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The best way to attract, retain and grow businesses is not through branding and marketing, but rather by lowering the cost of doing business, according to David Lorati, president of the Central Eastside Industrial Council and a business owner.

Nevertheless, the Portland Development Commission wants to capture the gritty, hardworking nature of the Central Eastside Industrial District and use it along with public programs to promote business in the area as part of its Central Eastside Entrepreneurial District strategy. But while the CEIC welcomes efforts to help it, some members say the real problem is city fees 鈥� and using tax dollars to promote the area won’t solve that.

The PDC has set aside $250,000 from the , which sunsets in 2018, to fund the entrepreneurial district. The aim of the program is to brand the area and promote it as a great place to start and grow a business. PDC staffers are in the final stages of selecting a public relations firm to take on the effort.

鈥淚f the city really wanted to encourage entrepreneurs (it) wouldn’t need a PR firm, especially one funded through future tax dollars,鈥� said Lorati, the owner of School Specialty Co., which is known for manufacturing pom-poms. 鈥淭here’s no lack of realization that this is a good place to do business. The problem is the city is raising the cost of doing business.鈥�

Lorati cited local improvement district fees and transportation system development charges, which will increase the cost of development to help pay for the Portland-Milwaukie light-rail project. He also mentioned that the city is planning to install parking meters in the district before the end of the year.

鈥淭hose all have impacts on the businesses in the district,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 know that they aren’t all PDC issues, and that assets (such as streetcar improvements) will come out of them, but those are our concerns.鈥�

Such concerns are shared by John Plew, principal with Foresight Development & Real Estate and a director with the CEIC. Plew said something like a system development charge holiday or a program to help building owners with seismic upgrades would be more beneficial if the goal is to attract new businesses and grow existing ones.

PDC officials would love to spend money to lower the cost of doing business, but they have less these days. With four URAs set to expire in the coming few years, officials expect the PDC budget to average $140 million annually over the next five years, down from $250 million annually over the last five years.

鈥淲e are having to spend our dollars like they’re our last,鈥� PDC Executive Director Patrick Quinton said.

Trang Lam, senior project manager with the PDC, noted that this URA 鈥� and the PDC 鈥� won’t be around forever. The entrepreneurial district strategy, she said, is one that the PDC can employ with limited financial resources.

鈥淲e hope this branding effort and the entrepreneurial district is something we can do and pass it along to the businesses and property owners in the district once the PDC is gone,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he central eastside already has the culture. We just want to honor it and broadcast it so that everyone else knows.鈥�

But Lorati said that while he supports the PDC’s vision, he believes the district is already branded and won’t be changed by a public relations firm.

鈥淓ntrepreneurs can realize on their own that it’s a great place to do business,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut they can also realize when it’s getting too expensive to do business in the area.鈥�

Lam expects PDC officials to select a public relations firm by next week. The firm and PDC staffers will then work on visioning the branding effort, which will be presented to the PDC board of commissioners, along with the plan for the entrepreneurial district, in late July or early August.