Roswell has hired an economic development director to help attract commercial businesses.
Darryl Connelly started the newly created position Monday. He will be the chief economic development strategist asking corporations worldwide to consider Roswell as a base of operations, a city statement said.
The firm Roswell Inc., which has served as the city’s economic development arm, will continue contracting with the city but will focus on supporting and retaining small businesses in Roswell, Councilman Peter Vanstrom said during a recent council meeting.
Roswell will pay Connelly an annual salary of $142,500. In the city’s new proposed budget, officials are considering paying Roswell Inc. $220,000 in fiscal year 2023.
Connelly is relocating from New York City where he was senior vice president of asset management for the New York Economic Development Corporation for 11 years. That organization works to bring new and established businesses to New York’s five boroughs, according to its website.
Connelly led a team that worked with 75 commercial properties that earn $95 million in annual revenue, a Roswell statement said.
“We are very excited to have him join us,” Vanstrom said in the statement. “He understands the dynamics of the city, he understands that the residents come first, and he appreciates all the history and all the culture and all the beauty that is in this city.”
Connelly is a former Atlantan. He served as director of transit-oriented development and real estate for MARTA from 2006-2009. His credentials also include a master’s degree in real estate development and investment from New York University, as well as a certificate in sustainable design, construction, and development from the school.
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