< Previous148 MAY 2021 S I T E S EL E C T I O N TENNESSEE Tennessee Dept. of Econ. & Cmty. Dev. 312 Rosa L. Parks Ave., 11th Fl. Nashville, TN 37243 Bob Rolfe, Comsnr. 615.741.1888 www.tn.gov/ecd Athens McMinn Cnty. Econ. Dev. Auth. 9 E. Madison Ave., #201 Athens, TN 37303 Kathy Price, Exec. Dir. 423.745.1506 www.makeitinmcminn.org Chattanooga Greater Chattanooga Econ. Partnership 811 Broad St., #100 Chattanooga, TN 37402 Charles Wood, Pres./CEO 423.756.2121 www.greaterchatt.com Southeast Tennessee Dev. 1000 Riverfront Pkwy. Chattanooga, TN 37402 Beth Jones, Exec. Dir. 423.266.5781 www.sedev.org Covington HTL Advantage 1469 South Main St. Covington, TN 38019 Mark Herbison, Pres./CEO 901.313.1072 www.htladvantage.com Dayton Rhea Econ. and Cmty. Dev. 107 Main St. Dayton, TN 37321 John Bamber, Exec. Dir. 423.775.6171 www.rheaecd.com Martin City of Martin 109 University St. Martin, TN 38237 Brad Thompson, Dir. Econ. Dev. 731.587.3126 www.cityofmartin.net Maryville Blount Partnership 201 S. Washington St. Maryville, TN 37804 Bryan Daniels, Pres./CEO 855.257.3964 www.blountindustry.com Memphis Econ. Dev. Growth Engine for Memphis & Shelby Cnty. www.growth-engine.org Greater Memphis Chamber 22 North Front St., #200 Memphis, TN 38103 Ted Townsend, Pres./CEO 901.543.3500 www.memphischamber.com Nashville Nashville Area CC www.nashvillechamber.com Tennessee Valley Auth. P.O. Box 292409 OCP 6D Nashville, TN 37229 John Bradley, Sr. V.P. ED 615.232.6051 www.tvasites.com Oak Ridge Oak Ridge Econ. Partnership 1400 Oak Ridge Turnpike Oak Ridge, TN 37830 Christin Michaels, Pres./CEO 865.483.1321 www.orcc.org TEXAS Texas Econ. Dev. Corp. 1005 Congress Ave., #910 Austin, TX 78701 Adriana Cruz, Exec. Dir. 512.936.0100 www.businessintexas.com Abilene Develop Abilene 174 Cypress St. #301 Abilene, TX 79601 Misty Mayo, CEO 325.676.6390 www.developabilene.com Austin Austin Chamber of Comm. www.austinchamber.org Ofc. of the Governor Greg Abbott 221 East 11th St., #400 Austin, TX 78711 512.936.9405 Adriana Cruz, Dir. www.gov.texas.gov Cedar Hill Cedar Hill EDC 285 Uptown Blvd. Bldg. 100 Cedar Hill, TX 75104 Andy Bu ngton, Interim Dir. 972.291.5132 ext. 5 www.cedarhilledc.com Conroe Greater Conroe EDC 505 W. Davis St. Conroe, TX 77301 Danielle Scheiner, Exec. Dir. 936.538.7118 www.gcedc.org Dallas Dallas Regional Chamber - Econ. Dev. Dept. www.dallaschamber.org Oncor Electric Delivery 1616 Woodall Rodgers Fwy., #5E-004 Dallas, TX 75202 Mike Cain, Dir. Econ. Dev. 212.486.6323 www.thinkbigthinktexas.com Fort Worth Fort Worth Chamber 777 Taylor St. #900 Fort Worth, TX 76102 Chris Strayer, Exec. VP, ED 817.718.7837 www.thriveinfortworth.com Grand Prairie City of Grand Prairie P.O. Box 534045 Grand Prairie, TX 75053 Marty Wieder, AICP, Dir. of Econ. Dev. 972.237.8081 www.gptx.org/ED Grapevine City of Grapevine 200 South Main St. Grapevine, TX 76051 Bob Farley, Dir. 817.410.3108 choosegrapevinetx.com Hondo City of Hondo Econ. Dev. Dir. 1600 Ave. M Hondo, TX 78861 Genevieve Flores, Econ. Dev. Dir. 830.426.3378 www.hondo-tx.org Houston Greater Houston Partnership 701 Avenida De Las Americas #900 Houston, TX 77010 Bethany Miller, VP ED 713.844.3600 www.houston.org Kilgore Kilgore Econ. Dev. Corp. 1001 Synergy Blvd., 100 Kilgore, TX 75662 Jana Russell, Exec. Dir. 903.983.3522 www.kilgore-edc.com Lindale Lindale EDC 105 Ballard Dr. Lindale, TX 