Logistics / Infrastructure U.S. Tariff Outlook: Key Signals to Watch in 2025
How economic developers, manufacturers, and policymakers can prepare for potential trade shifts.
Read MoreGovernment Policy / Business Climate Power, Policy, and Site Selection in 2025
Energy, tariffs, and trade are going to be a moving target in the coming months.
Read MoreEditor's Picks
The Battle to Break China’s Rare Earth Supply Chain Dominance
U.S. faces challenges in reducing reliance on China for rare earths.
The Rise of Joint Venture Agreements in New Construction Projects

Collaborative joint ventures spread risk and ensure successful project outcomes.
The Role of Data-Driven Site Selection in Modern Manufacturing

Why it’s crucial to leverage data and analytics to make informed and strategic site selection decisions.
The Role of Rail in Industrial Development

Area Development talked with Norfolk Southern’s GVP of Industrial Development, Craig Hudson, about the evolving importance of rail in site selection, supply chain sustainability, and emerging sectors like metals and advanced materials.
Recent Features
Construction / Project Planning
A Zebra in the Room

A surprising encounter reveals why environmental due diligence isn’t just paperwork — it’s protection.
ContinueData Centers
New Rules for the Cloud Rush

What developers need to know about how states are regulating data centers—and utilities are shifting the cost burden.
ContinueWorkplace Trends
Why Art Belongs in Industrial Spaces

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.
ContinueBusiness Globalization
The New Math Behind Mexico and U.S. Manufacturing Decisions

Rising wages, grid strain, and policy shifts are changing the calculus for manufacturers in North America.
ContinueConstruction / Project Planning
Scaling Up Without Falling Short

Scaling a pilot into full production requires smart planning, the right team, and constant flexibility.
ContinueAerospace
The Second Space Race

How spaceport development could drive economic growth in new places.
ContinueManufacturing / Industrial
Get Your Mega Site ‘Project Ready’

Preparing a mega site requires more than acreage and ambition—it means aligning zoning, utilities, and documentation to reduce investor risk, compress timelines, and compete for transformative manufacturing and industrial projects.
ContinueFood Processing
Why Cold Storage May Defy the Tariff Crunch

Food related projects remain resilient as tariff pressures shake other sectors of commercial real estate
ContinueManufacturing / Industrial
Siting For Things That Go Boom

Site selectors and engineers must be extra cautious dealing with energetics, like ammunition and explosives.
ContinueBusiness Globalization
A Tale of Two Industrial Winds

Shifting supply chains, evolving trade policies, and new investment trends are reshaping the industrial real estate landscape.
ContinueWorkforce Training / Education
Why Workforce Readiness Can’t Wait

The training program for the new facility can no longer be delayed until the new facility is nearing completion. It should be instituted the day after the site selection decision is announced
ContinueGovernment Policy / Business Climate
Navigating the new era of SCIF construction

Changing compliance standards, heightened geopolitical threats drive SCIF (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities) construction boom.
ContinueGovernment Policy / Business Climate
All Roads Lead to Washington

We are at the dawn of America’s next Industrial Revolution, and it will be shaped in large part by the convergence of technological innovation, climate change and geopolitical pressures.
ContinueData Centers
First Person: Joe Capes, CEO, LiquidStack

LiquidStack CEO Joe Capes on choosing Texas for expansion, working through AI supply chain shocks, and why hot water is the future of cooling.
ContinueTaxes / Incentives
The Legal Limits of DEI in Incentives Agreements, Hiring, and

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.
ContinueBiotech / Life Sciences
Rethinking Life Sciences Site Selection in a Resilient and Dynamic Market

Planning new facilities now requires deeper segmentation, faster timelines, and more nuanced incentive approaches.
ContinueTaxes / Incentives
What You Need to Know About NMTCs

New market tax credits offer millions in upfront funding for projects that create jobs and serve underserved communities.
ContinueEnergy / Clean Tech
Facility Deployments in a Dynamic Electric Landscape

How companies can adapt to evolving utility policies, secure reliable power, and mitigate risks in a shifting electric landscape.
ContinueWorkplace Trends
First Person: Meaghan Elwell, Division President for JLL’s Industrials
Meaghan Elwell serves as the President of the Industrials Division at JLL Work Dynamics, where she oversees global outsourcing relationships across various sectors, including Manufacturing, Aviation, Automotive, Logistics, Oil & Gas, and Utilities. With over 20 years at JLL, she has extensive experience in managing corporate relationships and large real estate portfolios.
ContinueSite Selection Factors / Strategy
First Person: René Buck, President & CEO, BCI Global
As founder and CEO of BCI Global, René Buck has led site selection projects and supply chain projects across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. We caught up with Buck to talk about the evolution of site selection, the impact of tariffs and geopolitics, and the advice he’s giving manufacturing executives right now.
ContinueFood Processing
A Road to Bacon Production

A voluntary access road, last-minute land deals, and a workforce-first strategy helped Bowling Green beat 99 other sites for Tyson’s bacon megaproject.
ContinueGovernment Policy / Business Climate
Around the Horn: North America’s Trade Tensions
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).
ContinueData Centers
Is It Time to Start Planning for Quantum Data Centers?

It’s looking like a question of when, not if. A look ahead at this emerging technology — and what it means for economic development.
ContinueEnergy / Clean Tech
The Location Economics of Advanced Nuclear

Technology gains traction as a strategic investment, with evolving reactor designs, streamlined site selection, and regional incentives shaping the future of clean, reliable power.
ContinueAdvanced Manufacturing
First Person: Brent Omdahl, SVP Government Affairs for Global Wafers

The EVP for Government Affairs at GlobalWafers shares insights on a $3.5 billion investment in Sherman, Texas, workforce development, and how the CHIPS Act has reshaped semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S.
ContinueManufacturing / Industrial
Forging Solid Foundations

Four Key Considerations for Building Strong Relationships with Local Governments in Industrial Development.
ContinueProject Announcements
Bernstein Management Plans Montgomery County, Maryland, Headquarters Operations
05/24/2025
Apex Power Conversion Establishes Mesa, Arizona, Headquarters Operations
05/24/2025
Modine Expands Grenada County, Mississippi, Manufacturing Operations
05/23/2025
Canada-Based Craig Manufacturing USA Expands Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, Operations
05/23/2025
Eaton Expands Orchard Park, New York, Operations
05/23/2025
Merck Plans Wilmington, Delaware, Biologics Operations
05/23/2025
Georgia-Pacific Expands Palatka, Florida, Operations
05/23/2025
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