create more than 250 new jobs in Elk Grove. The largest green component in this $30 million dollar, 65,000sf medical office building is the solar system that features 840 solar panels in a canopy mounted shade structure, offsetting the facilities power consumption and reducing the building's carbon footprint. The medical plaza is expected to open in 2012.
 Kaiser Permanente also broke ground recently on a new 67,000-square-foot Promenade Medical Office Building in Elk Grove with environmentally friendly features. Kaiser Permanente has been working with manufacturers during the past few years to develop PVC-free carpet with a backing made from 95 percent post consumer recycled plastic. At the end of its life, the carpet is 100% recyclable back into new carpet. Sustainable design of the new building also includes resilient flooring, and paint, a Photovoltaic Power system infrastructure, a heat island affect reduction thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) roof, skylights and sensor-controlled lighting, and water conservation through the use of low flow plumbing fixtures and use of native drought tolerant landscaping materials. The building will also be built to accommodate the use of solar energy panels in the future.
Green House--Elk Grove's custom homes future moves toward greener living: Worldwide custom homebuilder, G.J. Gardner Homes, launched a new franchise in Elk Grove a few months ago and has incorporated many green building components into every home they build. Techniques include termite pre-treating with a salt solution that is less harmful to the environment than other pesticide methods. The homes also feature smart thermostats that control heating and air, HVAC units that use the new R410 refrigerants, energy-efficient windows, and Radiant Barrier plywood sheathing for the roofs that reflects up to 97% of the suns radiant heat and helps attics stay cooler during hot weather. Also, heavy emphasis is put into home design that takes advantage of the California climate.
"We're strongly involved with our local recycling companies and have set up programs with all of our recyclable waste on our jobsite so that the material can be used again on future jobs," said Dennis Hendricks, G.J. Gardner Home franchise owner. "We also install motion sensors for all lighting inside and out, and we use low to no VOC paints on our homes."
Education Prepares Students for Elk Grove's Green Workforce: The Elk Grove Unified School District was one of the first districts in the state of California to create career academy programs with a "green" mission. These programs allow students to explore architectural design and urban planning, renewable sources of energy through engineering, solar and wind energy, bio-fuels, electric vehicle conversions and work as interns in local businesses. Some academy programs even produce products that help impoverished villages around the globe.
Through its Career Technical Education Program, the EGUSD currently supports four "green "academies across several local high schools: the Architectural Design and Urban Planning Pathway (AD-UP) Career Academy, Green Renewable Energy Engineering (GREEN) Career Academy, Green Energy Technology Career Academy (GETA), and Computer Aided Drafting/Design and Digital Communications (CADD/COMM) program.
"The Elk Grove Unified School District remains committed to strong Career Technical Education programs that prepare students for the 21st century workforce," said EGUSD Superintendent Steven M. Ladd, Ed.D. "Today's CTE courses integrate core academic subjects with career skills for a green economy in the 21st century. In the EGUSD's green academies, students are learning how to make the world a better place by studying energy consumption, pollution, ecological destruction, transportation and land use."
Universities, private and community colleges, and other higher education facilities in the area continue to nurture and grow Elk Grove's highly skilled and talented work force. Thanks to $2.3 million in federal funding awarded to the Los Rios Community College District to provide education and training in clean energy and technology, more than 1,000 people will be trained through the GreenForce program in clean energy and technology fields including solar systems design and installation, green building design and management, and water system design and operation. Cosumnes River College (CRC) serves the Elk Grove community directly with more than 15,000 students in attendance.
"CRC's GreenForce certificate and degree programs provide specialized training in the Built Environments sector that offer students the skills necessary to stay current in fields such as Construction, Horticulture, Environmental Studies, Architecture and Design," said GreenForce Director Torence Powell. "Our programs are helping put people back to work, and making them competitive applicants for advanced education programs at four-year institutions."
Fore more information: To learn more about "green" business expansion and higher education opportunities in Elk Grove, please contact the EGEDC at (916) 691-3895 or send an email to info@elkgroveedc.org. |
Retail Businesses Relocate, Reopen and Renew in Elk Grove
 It's been a busy summer for retail in Elk Grove as the City welcomes new chains and returning favorites. Southern California-based discount bedding retailer Anna's Linens opened a new 9,300sf location in Elk Grove last month and will employ 14 people. "The growing community of Elk Grove is a good fit for our store as we're a growing business new to the Elk Grove area," said Amber Costantino, marketing coordinator for the Southern California-based corporation. "We're opening 30 stores all over the United States this year, and our goal is to be at 300 stores across 18 states by the end of the year. Our new location in Elk Grove is part of that overall plan." TGI Friday's restaurant opened earlier this month as well after the eatery initially shut down the location in 2009. The restaurant is operating under a new franchisee and is currently the only TGI Friday's operating in the Sacramento area. Shopping favorite Bed Bath & Beyond also recently renewed its lease for its 28,212sf Elk Grove store in what was described as a "long-term extension" according to the Sacramento Business Journal. The corporation also opened a buybuy BABY store in Elk Grove this summer in a 31,000sf location featuring an extensive selection of infant and toddler merchandise. For more information on new and expanding chains in the Elk Grove area, please contact the EGEDC at info@elkgroveedc.org. [ Top]
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 News from the EGEDC Region Builders Name Elk Grove 2011 Local Government of the Year Region Builders, a newly founded coalition by the Sacramento Regional Builders Exchange that includes local trade and professional associations and industry businesses, has awarded the Elk Grove City Council the Region Builders 2011 Local Government of the Year. Elk Grove was this year's unanimous selection based on the City's continued efforts to improve the local business climate, and make Elk Grove the most desirable place for future commercial investment by adopting policies that will encourage and attract commercial business development in the local community. One of these efforts in particular included the Council adopting a new building fee schedule that reduced commercial building permit fees ranging from 50-200% based on the specific project's square footage. For more information, go to www.regionbuilders.com.
Diversity Awareness Campaign Launched A new citywide awareness campaign launched earlier this month in appreciation of Elk Grove's rich cultural diversity. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the racial makeup of Elk Grove (population: 153,015) includes 46.1% White, 18% Hispanic or Latino, 26.3% Asian, 11.2% Black or African American, 1.2% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, 0.6% Native American and Alaska Native, and 7.9% from two or more races. For more information, visit ElkGroveDiversityPledge.org or contact Public Information Officer Christine Brainerd at (916) 478-3632 (email: cbrainerd@elkgrovecity.org).
Commercial Building Fees Cut in Half The City of Elk Grove has cut retail building fees by 15 - 20 percent, and the general commercial/office building fees will decrease 50+ percent depending upon facility size and type. For more information contact the EGEDC at (916) 691-3895 or send an email to info@elkgroveedc.org.
Online Plan Reviews Streamlined A convenient web-based electronic plan submission, review and tracking system is available on the City's website that allows building permit customers to manage a plan review, upload files and track the status of a project review. For more information, contact the EGEDC at (916) 691-3895, or send an email to info@elkgroveedc.org.
Have Questions? Free Business Consulting Available! Take advantage of free consulting for your business through the Small Business Development Center! The center, which meets here once per month, is located in the same office space as the Elk Grove Chamber of Commerce and the EGEDC--a convenient one-stop-shop for business development. Free and low-cost workshops are also available to meet local small business needs. Call (916) 691-3895 or send an email to info@elkgroveedc.org for more information. EGEDC Upcoming Events [ Top] |
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