New Economic Development Coordinator Shares Background, Ideas

Patch sat down with the city’s new Economic Development Coordinator Michael Stiefvater to find out his background, and how it will translate into working for College Park.

This is the first in a two-part series.

College Park Patch: What are the main responsibilities of an ?

Michael Stiefvater: It is my first week, so I am just getting a feel for them. But one of the main ones is getting to know the local businesses. Starting next week I am going to walk around and try to meet as many of the local owners as I can and get my name out there. Hopefully I can build a relationship with them and kind of see what their needs are. Other roles are, eventually down the road, to recruit new businesses and try to find out the retail needs for the city. We have different conferences we go to where we will be pitching College Park. A lot of it is branding College Park and marketing it to different entities.

Patch: What is your educational and professional background and how do you think it will help you in your new job?

Stiefvater: I am 27 years old and went to the University of Southern California for an undergraduate degree in planning and development. I previously worked for a mixed-use developer in California, but our projects were not focused in college towns. However, I believe similar concepts are required to succeed in either environment, as the basic premise of development is to meet the needs of your audience. One of my roles as economic development coordinator is to determine what these needs are and find a solution that benefits the entire city.

I decided to move across the country after our company ended up closing due to the economy. I worked for about a year for a commercial real estate research company in D.C. where I analyzed different markets every few months.

My experience working in the private side of development allowed me to work with existing tenants, while also marketing new projects to potential restaurants and grocers. I learned quite a bit about the location decisions these companies make and that should be a great tool to use here.

As for the differences between a college town and your typical community, each location has its own unique factors that influence economic development. My role is to determine the best way to use these factors to benefit College Park.

Patch: Why did you decide to take the job in College Park?

Stiefvater: It seemed like a great opportunity and I really liked the staff. It seemed like a close-knit smaller group, which is a great way to be able to have a little more influence.

Patch: What are some of your goals as the new economic development coordinator?

Stiefvater: I don’t know if I have goals just yet. I don’t know if that is really my role right now. I definitely want to just help the businesses out in any way I can and, after talking to students and residents, and try to meet those needs.

Check back Monday for part two of the interview.