The Delta County Steering Committee for the EDA grant has identified two projects for Better City to prepare feasibility studies for: The Delta County Gateway Project and Food Manufacturing. The Committee is exploring other funding options to do feasibility studies on the other identified projects.
The Delta County Gateway Project was identified as a priority as the City of Delta is a primary entrance to the County. Located at the intersection of HWY 50 & 92, this project will help differentiate Delta, create improved quality of life and bring an additional cool factor to living in Delta County. The study will look at:
•A national brand select service hotel
•A riverfront development that would connect downtown to the river and recreation venues
•Conference Center
•Local food retail and dining experiences
•This new development could attract regional visitation
•This development would involve a mix of housing, retail and entertainment that leverages the beauty of the river
Food Manufacturing: Working with local businesses involved with food manufacturing and processing and attracting additional food manufacturing companies to the county will improve the local economy. This facility could be tied closely with the food hub and signature retail center. It will take advantage of the abundance of locally grown and raised food products.
The feasibility study will be for a facility that is capable of producing value added food products (i.e. Jams, jellies, sauces, baby food,etc). It will assess the costs of a building and equipment, operational costs, available local inputs and import requirements, and market demand. The analysis will indicate the total initial costs, the output that would be necessary to make the project viable, and assess whether the demand is sufficient to meet those output levels. The base scenario for the project will analyze costs and demand for the project without consideration for the organic center of excellence, retail venue, or food hub. The consultants will try to add some analysis of what they think would happen if those projects were in place, all of which would likely make the project more viable.