The race to build AI infrastructure is no longer just a technology story — it’s a geopolitical one.
Charlie Smith, managing director of geopolitical strategy at Newmark Global Strategy discusses the current trade tensions across North America and their implications with his colleagues, managing director Carlos Sanchez (based in Mexico) and senior managing director Gregg Wassmansdorf (based in Canada).
The Court blocks the administration’s use of emergency powers to impose tariffs, but alternative legal pathways — and political will — suggest trade duties will remain embedded in the operating environment.
Business leaders should brace for potential costs and disruptions as North America’s free trade deal heads for review.
Infrastructure can power your supply chain—but only when planned with foresight.
With supply chain pressures mounting, America’s logistics network is being rebuilt from the ground up and states are competing for the infrastructure edge by investing in ports, air cargo, and cold storage.
A discussion with JC Renshaw (Savills), Joe Dunlap (Legacy Investing) and Matt Powers (OnPace Partners), about the state of rail infrastructure for site selectors.
U.S. faces challenges in reducing reliance on China for rare earths.
The life science real estate market isn’t collapsing — it’s resetting.
Even well-positioned projects can falter when critical details emerge late.
Why earned media—not websites—is becoming the front door to site selection.
A roundup of programs—and the consultants who know what they’re worth.
Why chasing the biggest package can derail site selection decisions before they begin.
Discover how the OBBBA creates a short-lived opportunity for modular developers to accelerate deductions, leverage restored bonus depreciation, and meet tight 2026 energy-incentive deadlines.
New challenges—from automation to federal fallout—are testing how companies manage risk in incentive-backed projects
States and cities have tied incentives to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) goals — such as subcontracting targets or workforce composition — but a new executive order from the Trump administration and related lawsuits are raising the legal stakes. That raises new questions about what’s lawful and what’s not when it comes to DEI, affirmative action, and the use of contracting targets — and how that may impact your next location decision.
Manufacturers and corporate real estate executives often talk about speed to market and clarity of process as deciding factors in site selection. Fort Worth is testing what happens when a city reorganizes itself around those principles.
How to plan manufacturing facilities with safety in mind.
Although records have been set for massive industrial spaces, the market has been shifting to smaller buildings.
To find out more about the current cyber threats companies are facing and their responses to such threats, Area Development’s staff writer, Lisa Bastian, interviewed Michael Morris, a managing director in Deloitte’s Cyber Detect & Respond practice.
A new build model overlaps site work and fabrication to accelerate AI infrastructure delivery.
How a factory went from an idea to operational in about two years.
Legal risks and the rise of the AI clause in construction contracts.
The energy transition is reshaping real estate strategy as utilities and corporations compete for control of generation assets.
From advanced nuclear to mass-timber logistics facilities and Atlanta’s next growth chapter, this podcast episode connects the dots on energy, workforce, and infrastructure decisions shaping competitive locations nationwide.
In Elkhart, Indiana, a 171,000-square-foot “wood warehouse” built by Graycor may point the way toward a more sustainable model for industrial construction.
Georgia’s newest innovation district bets big on climate-ready infrastructure and long-term planning.
Faced with the prospect of building a massive $700 million surface reservoir, Greeley instead pursued something few communities have dared to try.
Introducing the Area Development State Talent Pipeline Ranking.
Salary transparency in job listings offers new insights into wages.
Could a prolonged strike have disrupted U.S. supply chains further?
The new year brings some significant changes that will impact employers who have entry-level workers, with 22 states raising their minimum wages effective January 1st.
AI isn’t eliminating jobs—at least not yet. But it is quietly reshaping how companies hire, and where those jobs show up.
As investment surges, a thinning workforce forces companies to rethink where—and how—they build in America.
AI is freeing skilled tradespeople to focus on craftsmanship, safety, and growth as labor pressures intensify.
Employers must modernize their training programs if they want to attract and retain the next generation.
Reestablishing the value of the office has driven trends in workplace investment and location strategy
Workforce demographics are reshaping how and where companies design and locate their offices.
Companies nowadays must understand how people live, work, and connect to the workplace.
Once dismissed as decorative, workplace art is now being embraced as a powerful tool for improving employee well-being, productivity, and a company’s public image.
Two decades of dealmaking, diversification, and economic momentum — this year’s Shovel Awards celebrate the states digging deepest to build the future.
If you’re reading this magazine, you’re likely grappling with questions that don’t have easy answers: Where will the next constraint show up? What will this election cycle do to capital flows? How do you build resilience without losing speed?
Louisiana leads with green, earning the first-ever Green Shovel for its commitment to renewable energy. The state's significant cleantech investments highlight a national shift toward sustainable development.
Economic growth shines at the Area Development Shovel Awards, with states like South Carolina and Louisiana leading the charge. Discover which regions are driving innovation and sustainability in industries from automotive to green technology.
How North Dakota’s stranded natural gas can drive AI.
