Agenda - 08-19-2010 - 1 - Laserfiche WebLink

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I STRATEGY 5 53 Section 2: Introduction and Methodology The Town of Chapel Hill retained Strategy 5 LLC in January of 2010 to prepare an analysis of the local office market, with attention paid to regional and other dynamics affecting supply and demand for office space within the Town limits. The methodology for the study included completion of a series of tasks and sub -tasks including: 0 Task 1: Preliminary Research / Data Collection • Task 2: Site Analysis / Workshops • Task 3: Stakeholder Interviews • Task 4: Supply/Demand Analysis • Task 5: Technical Report The methodology also consisted of a combination of top -down and bottom -up analysis; the former approach relating to available data (demographics, tax records, census tract data etc.) and the latter relating to the influence of location, long -term planning by the Town of Chapel Hill and University of North Carolina, changes in the technology sector, perceptions of the local market and development environment, etc. Emphasis is placed on the bottom -up portion of the methodology which is oriented toward forecasting (and possibly influencing) alternative futures as opposed to simply documenting past and current conditions. Therefore the Strategy 5 approach is a non- traditional market analysis — a think piece - designed to provide the Town of Chapel Hill and the Economic Development Office with insights and perspectives to be used in crafting policy decisions that will help ensure future vitality of the office market in the Town, and importantly, the vitality of the tax base and fiscal strength of local government. Where appropriate, technical tables, graphics, photographs, etc. have been inserted to further illustrate observations, findings or recommendations. Where appropriate, other studies, reports and secondary materials are sourced. In some cases quantitative assessments and projections are expressed as ranges to reflect the fluid nature of real estate and unknown influences on future supply and demand. Unless where otherwise stated, all observations, findings, projections, forecasts, conclusions and recommendations found in this report represent the professional opinion of Strategy 5 LLC. This Technical Report is organized in a format that coincides with the bulleted Tasks above; and the sub -tasks which were further delineated in the Scope of Work and associated contract with the Town of Chapel Hill. 10