Editor's Picks
A Zebra in the Room
A surprising encounter reveals why environmental due diligence isn’t just paperwork — it’s protection.
From Silicon to Server: Mapping the Data Center Supply Chain
How suppliers and innovators have powered the explosive growth of America’s data center infrastructure.
Optimizing Your Rail-Served Transportation Network: Strategy Before Steel
Infrastructure can power your supply chain—but only when planned with foresight.
U.S. Textile Manufacturers are Building for the Future
Automation and policy incentives could reshape the future of American textile production.
Manufacturing’s New Risk Game for Site Selection
Companies face growing challenges as tariffs, political shifts, and trade policies disrupt location strategies.
Site Selection
Facility Planning
Workforce Development
Business+Place
Industry Sectors
Services
Recent Features
Advanced Manufacturing
Around the Horn: Advanced Manufacturing’s Next Move
JLL recently launched an Advanced Manufacturing group to meet the moment, and Area Development spoke with group leaders Greg Matter, Vice Chair, Industrials, and Meaghan Elwell, Division President of Global Industrials, to get their real estate playbook for the new era. This conversation has been edited for space and style.
ContinueSite Selection Factors / Strategy
The Site Selection Corporate Checklist
Site selection doesn’t start with “where” — it starts with alignment, clarity and structure.
ContinueTaxes / Incentives
The Compliance Reckoning Is Here
New challenges—from automation to federal fallout—are testing how companies manage risk in incentive-backed projects
ContinueBiotech / Life Sciences
Workforce Is the New Incentive in Life Sciences
Companies choosing where to locate life sciences facilities are prioritizing talent pipelines and workforce adaptability.
ContinueConstruction / Project Planning
First Person: Karis Cold’s Ken Verne on Urban Demand, Automation, and the Infrastructure Gap
Karis Cold’s Ken Verne joins Area Development to talk about urban infill opportunities, automation readiness, ESG strategy, and why facilities need to be designed for 2030—not just today’s needs.
ContinueEconomic Development Best Practices
Site Selection Numbers vs. Reality
Why You Should Question Every Stat in a Site Proposal.
ContinueAutomotive
Rethinking Auto Site Strategy in the Age of Tariffs and Powertrain Shifts
As EV momentum slows and tariffs rise, automotive companies are reworking supply chains, production plans, and location strategies to adapt to a rapidly changing market.
ContinueSkilled Labor / STEM
What We’re Getting Wrong About Gen Z’s Future in the Skilled Trades
Employers must modernize their training programs if they want to attract and retain the next generation.
ContinueAdvanced Manufacturing
Summits of Significance: Why Pittsburgh’s AI and Energy Event Could Set a National Precedent
AI. Energy. $90 billion. Pittsburgh’s high-profile summit wasn’t just a photo op—it was a coordinated move to signal site readiness and sector leadership. Here’s why states are turning summits into strategy.
ContinueBusiness Globalization
How Canada Stays Competitive
As trade tensions mount, Canada’s supply chain reboot aims to retain foreign investment and reduce risk exposure.
ContinueManufacturing / Industrial
A New Course for U.S. Shipbuilding
Maritime Prosperity Zones could reshape shipbuilding and repair across the U.S. — if defined and used wisely.
ContinueEnergy / Clean Tech
How Energy Storage Solves Grid Challenges
Rapid deployment of battery storage solutions solves reliability issues and even provides new revenue streams for industrial operations.
ContinueAnnual Econdev Awards
20th Annual Area Development Gold and Silver Shovel Awards
Two decades of dealmaking, diversification, and economic momentum — this year’s Shovel Awards celebrate the states digging deepest to build the future.
ContinueBusiness Globalization
Reshoring Reality Check from Construction
How tariffs and economic incentives are influencing FDI and location decisions.
ContinuePortfolio Management / CRE
Supply Chain Whiplash Reshapes CRE
Power, ports, and unpredictability are pushing manufacturers to rethink their entire real estate approach.
ContinueSite Selection Factors / Strategy
If It a Site Sounds Too Good to Be True…
Learn how to separate marketing spin from real-world readiness when evaluating community proposals.
ContinueAdvanced Manufacturing
Front Line: Building the Nation's First AI-Ready Workforce
“Charm City” is forging technology partnerships to build an AI workforce equipped to serve every industry.
ContinueConstruction / Project Planning
Where Cold Chain Meets Culture: How Karis Cold is blending art and infrastructure in Chicago
Cold storage with character? Karis Cold’s Stockyards Cold facility in Chicago blends infrastructure with public art—redefining what it means to build a logistics hub in a legacy district.
ContinueSite Selection Factors / Strategy
Site Readiness Is Broken: What Manufacturers Should Demand From Their Locations
Manufacturers can’t afford delays—here’s what to ask for before picking your next site.
ContinueFood Processing
How Consumer Trends Are Reshaping Food Facilities
Consumers want cleaner labels, smaller portions, and local stories—and food brands are racing to keep up. Site consultant Scott Kuppermann explains how these evolving demands are changing everything.
ContinueSite Selection Factors / Strategy
First Person: Filter King’s Expansion Playbook
CEO Rick Hoskins explains how the fast-growing air filter company selects its sites, scales its labor-heavy operation, and maintains speed-to-customer across multiple U.S. regions.
ContinueSite Selection Factors / Strategy
Lead with Facts, Land the Deal
Site selection starts with infrastructure, not charm — here’s how EDOs can prepare.
ContinueEnergy / Clean Tech
Powering the Next Generation of Projects
Small modular reactors could help meet surging demand for energy in manufacturing and data centers.
ContinueConstruction / Project Planning
How to Manage the Surge in Building Costs
Construction firms are navigating supply shocks, labor shortages and policy pressures with smarter, early-stage coordination.
ContinueDCs / Warehousing
Rewriting the Rules of Warehouse ROI
Embedding automation into leases may offer companies a smarter way to balance risk, cost and productivity.
ContinueData Centers
Data Center Demand Stabilizes Amid Changing Market Forces
Pre-leasing slows, location criteria evolve, and real estate tax structures face pressure from leaner buildouts.
ContinueBiotech / Life Sciences
How Innovation and Investment Are Reshaping Life Sciences in 2025
Talent shortages, financing volatility, and supply chain shifts define the life sciences outlook.
ContinueProject Announcements
QuaLex Manufacturing Expands Venango County, Pennsylvania, Operations
10/02/2025
Northern Transformer Plans Innisfil, Ontario, Canada, Manufacturing Operations
10/02/2025
Concept Labs Plans Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, Production Operations
10/02/2025
Jabil Plans Marshall County, Mississippi, Operations
10/02/2025
Egypt-Based Union Coating & Chemical Industries Plans Barren County, Kentucky, U.S. Manufacturing Operations
10/02/2025
Centrus Plans Piketon, Ohio, Uranium Enrichment Operations
10/01/2025
Japan-Based Nidec Motor Expands Mena, Arkansas, Electric Motor Operations
10/01/2025
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