The fluidity of digital innovation - and its lack of dependence on a traditional industrial infrastructure - means that tech havens are blooming in newer magnets where tech-savvy workers are prevalent, ranging from Ann Arbor, Michigan to Richmond, Virginia.
In an undersupplied NYC market, a historic multistory facility shows why what seemed obsolete is now indispensable for last-mile distribution.
AI’s power hunger is pushing data centers underground, underwater—and soon into orbit—redefining cooling, reliability, and sustainable energy.
Smaller and mid-sized U.S. metros are outpacing big cities, leveraging workforce agility, affordability, and livability to redefine competitiveness and attract investment in 2025.
Simply put, companies want to locate and expand in places where people want to move to and live.
Area Development’s 2024 Leading Metro Locations report reveals shifting dynamics in America’s cities.
Speed, workforce alignment, and energy infrastructure now define the best states for doing business — not just incentives or tax breaks. Our exclusive rankings break down how the top performers are staying ahead in a tightening market.
Certain states just have the right ingredients for attracting and nurturing business growth. The 2024 Top States for Doing Business rankings are in, and guess what? The Southern states are shining bright once again.
Companies across industry sectors are having trouble finding all the talent they need, which makes workforce development programs even more vital as a location factor.
For decades, the bedrock question of corporate site selection was some version of the same calculation: where can we do this most cheaply? That era is not simply fading. According to the results of Area Development's 2026 Annual Survey of Site Selection Consultants, it has ended. Welcome to the new era of operational certainty.
Oil and gas industry consolidation will likely lead to increased demands for higher-quality offices in top locations.
Companies prioritize values and mission when choosing modern headquarters locations.
The post-pandemic remote working trend has resulted in “emerging” or “other” metros performing better than the more established tech markets.
Why the next economic map will be drawn in megawatts, not square feet.
Area Development magazine caught up with its Q2 guest editors, Ford Graham and Steven Pearce from McGuireWoods consulting, to talk about their reporting on data center supply chains. We also invited Ermengarde Jabir Director of Economic Research at Moody’s to join the discussion.
Demand is a given. Power, timelines, and execution are not — and that’s where 2026 decisions are getting made.
The era of easy expansion is over—success now depends on early alignment among utilities, governments, and capital.
A surge of new supply, aging legacy facilities, and shifting operator strategies are creating a widening divide between modern, efficient assets and obsolete space across the nation’s cold storage footprint.
Embedding automation into leases may offer companies a smarter way to balance risk, cost and productivity.
Partnerships with local economic developers and other community stakeholders are key to a company getting approval to site a big-box distribution center.
The exponential growth of e-commerce has, in turn, accelerated the need for both warehouse and data center space.
Virginia is pairing industry investment, academic partnerships and workforce development to build a resilient biopharmaceutical manufacturing ecosystem.
Capital, infrastructure, power and workforce now define competitive manufacturing locations.
How rising tariffs, weak sentiment, and slowing e-commerce are shifting warehouse vacancy rates across major U.S. markets.
Maritime Prosperity Zones could reshape shipbuilding and repair across the U.S. — if defined and used wisely.
Kentucky’s Product Development Initiative is translating preparation into performance.
How Michigan’s Site Readiness Strategy is De-Risking Investment.
JobsOhio’s SiteOhio program is designed to give companies certainty on timelines, infrastructure, and due diligence before a project even begins.
From advanced testing infrastructure at Arnold Air Force Base to new manufacturing expansions in Morristown and Murfreesboro, Tennessee is aligning workforce, research and site readiness to support the next generation of aerospace and defense investment.
As site scarcity shifts corporate decisions from parcels to people, execution—not assets—is becoming the real differentiator.
The permanent extension of Opportunity Zones under the 2025 OBBBA creates a rare opening for business leaders to shape where federal investment flows — and rural America may hold the strongest opportunities for long-term strategic growth.
With federal action slowing and market forces accelerating, private firms are finding that the most effective policy responses—on issues like energy, housing, and workforce—are coming from state and local governments with the agility to act.
A return to American manufacturing demands more than factories — it requires coordinated, community-wide ecosystem development
As tariff uncertainty and industrial policy shifts reshape investment strategies, manufacturers are leaning on tools such as foreign-trade zones, accelerated workforce partnerships and vertically integrated facilities to manage risk and maintain momentum in U.S. site selection decisions.
AI is reshaping site strategy. This episode explores compressing “Time to First Token,” power-first location decisions, and the execution discipline executives need as data centers scale, faster than real estate cycles.
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.
As grid capacity tightens, manufacturers must treat energy as a core site selection filter.
The means by which information is delivered has, of course, changed over the last three decades, but Area Development will continue to provide our readers with what they require to make informed site and facility planning decisions.
The consumption of electricity is only predicted to increase as the digital transformation of industry continues and, consequently, access to electricity has become a dominant site selection factor.
With a worker shortage that seems destined to persist, employers are turning to AI/automation and upskilling, while also realizing that comprehensive immigration reform is necessary to fill gaps in the labor force.
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