News

Yoakum Economic Corporation to Develop Second Industrial Park

Tuesday, June 29, 2021

The Yoakum Economic Development Corporation (YEDC), in collaboration with the Yoakum City Council, has secured the land necessary to establish Yoakum’s second business development park suitable for the location of industrial and manufacturing companies that are key to the community’s long-term growth. The new 60-acre industrial park is located at the major intersection of US Highway 77-A and Farm-to-Market 3475 (Carl Ramert Drive). The park will boast the availability of shovel-ready sites including all the requisite utility infrastructure in the near future. YEDC’s goal is for the location to bring millions of dollars of private investment with stable, well-paying jobs...

Life Sciences Fueling Construction Demand

Friday, June 18, 2021

In a time of widespread economic upheaval, the life sciences industry is one of the few whose prospects have changed for the better. Called upon to rapidly develop and distribute an all-important COVID-19 vaccine without sacrificing the research and production of existing drugs, the biotech industry is expanding at breakneck speed. Currently, around 13.9 million square feet of life sciences research and manufacturing space is under construction in key markets. In the United States, lab space vacancies have dropped to 7.1 percent, while commercial properties are being converted into R&D facilities on a massive scale. This biotech boom is providing a vital lifeline to the constructio...

Engaging the Workforce with Empathetic Leadership

Thursday, June 17, 2021

Area Development’s staff editor Mark Crawford recently asked Ericsson’s Dan Kerber, vice president of digital services business operations for North America — who helps companies improve their financial and operational metrics through improved resource management processes — about his thoughts on leadership, especially the need for “soft skills” during the COVID-19 pandemic. Area Development: What are the most important soft skills needed for leadership today? Kerber: There are many important soft skills, but the three I have found most important are communication, giving effective feedback, and empathy. Good communication skills are essential for conveying information, decisions, and your thought processes to your team. Givin...

The Effects of the Pandemic on Industrial Design

Wednesday, June 16, 2021

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected every facet of our economy, increasing a cultural reliance on e-commerce that is here to stay. Retailers have responded by minimizing square footage of brick-and-mortar store fronts, keeping less inventory on site, and focusing more on entertainment and experiential retail to keep shoppers engaged. As a result, the need for warehousing and industrial space has exploded, driving the desire for large-scale, innovative facilities that maximize efficiency and logistical operations. The literal driving force behind the industrial surge is the expansion of transportation capabilities worldwide, with international trade becoming the engine of the global economy. Goods ar...

Shoring Up Operations for Growth

Tuesday, June 15, 2021

The pandemic wreaked havoc across every industry, and companies in the manufacturing and mobility/transportation sectors were not spared. The result? Companies are re-evaluating their supply chains and operations in a post-COVID environment. Realigning the Supply Chain For the past 20 years, manufacturing moved operations from the U.S. to East Asia to take advantage of cheap labor. This approach dominated manufacturers’ strategy, paving the way for a status quo where low-skilled and large-scale manufacturing was done in China. But COVID-19 — coupled with rising wages in East Asia, trade tensions, and a tariff war between the U.S. and China — undermined the busines...

A Turnkey Approach to Manufacturing Location Decisions

Monday, June 14, 2021

When scouting locations for a retailer, an experienced real estate team knows precisely what to look for: sites that have high visibility, easy accessibility, and close proximity to a population base and competing stores. By comparing options that meet this small handful of criteria, the final selection can be relatively simple. Compare that to locating a new manufacturing facility. As many as 70 or more different variables can influence site selection — from infrastructure, logistical, and incentive considerations to permitting requirements, staffing needs, and community acceptance concerns. Site selection models for these facilities, therefore, can be notoriously complex. The strengths o...

Texas’ Workforce Beats The Competition

Tuesday, June 01, 2021

Texas is among a handful of states that boasts a tax-friendly business climate. But our state has the edge on other states, even those that also have no state income tax: the Texas workforce is best and one of the fastest-growing in the nation. In late April 2021, Chief Executive Magazine announced the results of its annual CEO survey. For the 17th year in a row, Texas is the No. 1 State to Do Business. Florida was No. 2 and remains one of Texas’ strongest competitors in attracting new projects. Texas’s skilled workforce is a significant factor in its track record of success, alon...

Demand Puts EV Battery Production In the Fast Lane

Monday, May 31, 2021

Speedbump or pothole? Either way, a global shortage of electric vehicle (EV) batteries is disrupting new and established manufacturers’ plans to deliver their product to consumers in the volumes and timeframes they first envisaged. That’s an opportunity for those looking to supply the demand, much of which is driven by local, state and national goals to reduce carbon emissions significantly in coming years. In March, for example, Volkswagen Group announced it is “pushing ahead at full speed with the development of production capacities in Europe in order to meet the increasing demand for battery cells,” according to a company release. “Togethe...

BBB Tip: How to avoid employment scams when searching for summer jobs

Sunday, May 23, 2021

The beginning of summer brings an influx of job-seeking students looking to capitalize on their free time by earning money over their three-month break. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most of these students find employment in the accommodations and foodservice industry. However, due to the complications associated with COVID-19, employment opportunities in this industry fell by more than 2.2 million between 2019 and 2020. While the foodservice industry projects growth, it is still measurably less than pre-COVD-19 levels, causing would-be employees to look elsewhere for summertime employment. In 2018-2019, employment scams were the No. 1 riskiest scam in Nort...

Texas’ Natural Beauty As Diverse As The State Itself

Thursday, May 06, 2021

Texas’s natural beauty and quality of life are among the state’s draws for business decision-makers considering a move here. Travel and Tourism Week, May 2-8, is an opportune time to see what Texas has to offer. Take an online tour of Texas — with the occasional taste of its diverse economy and culture — by following these Instagram accounts and hashtags. A huge state with 10 ecosystems So, what landscape does your mind’s eye conjure when you think of Texas? Unless you’ve spent time in the state, your imagination might run to grassy plains with grazing Longhorns or a sunbaked desert dotted with cactus. Whil...

