— photo by Mike Key
Promoting Business and Industry in the Northwest Georgia Area
The Northwest Georgia Joint Development Authority (JDA) exists to help improve the quality of life and increase community wealth for the Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, and Walker County region of North Georgia. Founded in 1998 by the Commissioners of Chattooga, Dade, and Walker Counties, the organization evolved into a four-county advocacy group with the addition of Catoosa County ten years later. The JDA is located in Northwest Georgia contiguous with Hamilton County, Tennessee and three of the four counties served are part of the Chattanooga, Tennessee-Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The region has much to offer to potential businesses and industrial operations. It offers a low-cost alternative to urban living with the convenience of larger Metropolitan areas of Rome and Dalton, Georgia and Chattanooga, Tennessee all within close proximity.
In addition to breathtaking scenery, deep historical roots, high performing schools, top healthcare facilities and a low cost of living, these “Entrepreneur Friendly” counties are ideally located on or near three of the nation’s interstates – I-75, I-59 and I-24 – and U.S. Highway 27. Within the Chattanooga MSA (Tennessee’s fourth largest city) and less than two and a half hours from the three major Southern cities of Atlanta, Nashville, and Knoxville, Northwest Georgia offers easy access to rail systems and commercial airports, a highly skilled workforce, and top higher education opportunities at technical colleges and research universities, all located in the right-to-work state of Georgia.
Maintaining data on area population and labor force, industry mix, and location quotients is among the ways the JDA fulfills its mission of improving the expansion and growth of industry and diversification of the regional economy. Additionally, the JDA’s inventory of available properties is supported by details of the properties and appropriate contact information.
The staff’s expertise ranges from helping companies find the right building in which to launch a business to providing information to assist potential businesses in making informed expansion decisions. The JDA promotes several publicly-owned industrial parks and numerous privately-owned parcels and buildings in the area. Over the last four years, the JDA has been involved in the creation of more than 2,400 jobs in the area representing an investment of around $870 million.
“Together with the Greater Chattanooga Economic Partnership, the Northwest Georgia Joint Development Authority continuously strives to ensure that our four-county region is a great place to locate a new company,” states Jeff Mullis, the organization’s Executive Director. “We market our region both domestically and internationally to potential prospects and work with existing industries in the area to ensure Northwest Georgia is meeting all of their needs.”