BUTTE - Economic leaders in Butte believe much progress was made in 2019.
“2020 certainly looks promising if not better,” said Joe Willauer, director of the Butte Local Development Corporation (BLDC).
The BLDC in the new year plans to try to recruit more big retail and grocery stores to Butte. This comes from information gathered this past year from a business consulting firm Butte hired called Buxton, which matched the Mining City with 15 potential companies that could thrive in the Butte market.
“It gets you to the right person, the decision makers, instead of just randomly knocking on the door of a big retailer. You’re getting to the people that are making those choices,” said Willauer.
But Butte customers are going to have to be patient.
“It’s not something that’s going to happen overnight; this is certainly a long-term strategy. But if we don’t start now nothing’s ever going to change,” said Willauer.
An industrial park located just southwest of Butte, known as the Hub, is expected to play a big role in Butte’s economic future.
“The asset we have out there with two class 1 railroads, the I-15/I-90 interchange and all of the infrastructure that’s been put out there thanks to the TIFF, has really blossomed and we expect even more businesses to be looking at it going forward,” said Willauer.
