Retail Strategies, a community development firm based in Birmingham, Ala., has been hired by the city of Norwalk to develop a retail development plan. The City Council recently approved a yearlong agreement with the group. The city will pay Retail Strategies $50,000 to develop a tailored retail recruitment plan and perform proactive retail and broker outreach for Norwalk. More specifically, the group will perform a real estate market analysis of businesses currently in Norwalk and identify areas of opportunity for retailers to capitalize on traffic. Norwalk’s retail trade area will be defined and opportunities for development and business recruitment will be highlighted. In addition, Retail Strategies will contact potential businesses, property owners, brokers and developers about locating or developing in Norwalk. “Norwalk’s recent growth has pushed our focus toward proactive retail recruitment efforts,” Hollie Zajicek, Norwalk’s economic development director, said in a prepared statement. “We selected Retail Strategies because of their reputation for supporting client communities with a wealth of knowledge of both national and local retail. This partnership will open our community up to a higher quality of life for residents.”