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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Site Selection Factors / Strategy

A Message to CREs: What’s Old Is New Again

Katie Culp, CEO, KSM Location Advisors (Q4 2023)

It seems that face-to-face meetings with community leaders and anecdotal research about a prospective location are back in style again as companies make location decisions. More

Three Key Location Factors for F&B Industrial Users to Consider

Bob West, Vice President of Food & Beverage, Industrial, Ryan Companies (Q3 2023)

Workforce skills and availability, the need for speed to market, and the condition of existing infrastructure are all key factors in food and beverage companies’ location decisions. More

The Rise of Mid-Size U.S. Cities: The Industrial Development Boom

Emelie Hegarty, Business Strategy Manager, Quest Site Solutions (Q3 2023)

As company needs have evolved, many are gravitating to smaller urban areas that often provide them with a lower tax burden, affordable real estate, and development-ready sites. More

2023 Top States for Doing Business Meet the Needs of Site Selectors

Steve Kaelble, Staff Editor, Area Development (Q3 2023)

The states considered the best locations for doing business according to an expert panel of location consultants are the highest performers in more than a dozen categories upon which companies make their site selection decisions. More

Richmond’s Investment Includes Innovation at Every Angle

Mark Crawford, Staff Editor, Area Development (Q3 2023)

Greater Richmond, Virginia, has a long history of manufacturing success. More

Power-Intensive Site Selection

Courtland Robinson, Manager, Business Recruitment, Duke Energy and John Geib, Director, Enterprise Economic Development, Technical Services, Duke Energy (Q3 2023)

Manufacturers should prioritize accuracy in their load schedule, as there’s a downside to both underestimating and overestimating load requirements. More

Data Center Sites: What’s Your Connection?

Tom Croteau, Senior Managing Director, Maxis Advisors (Q2 2023)

Those seeking a location for a data center need to consider fiber connectivity, access to power, cooling capabilities, risk mitigation, and security, among key requirements. More

Front Line: Water Supply Increasingly Affecting Location Decisions

Dan Emerson, Staff Editor, Area Development (Q2 2023)

Over the last few years, there has been a heightened focus on abundant access to water for companies seeking new locations. More

37th Annual Corporate Survey: Economic Pressures Exerting Greatest Effect on Decision-Makers

Geraldine Gambale, Editor, Area Development Magazine (Q1 2023)

Companies looking to grow are facing an historically tight labor market and rising costs, but their plans to invest may be buoyed by recent government legislation. More

19th Annual Consultants Survey: Clients Challenged by Tight Labor Market, Energy Availability

Geraldine Gambale, Editor, Area Development Magazine (Q1 2023)

Consultants responding to our survey say economic conditions are affecting their clients’ expansion/investment plans, with labor and energy availability and costs of prime concern. More

Federal Legislation Affects Companies’ Investment Plans

Jacob Everett , Founder, Corsa Strategies (Q1 2023)

Companies looking to grow are facing an historically tight labor market and rising costs, but their plans to invest may be buoyed by recent government legislation. More

Corporate Decision-Makers Face a Challenging Environment

Larry Gigerich, Executive Managing Director , Ginovus (Q1 2023)

The rankings clearly reflect the impact of geopolitical and economic instability, as well as technology. More

Labor Related Factors Are Key

Bradley Migdal, Executive Managing Director, Business Incentives Practice, Cushman & Wakefield, Inc. and Matt Niehoff, Senior Consulting Analyst, Location & Labor Analytics, Cushman & Wakefield (Q1 2023)

Companies are searching for the right balance of labor — at all skill levels — that can satisfy their needs not only now but also into the future. More

Energy Costs Come to the Forefront

Lauren Berry, Senior Manager, Location Analysis and Incentives, Maxis Advisors (Q1 2023)

The shift away from carbon-emitting fuels and the unexpected spikes in natural gas pricing in 2022 have made industrial customers increasingly sensitive to energy costs in their location decisions. More

