Popular arts and craft DIY store Michaels is reaping the rewards, after increasing their Halloween DIY offerings for art, decorations, and costume-making. Shoppers have begun pulling back the reins on spending, most likely due to economic uncertainty and the impending holiday shopping season and are instead focusing on purchasing decoration and clothing kits they can make at home. Let’s see if the DIY trend continues into the Holiday Season.
Similar to results for the State (-0.6%), the Bay Area (-1.7%), and the County (-1.7%), Morgan Hill’s sales tax revenue continues to yield negative numbers in 2024. For the second quarter in a row the auto and transportation category decreased 9%, a trend experienced throughout the state. In addition, due to a reduction in construction activity and the seasonal nature of business industry sales, Morgan Hill’s Business and Industry category dropped 28%. There were some positive points, with slight growth found in the Restaurant and Hotels, and Fuel and Service Station (2.8%) categories. HdL Company Analysts are projecting additional minor corrections and a rebalancing of sales tax in the final quarter of 2024.
Signed by Governor Newsom on September 24th, 2024, Assembly Bill 3035 expands upon the 2019 Employee Housing Act in two major ways. The first is by expanding the geographic footprint of eligible developments to land in Santa Clara or Santa Cruz County within 15 miles of an area designated by the Department of Conservation as farmland or grazing and which is not connected or adjacent to a site allocated for more than 1/3 industrial use. The second is by increasing the maximum number of units from 36 to 150 for eligible agricultural employee housing developments within the expanded geographic location. AB 3035 will go into effect in 2025 with the aim of streamlining larger farmworker housing developments over a larger geographical boundary.
Leaning on the City’s existing and thriving manufacturing community, the Manufacture Morgan Hill campaign aims to demonstrate that Morgan Hill is the ideal destination for businesses seeking growth, manufacturers looking to expand, and talented professionals eager to make a difference. In the last 3 years, Morgan Hill has completed construction on nearly 1.5M SF of new industrial product. This includes the 503,400 SF Shoe Palace/JD Sports Headquarters, the 410,000 SF Butterfield 5 Tech Park owned by Invesco, and the recently completed 501,000 SF Cochrane Technology Park project by Trammell Crow. In addition, the City is processing entitlements for another 460,000 SF within the Morgan Hill Ranch Business Park.
With 19,200 employees, Morgan Hill is home to companies and headquarters such as Toray Advanced Composites, Anritsu, Specialized Bicycle, Shoe Palace, Paramit Corporation, Marki Microwave, Golden State Assembly, LusAmerica, Sempera Organics and Sunbasket. That’s why we’ve launched the "Manufacture Morgan Hill” campaign—to highlight the importance of manufacturing in our city and to strengthen our community by attracting new businesses, supporting existing manufacturers, and drawing in top talent.
Learn more about the campaign and watch the promotional video HERE.
Each year Verizon awards approximately $1M in grants to over 100 small businesses. The company is currently partnering with the Northern California SBDC to offer business education and $10k grants through December 31, 2024. To be eligible, businesses are required to register for the Verizon Small Business Digital Ready program and complete two courses, coaching sessions, or events. This grant opportunity represents one of many that Verizon will facilitate in an effort to achieve their overall goal of supporting 1M small businesses by 2030.
7X7 Social Club recently published an article about why Morgan Hill offers the perfect mixture of “low-key wine country and high adventure potential.” Several Morgan Hill restaurants, wineries, trails, and hotels were featured in the list of things to choose from when planning the perfect Morgan Hill weekend getaway.
Learn more: 7x7's mission is to celebrate the SF Bay Area's trailblazing spirit and to maximize every moment and experience there. 7X7 curates content around the region's favorite pastimes—food, drink, arts, fitness, travel, style, tech, the great outdoors, and more. They support local philanthropic endeavors and shine a light on the area's vast pool of globally recognized tastemakers and influencers.
