By ANDY COOK
Westfield Mayor
It may be odd to say, but I do and don’t like it when Kevin Todd looks tired. Kevin is a great person and consummate professional. So, I would never want him to feel over-worked. But, as Westfield’s Community Development Director, I really do like when Kevin and his team are busy. It is an indication that Westfield is a city on the move and growing faster and more strategically than ever.
My personal gauge of Kevin’s “tiredness factor” is okay, but a little external validation of Westfield’s success is nice too. Just last week, Homes.com named Westfield the nation’s top suburb to move to in 2021. It is nice for our community to be recognized. Our ability to attract families, visitors and businesses is no accident. We, led by Kevin’s hard-at-work team, are executing on our Comprehensive Plan created more than 14 years ago. And, it does not appear, in spite of the pandemic, that things are slowing down in Westfield.
Charts provided
We just pulled together our Q1 permits. In the first quarter of 2021, our new home starts are on record pace and we almost doubled our Plan Commission filings from a year ago. These are new projects interested in coming to Westfield. Typically, the first quarter accounts for approximately 20 percent of filings in a given year. If this trend holds for 2021, we could have a banner year – higher than any we have seen in the past. One could say that we are up because we are, hopefully, emerging from a global pandemic. Well, in 2020 our building permits did not slow even during COVID.
We are seeing a broad range of development projects come in. We are seeing everything from infill residential projects in our neighborhoods to mixed-use projects near our key community assets- Grand Park and Grand Junction Plaza. In addition, our business parks are filling up and our downtown is continuing to see new life. And all of this is being built according to our Comprehensive Plan. All of these are signs of a healthy, growing community.
What does all of this mean? To me, it means we have a community that is attractive to families and businesses. We have low taxes, low crime, great schools, world-class amenities and vision for the future. We must continue to create and support the infrastructure and culture that has made Westfield the envy of the nation … even if it keeps Kevin and his team really busy.