Seasonal hiring begins soon

Last month I highlighted the need for the public sector and private sector to further align towards the goal of attracting private investment and capital to our region. There is no bigger nexus for this right now than growing and improving our housing stock. The number of dwelling units available over our metropolitan statistical area (Winnebago and Boone counties) remains at historically low levels. While this is understood and felt by everyone, what remains a concern is the lack of new and modern housing supply for our future workforce. A lack of housing choice and affordability directly impacts our ability to grow a skilled workforce that then allows us to compete for industrial growth.

Education, training, and population growth are certainly the primary ways to strengthen and develop this region’s workforce. However, without readily available and modern housing supply, the discussion ends quickly when a company looks to relocate to our area in terms of their workforce needs.

As Region 1 Planning Council works with local cities to present a regional framework on our priority growth areas for new housing, we look at future projections for our laborshed. Laborshed is a way to describe analyzing where employment centers are located in relation to where employees choose to reside and where they choose to commute to. This also impacts how we look at the future needs of our transportation network and what population levels will be required to satisfy growth projections for a larger future workforce. Currently, even under a population loss over the next decade, the number of available jobs for our region is expected to grow. So, if we will have more employees region-wide seven years from now, where will they all live?

This came into focus quickly when discussions surrounding the future of the Stellantis assembly facility restarted. Even at today’s number of approximately 1,500 employees returning to the Belvidere site, where would potential relocations choose to live? What housing choices would they have? This is a great economic scenario for current area homeowners but less positive when state and local government encourage and work with Stellantis to bring additional investment/headcount in a future phase. The relocation experience over the next two years will significantly define our region’s track-record in accommodating a skilled-workforce, and define how attractive our communities are to a relocated family.

The sense of urgency for new housing investment and development has never been greater. In order to accommodate a 2030 workforce, we have to move fast and be fully aligned between the public and private sector, or we will lose what once was our competitive advantage. For most of my life, Rockford was always able to show a unique quality of life in conjunction with affordable, outside-of-Chicago housing prices. Affordability and supply have certainly changed since 2019, and we must build out our capacity to remain competitive. The public sector certainly can’t do this alone, and the private sector will seek infrastructure support from the public sector. Alignment and new solutions will be required.

Region 1 Planning Council, as the Northern Illinois Landbank, has certainly played a role in getting supply back to the market. We have looked at traditional neighborhoods where public infrastructure was already present and paid for by the taxpayers. As a Landbank we have acquired homes that have not paid taxes in three years or longer. Every home we have redeveloped has been sold and put back into productive use. This has been a benefit for the new homeowner, the neighborhood, and the schools, parks, and other entities that rely on property taxes. Close to 400 homes have been rescued from demolition and seen private investment in modernization/renovation, at no cost to the taxpayer.

Region 1 Planning Council will continue looking at the system-wide demand and supply for housing, the housing product mix best-suited for redevelopment sites, and the best areas for housing expansion. The public sector will have to work with developers to beat a ticking time clock to satisfy the future workforce we already know will be locating here over the next five years.

The views expressed are those of Dunn and do not necessarily represent those of the Greater Rockford Chamber of Commerce