USA Opportunity Zones

Thursday, May 06, 2021

Overview More than 8,700 opportunity zones have been designated across the United States, established as part of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and are intended to foster long-term private sector investments in low-income communities. We can now begin to show the intersection of EDA's public investments and activities (more information will be added) near or within these zones. An initial assessment on the impact of these zones is available in this August 2020 report from the Council of Economic Advisors. What are Opportunity Zones? Qualified opportunity zones were created by the federal 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and designed to spu...

7 Must-Do Tasks Before Creating An Opportunity Zone Strategy

Monday, May 03, 2021

Seven must-do tasks before creating an Opportunity Zone strategy include assessing housing needs; gauging commercial market conditions in your community; identifying key economic drivers; analyzing your community workforce; seeking available tools for economic growth; collaborating with existing partners; and finding the right experts to help guide you through this process. Let's take a deeper dive into these. 7 MUST-DO TASKS BEFORE CREATING AN OPPORTUNITY ZONE STRATEGY 1. Assess Your Community's Housing Needs Housing is a basic human need and increasing the quality of affordable housing is a priority for most communities. By providing residents and potential residents a variety of housing options at varyin...

Texas Named Best State For Business By CEO Magazine For A Record-Smashing 17th Year In A Row

Wednesday, April 28, 2021

For the 17th year in a row, Texas has again been named the Best State for Business by the nation’s leading CEOs in an annual survey conducted by Chief Executive Magazine. The rankings are determined by the CEO’s assessments of each state’s business climate, workforce, and quality of life. Texas has secured the top spot each year since the ranking’s inception. Read full article.

Friar Ag Center Nears Completion

Tuesday, April 27, 2021

Cuero showcases one of the top stock shows in the region each spring. Soon, they’ll also have the facilities to equal the event they put together every year for local youth. The newly renovated Friar Ag Center and Anne Friar Thomas Homemaking Building will not only be for stock shows, though, but it will have rental space available for public use. DeWitt County Extension Agent and Cuero Livestock Show board member Anthony Netardus relayed that the ag center itself was nearly complete at the time of this year’s show in late February-early March. There’s still a few things to do there...

What’s Driving Record Industrial Real Estate Demand

Tuesday, April 27, 2021

The global pandemic accelerated the growth of e-commerce as lockdowns and safety concerns prompted an increasing number of consumers worldwide to shop online. As a result, several years of online sales growth were condensed into 2020 alone, causing industrial leasing to surge globally as logistics became essential for retailers. Changes in population densities, shifting consumer expectations, and increasing transportation costs all played a role in this rise in industrial property demand. But it’s the need for speed that will shatter industrial CRE pricing. 2020 – A Banner Year for Industrial Throughout Asia Pacific, strong leasing and tight market conditions translated into double-digit increase...

2020: When Your Data Center Becomes Your Real HQ

Monday, April 26, 2021

Last year delivered plenty of wakeup calls to corporate real estate executives, but perhaps none bigger than this: Your site selection process for your company’s data center operations now carries more importance than your site selection for your corporate headquarters. In a world where remote work has become the norm for most non-industrial jobs, the headquarters facility has become a ghost town. Taking its place in critical importance is the data center, the lifeblood of your company’s entire global operation. The data center is what keeps you connected to your employees, your employees connected to each other, and your company connected t...

10 Things Economic Developers Must Know About Opportunity Zones

Tuesday, April 20, 2021

Ten things economic developers must know about Opportunity Zones include what an Opportunity Zone is, how many there are, your role in attracting investors to your community, and more. Let's walk through them. 10 THINGS ECONOMIC DEVELOPERS MUST KNOW ABOUT OPPORTUNITY ZONES 1. What exactly is an opportunity zone? According to the U.S. Economic Development Agency, "an Opportunity Zone is an economically-distressed community where private investments, under certain conditions, may be eligible for capital gain tax incentives." Residents who live in areas designated as Opportunity Zones tend to suffer from unequal economic growth and access to capital. Opportunity Zones are designed to spur economi...

Creative new ZoomTours help promote our innovative clients

Tuesday, April 20, 2021

When we launched ZoomTour back in December, we recognized that our innovative clients would produce a wide variety of interactive online tours this unique new virtual tour building software. We have not been disappointed! Client reviews of ZoomTour have been overwhelmingly positive. "ZoomTour was so easy to work with and a lot of fun," says Amber Shek, economic development specialist with the Greater Yuma Economic Development Commission (one of the tours featured below). “ZoomTour has been an excellent tool for us as we have had to find ways to showcase our region without our clients actually being able to travel to us," explains Andrew Golden, Marketin...

The Effect of Corporate Relocation Incentives on the Office Market

Sunday, April 18, 2021

The pandemic has left office markets across the country with more vacancies than they have seen in over a decade. With practically every occupier rethinking its real estate footprint, filling all that empty space will be a challenge. It isn’t just office landlords who are fighting for tenants in this softening market, cities are also competing to bring in workers. This will likely accelerate an already growing trend of cities offering incentives for corporate relocations and will have an impact on which office markets will recover the fastest from the reduced demand. Dallas has been the poster child for relocations sinc...

10 THINGS ECONOMIC DEVELOPERS MUST KNOW ABOUT OPPORTUNITY ZONES

Tuesday, April 20, 2021

10 THINGS ECONOMIC DEVELOPERS MUST KNOW ABOUT OPPORTUNITY ZONES

Tuesday, April 20, 2021