Forward Together: Five County Economic Recovery and Resiliency Plan

LaBella recently worked with the Lake Champlain-Lake George Regional Planning Board (LCLGRPB) to develop an Economic Resiliency Plan for the five-county region in New York comprised of Clinton, Essex, Hamilton, Warren, and Washington counties.

Titled Forward Together, the plan focuses on understanding the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the region’s economy, identifying forward-looking strategies for the region’s businesses, and establishing how the region can seize market opportunities that have emerged in the last year.

Key areas of focus within the plan include addressing the region’s workforce housing shortage, improving infrastructure to meet the need of current and future residents and businesses, attracting and retaining workforce, and supporting and broadening the region’s spirit of entrepreneurship.

The plan includes a robust demographic and economic profile evaluation of the region’s infrastructure needs, workforce, and employment sectors in Healthcare, Agriculture, Tourism and Hospitality, Retail and Restaurants, and Manufacturing. Recommendations are organized and focused on improved connectivity, childcare access, housing access and stability, main streets as economic centers, and entrepreneurism.

The entire Economic Resiliency Plan is available here.