The steering group for Memphis and Shelby County economic development is looking to forge an even more united front by adding representation from suburban cities.

Details haven’t been worked out yet, but the idea drew favorable responses Thursday from both city-county Regional Economic Alliance members and a spokesman for the Shelby County Chamber Alliance, which represents suburban chambers of commerce.

During the Regional Economic Alliance’s second meeting, at Agricenter International, Kyle Veazey, Memphis deputy chief operating officer, said he has been making the rounds of suburban officials to gauge interest in being part of a countywide effort.

Veazey said possibilities include having a voting member from the suburbs, or an ex-officio member, on the Memphis-Shelby County group.

“I think we’re all on the same team,” said Harold Byrd, the Bank of Bartlett president and spokesman for suburban chambers. “I think it would be good if we did have representation.”

Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris said he was “very supportive” of suburban representation, and Greater Memphis Chamber president and CEO Beverly Robertson said it’s part of her organization’s plans to reach out to its suburban counterparts. “All great cities are regional,” Robertson said.

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland said, “We all agree we need to address this regionally. I think at some point we need to consider making the suburbs a formal member of this organization.”

The Regional Economic Alliance is tasked with bringing greater coordination to economic development efforts of city and county governments, the Chamber, the Economic Development Growth Engine of Memphis and Shelby County and the Downtown Memphis Commission. Members include city and county mayors, a City Council member, a county commissioner and representatives of the other agencies.

The regional alliance grew out of a frustration with how economic development and public incentives have been applied in recent years and a desire for job-creation efforts to be data driven and subject to performance metrics.

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Officials said the Memphis area economy is trending in the right direction; they pointed to solid gains in the number of people employed in Memphis, Shelby County and suburban communities over the past year.

EDGE president and chief executive officer Reid Dulberger said employment statistics for May indicated the number of Memphis residents who were employed was up about 9% over the previous May. It would be an impressive gain if the number holds steady through the rest of the year.

But officials also said Memphis and Shelby County suffer from a lack of shovel-ready industrial sites to show industrial prospects, particularly compared to competing DeSoto and Marshall counties in Mississippi.

“We need a deeper inventory of development-ready sites, no question about it,” said Eric Miller, senior vice president of economic development for the Greater Memphis Chamber.

Strickland said, “That’s why the Firestone site is so important. It needs to go to tax sale.”

The Mid-South Junior Golf Association, a nonprofit that owns the 72-acre industrial site in North Memphis, owes more than $139,000 in back city and county property taxes and penalties. The city has been watching for an upcoming tax sale of the property.

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While undeveloped commercial real estate inside Memphis is limited, the Shelby County Chamber Alliance is promoting vacant land along Tennessee 385 through an award-winning video.

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Memphis Councilman Kemp Conrad, a commercial real estate agent, said, “There’s really just fragments and slices of land left. There’s not the inventory of land or buildings.”

EDGE board member Tom Dyer said, “We’ve got as much land as Marshall County does, we just don’t have anybody developing it.”

Miller said the Chamber, in its role as a prospector for new investment in the community, has been active on 35 projects, of which nine are considered active prospects and one is a finalist proposal.

“We’re in on some very good projects,” Miller said.

Dulberger told the Regional Economic Alliance that EDGE expects to finish 2019 with 24 projects that bring in $442.7 million in investment and 1,594 jobs.

Eight industrial projects with 385 jobs and $147.4 million in investment are included in the total. Hotel/hospitality, multifamily, office and retail projects make up the balance.

Dulberger said EDGE’s anticipated 2019 project list is about 55% completed and 45% pending.

Downtown Memphis Commission president and CEO Jennifer Oswalt said 21 projects totaling $173 million in investment are projects during 2019. The bulk are retail, office and multifamily.

The alliance is still waiting for a study from Mass Economics that will serve as its blueprint for determining segments of the economy that deserve more emphasis, Dulberger said.

“The Mass Economics study will give us the road map. That will all be part of the study, which is nearing completion,” Dulberger said.