Companies Are Recalibrating Their Priorities

Eric Stavriotis, Vice Chairman, CBRE (Q1 2023)

In recent years many companies have been propelled to recalibrate priorities for their location strategies and resulting real estate footprints. The top site selection factors for occupiers today include the following: More

The Decentralization of U.S. Fintech Hubs

Bobby Magnano, President, Financial Services, JLL and Scott Redabaugh, Managing Director, Consulting, JLL (Q1 2023)

As the fintech sector continues to evolve, it’s primed to serve as a major economic catalyst in already established core, secondary, and emerging markets as well as new locations that offer the fundamentals for its growth. More

Location Factors for a Large Natural Gas User

Kris Hopkins, Vice President, Business Development , Greylock Midstream (Q1 2023)

By following the four strategies outlined below, the location team for a natural gas user can uncover more potential sites, reduce costs, and enhance competitiveness. More

To Cluster or Not to Cluster…That is the Question!

Rich Thompson, International Director, Supply Chain & Logistics Solutions, JLL (Q3 2022)

Although clusters are here to stay in some sectors — think life sciences — other industries — among them EVs and semiconductors — are geographically branching out. More

Major Projects Embrace Wide Open Rural Spaces

John W. McCurry (Q3 2022)

Available land, lower costs, and the desire to co-locate with suppliers and customers draw companies to rural locations, but satisfying infrastructure needs and access to talent shouldn’t be overlooked. More

Utilizing Data Analytics to Reduce Risk and Costs, Increase Opportunities

Thane J. Hutcheson, Director, Baker Tilly, LLP and Chris Urchell, Consulting Manager, Baker Tilly  (Q3 2022)

An efficient site selection process can make the difference between a fundable and a failed project. More

Trends in Data Center Site Selection

Pat Lynch, Executive Managing Director, Data Center Solutions Group (DCSG), CBRE and Josh Ruttner, Senior Research Analyst, Data Center Solutions, CBRE (Q2 2022)

A lack of space and developable land as well as power constraints will continue to drive data center site selection, with sustainability considerations and emerging technologies becoming increasingly important factors. More

The Evolution of the Megasite

Courtney Dunbar, Site Selection & Economic Development Leader, Burns & McDonnell and Corey Kingsland, Civil Engineering Section Manager, Burns & McDonnell (Q2 2022)

As the need for next-generation megasites continues to grow, economic development professionals are helping end-users reimagine the site selection and site preparedness process. More

36th Annual Corporate Survey: Executives Focus on Labor, Energy, Shipping Costs

Geraldine Gambale, Editor, Area Development Magazine (Q1 2022)

A tight labor market, supply chain challenges, and rising costs have resulted in some surprising changes in corporate respondents’ location priorities. More

18th Annual Consultants Survey: Access to Major Markets and Skilled Labor Are Clients’ Primary Concerns

Geraldine Gambale, Editor, Area Development Magazine (Q1 2022)

Supply chain considerations, the shortage of skilled workers, and a lack of industrial space are top of mind for their clients, according to consultants responding to our annual survey. More

Locations That Promote Employee Health and Well-Being Coming to the Forefront

Peter Miscovich, Managing Director, Strategy and Innovation, JLL (Q1 2022)

As workforce location preferences have evolved over decades, one thing has remained constant: individuals want to work and live in locations that foster their physical as well as mental and emotional health. More

The Labor Challenges of Site Selection

Greg Chmura, Chief Quality Office, Chmura Economics (Q1 2022)

A careful evaluation of a site’s labor force is needed to guard against unwelcome surprises. More

Talent-Based Location Strategies

Chris Volney, Managing Director, Americas Consulting, CBRE Labor Analytics Group (Workforce Q4 2021)

Today’s highly competitive market for technical talent is leading many companies to consider entering lesser-known geographies where they can find more accessible pools of high-quality and cost-effective talent in a lower-risk hiring environment. More

Shaping Compliance for Your New Biomanufacturing Facility

Roger Humphrey, Division President, Life Sciences, JLL (Q4 2021)

