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
Portfolio Management / CRE
Investors Seek Shelter in Food-Focused Real Estate
Cold storage and grocery-anchored retail are proving to be safe havens as consumer behavior shifts and CRE volatility grows.
ContinueSite Selection Factors / Strategy
Scoring the Site
How site selectors score locations — and what executives should know about the process.
ContinueAutomotive
Automotive Site Selection Is Evolving as Future Mobility Takes Hold
As the industry accelerates toward electrification and advanced mobility, site selectors and real estate teams are prioritizing adaptable facilities, talent proximity, and logistical readiness over traditional scale.
ContinueWorkplace Trends
The Office Is Back but Is the Portfolio Strategy Aligned?
Reestablishing the value of the office has driven trends in workplace investment and location strategy
ContinueAdvanced 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.
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.
ContinueAerospace
America’s Aerospace Reboot
Once dominated by legacy clusters, aerospace site selection is evolving rapidly as companies prioritize speed, workforce specialization, and strategic proximity.
ContinueGovernment Policy / Business Climate
A New Era in Conservation and Economic Opportunity
MABA reframes conservation policy by emphasizing incentives, partnerships, and business-friendly opportunities across sectors.
ContinueManufacturing / Industrial
Too Much of a Good Thing: Can Overbuilt Spec Development Benefit Manufacturers?
Power supply, infrastructure, and specs often fall short for manufacturers eyeing overbuilt logistics sites.
ContinueSite Selection Factors / Strategy
Electrons Are the New Gatekeepers
As grid capacity tightens, manufacturers must treat energy as a core site selection filter.
ContinuePortfolio Management / CRE
Supply Chain Whiplash Reshapes CRE
Power, ports, and unpredictability are pushing manufacturers to rethink their entire real estate approach.
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.
ContinueProject Announcements
Merck & Co. Expands Elkton, Virginia, Manufacturing Operations
10/28/2025
Tate Plans Glasgow, Kentucky, Manufacturing Operations
10/28/2025
Electrolux Consumer Products Expands Kinston, North Carolina, Manufacturing Operations
10/28/2025
Canada-Based MST Rebar Plans Bladenboro, North Carolina, Manufacturing Operations
10/28/2025
Cardinal Biologicals Expands Cape Girardeau, Missouri, Operations
10/27/2025
Whirlpool Expands Clyde-Marion, Ohio, Production Operations
10/27/2025
Imperial Systems Plans Pennsylvania, Manufacturing Operations
10/27/2025
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