Site Selection Magazine
and
Entrepreneur Magazine
List
Youngstown-Warren Metro
is a Great Place Business
March 9, 2009
OHIO WINS NATIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AWARD FOR THIRD STRAIGHT YEAR
Youngstown-Warren metro area makes the Top 10 list in new and expanded corporate facilities
| “Developments like these demonstrate that our region is a great place for companies to be positioned. Knowing that, now more than ever we must continue working hard to enhance our business attractiveness and be very cognizant that we are competing globally for projects both large and small,” Good said. |
For the third consecutive year, Ohio has won the 2008 Site Selection Governor’s Cup, which the 55-year-old Atlanta-based magazine has awarded annually since 1978 to the U.S. state with the most new and expanded corporate facilities as tracked by Conway Data Inc.’s New Plant database.
Ohio garnered the 2008 Governor’s Cup with 503 projects, after claiming the 2007 Cup with 399 projects. This is Ohio’s third consecutive Governor’s Cup and its fourth in six years. Texas was second this year with 497 projects, followed by Michigan (296), Pennsylvania (290) and North Carolina (245).
In addition, in the metro tier with populations between 200,000 and 1 million, Youngstown-Warren ranked in the top 10 for the first time since rankings were first published in 1978.
“Although 2008 was a challenging year, there were very significant local project announcements that garnered national attention and helped lead to our making this prestigious ranking,” said Walter Good, Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber Vice President for Economic Development, Business Retention and Expansion.
Several projects resulted in the positive showing for the Mahoning Valley, including General Motor’s moving forward with plans to spend $350 million at the Lordstown Complex in preparation for production of the Chevrolet Cruze, Republic Special Metals’ decision to construct a $64 million state-of-the-art specialty steel production plant in North Jackson and RTI International Metals’ plans to invest $30 million at its Niles facility.
Good is in Columbus today with Gov. Ted Strickland, Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher and the state’s other top economic development officials for this announcement.
Site Selection magazine accredited much of Ohio’s repeat top ranking to Fisher, head of the Ohio Department of Development. Fisher and his team are charged with executing Strickland’s vision of making Ohio a pro-business, low-cost location in which to grow industry, a task made more daunting in the current economic climate.
“We cannot allow challenges of the moment to deter us from doing the things that will enable us to participate fully in the recovery that will come,” Strickland tells Site Selection. “We have to maintain our commitment to those efforts that will be essential once the economic storm has passed. The very intense, focused steps that our Department of Development has taken are the key.”
The magazine’s New Plant database focuses on new corporate location projects with significant impact. It does not track retail and government projects or schools and hospitals. New facilities and expansions included in the analyses must meet at least one of three criteria: (a) involve a capital investment of at least US$1 million, (b) create at least 50 jobs or (c) add at least 20,000 square feet (1,858 square meters) of new floor area.
The magazine divides metro areas into three tiers. In the second tier of metros, comprising those with populations between 200,000 and 1 million, the top performers, in order, were Dayton, Ohio; Akron, Ohio; Toledo, Ohio; Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, Pa.; Des Moines, Iowa; Grand Rapids-Wyoming, Mich.; Greensboro-High Point, N.C., Tulsa, Okla., and Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio/Pa. (tied for seventh); and Omaha-Council Bluffs, Neb./Iowa.
About Conway Data: Conway Data publishes Site Selection, the oldest publication in the corporate real estate and economic development field, and the official publication of the Industrial Asset Management Council (IAMC, at www.iamc.org). Site Selection’s yearly analyses are regarded by corporate real estate analysts as “the industry scoreboard.” The magazine’s circulation base consists of 44,000 executives involved in corporate site selection decisions, most at the CEO/President/COO level. For more information about Conway, contact Mark Arend at (770) 325-3438.
Regional Chamber press release
Where to Be an Entrepreneur - Entrepreneur Magazine -August 2009
The 10 Best Cities to Start a Business (Youngstown, Ohio, anyone?)
The Dreamer: Youngstown, Ohio
In its August edition, Entrepreneur Magazine named Youngstown to its Top 10 list of U.S. cities to start a business. The other cities named are Austin, Texas, Atlanta, Chapel Hill, N.C., Las Vegas, Madison, Wis., Portland, Ore., Orlando, Fla., Phoenix and San Diego.
The magazine touts the accomplishments of downtown Youngstown’s Turning Technologies and the Youngstown Business Incubator.
To enhance this reputation even more, the Youngstown Central Area Community Improvement Corp. which is managed by the Regional Chamber, the incubator and others are collaborating to create a “Tech Block” that will further transform the area around the incubator into even more of an entrepreneurial hub.
In addition, the Regional Chamber recently launched REACH – the Regional Entrepreneurial Assistance Channel of the Mahoning Valley. The Chamber’s REACH staff helps fledgling entrepreneurs build their business ideas into viable ventures. The timing of this couldn’t be better, because it is a well-established fact that during an economic downturn, many who have lost their jobs because of downsizing explore the dream of becoming their own bosses.
Additional......
Sen. Brown Congratulates the Citizens of Youngstown and their Business Community