The Value of Economic and Community Development Anchors

Economic developers and planners can use more than anchor tenants and place-bound anchor institutions to secure development, but not all anchors are equally durable. Place-bound, or place-rooted, anchor institutions are unlikely to relocate in response to changes in settlement patterns or business consolidations, providing a strong foundation for community development. However, anchor institutions are scarce. In contrast, most community development investments are tethered to more plentiful, but more ephemeral, anchors: anchor tenants, third places, and managed or naturally occurring third spaces. Ensuring that the right anchor is used on a particular water's bottom—the specific land use and geographic scale of a project's impact—requires understanding which anchor best secures a development or regional economy. A survey of agricultural extension agents revealed that the strength of an anchor comes from its community and economic VALUE: visibility, authenticity, loyalty, utility, and engagement.