If you have a new biomanufacturing site in the works, you can open doors to a productive, compliance-forward facility with these strategies. More

Communicating Your Project’s Value to Local Stakeholders

Chris Chmura, Ph.D., Ph.D., CEO & Founder, Bryan Shelly, Ph.D., Managing Director of Consulting, Xiaobing Shuai, Ph.D., Director of Research and Senior Economist, Chmura Economics & Analytics (Q4 2021)

Through the use of economic impact studies, a company can demonstrate the value of its project to government officials and local residents. More

Solutions for Decisively Navigating the Location Decision

Cole Williams, Goodwyn Mills Cawood (GMC) (Q4 2021)

Effective site selection involves factoring the stakeholder criteria matrix, site conditions, and ever-changing market forces into the final decision. More

In Focus: The Challenge of Finding Improved Land

Lee Loftis, National Director, Land Acquisitions, Mohr Capital (Q4 2021)

Because improved land is hard to come by, more investors and developers are evaluating true greenfield opportunities in far outer rings of major markets. More

A Turnkey Approach to Manufacturing Location Decisions

Courtney Dunbar, Site Selection & Economic Development Leader, Burns & McDonnell (Q2 2021)

Taking a project from site selection through process design and construction to commissioning with a turnkey approach will help a manufacturer ensure its long-term operational success. More

A Renewed Focus on Workforce Diversity

Brian Corde, Managing Partner, Atlas Insight (Q2 2021)

Recent social unrest has brought to the forefront the importance of focusing on diversity and inclusion issues as companies make their location decisions. More

Siting Next-Generation Data Centers

Courtney Dunbar, Site Selection & Economic Development Leader, Burns & McDonnell and Robert Bonar, Mission-Critical & Data Center Development Leader, Burns & McDonnell (Q2 2021)

Although the attributes for data center development continue to evolve, environmental and zoning issues; transportation, telecom, and power needs; and available labor are still important considerations. More

Editor's Note: The Pandemic as a Catalyst for Change

Geraldine Gambale, Editor, Area Development Magazine (Q1 2021)

The results of our 35th annual Corporate Survey and 17th annual Consultants Survey reflect changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, including a temporary and/or permanent transition to remote work and an increase in the importance of quality of life. More

35th Annual Corporate Survey: Effects of Global Pandemic Reflected in Executives’ Site and Facility Plans

Geraldine Gambale, Editor, Area Development Magazine (Q1 2021)

As expected, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected our corporate readers’ location plans and priorities as they increased their resiliency efforts. More

17th Annual Consultants Survey: Consultants Are Optimistic About the Year Ahead

Geraldine Gambale, Editor, Area Development Magazine (Q1 2021)

Those responding to the Consultants Survey express optimism about their clients’ plans for the year ahead while acknowledging their increased focus on costs and logistics going forward. More

What Should a CFO Know About Investment Opportunities in Latin America

Jeffrey Garza Walker, Senior Vice President, Cresa and Joshua Rodriguez, Vice President, Cresa (Q4 2020)

Jeffrey Garza Walker, Senior Vice President, and Joshua Rodriguez, Vice President, Cresa, spoke with Area Development about the state of cross border investment between the United States, Mexico and Latin America after their presentation at our 2019 Houston Consultants Forum. More

Developing and Executing a Site Selection Game Plan

Taylor Gravois, Principal, CSRS, Inc. and Ron Crum, Practice Leader - Industrial Site Selection, CSRS, Inc. (Q4 2020)

After an internal assessment of the company, the location team should focus on key success variables, appropriately weighted, and consult with needed subject matter experts. More

Why are Foreign Trade Zones Making a Comeback?

Curtis Spencer, President, IMS Worldwide, Inc. (Q3 2020)

Area Development interviewed Curtis Spencer, President, IMS Worldwide Inc., at our Houston Consultants Forum. Our discussion covered how companies can leverage foreign trade zones to mitigate the impact of tariffs on their bottom line. More

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