Texas leads U.S. in corporate expansions, relocations

Texas has won Site Selection magazine’s 2010 Governor’s Cup for having the most new and expanded corporate facilities, while Dallas-Fort Worth was third among metro areas of 1 million or more, it was announced Tuesday.

Texas led all states with 424 projects, 50 more than in 2009, when it placed second. Ohio, which won the last four Governor’s Cups, was second with 376 projects, followed by Louisiana, 347; Pennsylvania, 337; and Georgia, 251.

“As well as Texas has done in the past and in 2010, we’re not going to be what we can be, or as strong as we can be, unless we have competition from other states,” Gov. Rick Perry said in a prepared statement.

The Chicago area, including parts of Wisconsin and Indiana, was the top metro area, followed by the Houston area.

Site Selection has awarded the Governor’s Cup since 1978. The rankings are considered a benchmark by corporate real estate analysts.

David Berzina, executive vice president of economic development for the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber was involved in attracting 10 projects to the city last year, which added 1,057 jobs and $130 million in annual payroll.

The projects included a 190,000-square-foot expansion for General Mills and a 65,000-square-foot expansion for LG Electronics at the Alliance industrial park in far north Fort Worth, as well as the sale of the Ranch Style Beans plant near downtown Fort Worth to Allens Inc., which has reopened the plant to can vegetables and hired about 120 workers.

“We’re consistently ranked, relative to our population, in the top three or four in the last 10 years,” he said.The chamber worked on 89 possible deals in 2010 and landed the 10, Berzina said.

This year, the chamber has worked on seven new relocation possibilities, he said. The targets include a data center, a large office project and a “green energy project,” he said.

“Four of them I would say are warm; three are tire-kickers,” Berzina said.

“Gov. Perry has worked diligently in recent years to make his state pro-business, which is why Texas ranks as high as it does on matters of interest to site selectors,” said Mark Arend, editor-in-chief of Site Selection.

The rankings are based on new corporate location projects and do not track retail or government projects, schools or hospitals. To be considered, a new facility or expansion must involve capital investment of at least $1 million, create at least 50 new jobs or add at least 20,000 square feet of space.

Via Star Telegram