Council members report productive recruiting and developer interest at ICSC retail conference

Council members who attended the ICSC (Innovation, Commerce Serving Communities) retail conference gave positive feedback to the Lancaster City Council at the July 20 work session, saying the trip sparked direct interest from retailers and developers and generated follow-up meetings.

"There were people that wanted appointments with us," said the council member who requested the agenda item, recounting private meetings with developers and a representative from a major hotel brand. Council members said some companies had asked for appointments rather than the city seeking them out, a sign they viewed Lancaster as a prospective market. One council member highlighted specific retail interest around Pleasant Run and a planned shopping-center revamp.

Council member Marco offered a different take on how to work a trade-show environment: he said his outreach strategy often relied on private meetings and off-floor gatherings rather than walking the exhibit floor, and he described his approach as more direct developer-to-developer engagement. The comments reflected broad agreement that the trip overall was productive, even as members described different tactics that worked for them.

No formal action was taken; council asked staff to share notes and continue business-outreach efforts generated by the trip.