Saint Consulting » News 2006

Wal-Marts still get Americans worked up

Admin — Sun, 10 Dec 2006 00:58:35 +0000

December 10, 2006 Chicago Tribune

I’m having a garage sale on top of my desk. Here’s what I think I need to get rid of:

Big boxes are great–over there
The NIMBY concept (“Not in my back yard”) as it pertains to development has been around a long time; now a political consultant for developers has quantified it. That is: About three-quarters of Americans don’t want any new development in their own communities, though the projects they oppose (landfills, quarries, power plants and Wal-Marts, for example) probably would be OK somewhere else.

Wal-Marts still get Americans worked up

The reason the affluent move away

Admin — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 00:59:32 +0000

December 7, 2006 Fort Worth Star-Telegram

It’s a common enough scenario: A family moves to Arlington, works, prospers, prospers some more, and then just as Mom and Dad start making really serious money, they move to an upscale municipality somewhere else.

In short, they bail out on the very entity that provided an environment in which they became wealthy. How ungracious. And ungrateful.

This is not just anecdotal. According to census studies, since 2000 Arlington has had a net loss of about 21,000 mostly upscale Anglos and about 1,000 mostly upscale Asians. That’s white flight and Asian flight.

The reason the affluent move away

A Week’s Worth

Admin — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 01:00:57 +0000

December 4, 2006 The Christian Science Monitor

For the first time in four months, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost ground in consecutive weeks, dropping 0.7 percent as of Friday’s close.

If there’s a class of people more unpopular than politicians or used-car salesmen, it may be real estate developers, the Saint Consulting Group reports. Its survey found twice as many Americans oppose new development projects as favor them, especially in the case of big-box stores, power plants, and casinos. Seventy percent of respondents said they support using tax revenues to keep land undeveloped.

A Week’s Worth

From Nimby* to Banana**–The Challenge for Developers

Admin — Sat, 02 Dec 2006 01:02:10 +0000

December 2, 2006 Business Week Online

Opposition to development of single-family homes and condominiums decreased a bit in the latest survey of residents’ attitudes by Boston-based Saint Consulting Group. Here’s a long excerpt from its press release about the Saint Index:

From Nimby* to Banana**–The Challenge for Developers

Landfills a Tough Sell

Admin — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 01:03:06 +0000

November 30, 2006 New York Public Radio

Landfills have always been a tough sell for sanitation officials and garbage companies. And a new survey of Americans’ attitudes toward development has found it’s getting even harder, not only for landfills, but for most development projects.

The second annual Saint Index, by the Saint Consulting Group, found landfills were opposed by 87 percent, up from 82 percent last year, beating casinos, power plants, and yes, even Wal Mart as Americans’ most despised land use project.

Landfills a Tough Sell

Opposition to Commercial Development Still Strong

Admin — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 01:05:51 +0000

November 29, 2006 GlobeSt.com

BOSTON-Americans are strongly opposed to commercial development projects, and a majority of them favor using tax dollars to keep land undeveloped, a new survey finds. According to the Saint Index, a survey of 1,000 Americans commissioned by the Hingham, MA-based Saint Consulting Group, nearly three quarters of the respondents said they are opposed to development in their own community and twice as many Americans actively oppose development as support it.

“It’s becoming a significant issue,” Saint president Patrick Fox tells GlobeSt.com. “Americans are looking for ways to stop development.”

Opposition to Commercial Development Still Strong

Americans oppose development of almost every kind

Admin — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 01:05:09 +0000

November 29, 2006 Portland Business Journal

Most Americans oppose new landfills, power plants and quarries. They also oppose casinos, Wal-Marts, hospitals, apartments, single family development and 70 percent would use tax dollars to prevent land from being developed.

So says the second annual Saint Index, a survey commissioned by The Saint Consulting Group, which is based in Boston, to gauge the public’s interest in land-use issues.

Americans oppose development of almost every kind

Opposition to Land-Use Development More Widespread: Survey

Admin — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 01:04:05 +0000

November 29, 2006 Progressive Grocer

BOSTON – A growing number of Americans are strongly opposed to real estate development, although attitudes toward grocery development have softened some in the past year, according to the Saint Index, a survey commissioned by The Saint Consulting Group here.

Opposition to Land-Use Development More Widespread: Survey

LOOKING IN ON: GAMING

Admin — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 01:07:06 +0000

November 27, 2006 Las Vegas Sun

Would you rather live next to a landfill, a casino or Wal-Mart?

The American Gaming Association and Harrah’s Entertainment have trotted out independent surveys over the past several years showing that most Americans don’t object to gambling. While that may be true, it doesn’t mean all of those folks want casinos nearby.

That’s the finding of a recent poll, and it comes as no surprise to casino companies that have had to overcome neighborhood opposition to casinos that, in some cases, were already approved by legislators or voters.

The poll, conducted by Saint Consulting, a Massachusetts firm that helps clients win land-use battles, found that 80 percent of Americans would oppose a casino proposed in their community.

LOOKING IN ON: GAMING

Wal-Mart finds frosty reception

Admin — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 01:09:11 +0000

November 21, 2006 The Philadelphia Inquirer

While knocking on more than 2,000 doors during his campaign for Berlin Borough Council this fall, Stephen Clyde encountered one question over and over.

It wasn’t about property taxes or immigration or gay marriage.

Voters wanted to know: What was his position on Wal-Mart?

“Wal-Mart acted as a catalyst to ignite people’s passion,” said Clyde, a Democrat who ousted a Republican incumbent. He attributes his victory, in part, to his vocal stance against the company’s plan to put a 217,062-square-foot super center in the Camden County borough.

Wal-Mart finds frosty reception