75771 Susan Gill, CEcD, Pres. 903.882.5332 www.lindaletexas.com Lubbock Lubbock Econ. Dev. Alliance 1500 Broadway, 6th Fl. Lubbock, TX 79401 John Osborne, CEO 806.749.4500 www.lubbockeda.org Mansfi eld Mansfi eld Econ. Dev. Corp. 301 South Main, #100 Mansfi eld, TX 76063 Richard Nevins, Dir. Econ. Dev. 817.728.3650 www.mansfi eld-texas.com Marble Falls Marble Falls Econ. Dev. Corp. 801 Fourth St. Marble Falls, TX 78654 Christian Fletcher, CEcD, Exec. Dir. 830.798.7079 www.marblefallseconomy.com S I T E S E L E C T I O N MAY 2021 149 Mesquite City of Mesquite 1515 N. Galloway Ave Mesquite, TX 75149 Kim Buttram, Dir. Econ. Dev. 972.216.6446 www.cityofmesquite.com New Braunfels Greater New Braunfels CC 390 S. Seguin Ave. New Braunfels, TX 78130 Chester Jenke, VP Econ. Dev. 830.608.2811 businessnewbraunfels.com Pasadena Pasadena Econ. Dev. Corp. 1149 Ellsworth Pasadena, TX 77506 Carlos Guzman, Executive Dir. 713.920.7966 www.pasadenaedc.com Pfl ugerville Pfl ugerville Cmty. Dev. Corp. 16225 Impact Way #2 Pfl ugerville, TX 78660 Amy Madison, Exec. Dir. 512.990.3725 www.pfdevelopment.com Round Rock Round Rock Chamber 212 E. Main St. Round Rock, TX 78664 Jordan Robinson, V.P. Econ. Dev. 512.255.5805 www.roundrockchamber.org San Antonio San Antonio Econ. Dev. Foundation www.sanantonioedf.com Terrell Terrell Econ. Dev. Corp. 1314 W. Moore Ave. Terrell, TX 75160 Ray Dunlap, PCED, Pres. 972.524.5704 www.terrelltexasedc.com The Woodlands Entergy Texas, Inc. 10055 Grogans Mill Rd. The Woodlands, TX 77380 Steve Pilgrim, Dir. Bus. & Econ. Dev. 281.297.2204 www.goentergy.com/texas Tomball Tomball Econ. Dev. Corp. 29201 Quinn Road, Suite B Tomball, TX 77375 Kelly Violette, CEcD, PCED, AICP, Exec. Dir. 281.401.4086 www.tomballtxedc.org Waxahachie City of Waxahachie 401 South Rogers St. Waxahachie, TX 75168 Kassandra Carroll, Econ. Dev. Coord. 469.309.4122 www.waxahachie.com UTAH Utah Governor’s Ofc. of Econ. Dev. 60 East South Temple, Suite 300 Salt Lake City, UT 84111 Pete Codella, Dir. Mktg. & Communications 801.538.8680 https://business.utah.gov Salt Lake Salt Lake City Dept. Econ. Dev. www.slc.gov/ed VERMONT Vermont Agcy. of Comm. & Cmty. Dev. 1 National Life Dr., 6th Fl. Montpelier, VT 05620-0501 Joan Goldstein, Comsnr. 802.272.2399 www.thinkvermont.com Burlington Burlington Cmty. & Econ. Dev. Ofc. www.burlingtonvt.gov Greater Burlington Ind. Corporation www.gbicvt.org Montpelier Vermont Econ. Dev. Auth. www.veda.org VIRGINIA Virginia Econ. Dev. Partnership 901 E. Cary St. Richmond, VA 23219 Stephen Moret, Pres./CEO 804.545.5600 www.yestvirginia.org Danville City of Danville 427 Patton St. Danville, VA 24543 Corrie Teague, Project Mgr. 434.793.1753 www.discoverdanville.com Hampton City of Hampton Econ. Dev. One Franklin St., #600 Hampton, VA 23669 Charles E. “Chuck” Rigney Sr. Dir. of Econ. Dev. 757.727.6237 www.hampton.gov Lynchburg Lynchburg Regional Bus. Alliance 300 Lucado Place Lynchburg, VA 24504 Megan Lucas, CEO 434.845.5966 www.lynchburgregion.org Opportunity Lynchburg 900 Church St. Lynchburg, VA 24504 Marjette Upshur, Dir. 434.455.4490 www.opportunitylynchburg.com Norfolk Hampton Roads Econ. Dev. Alliance 500 Main St., #1300 Norfolk, VA 23510 Doug Smith, Pres./CEO 757.627.2315 www.hreda.com Port of Virginia 600 World Trade Center Norfolk, VA 23510 Stephen Edwards, Pres./CEO 757.683.8000 www.portofvirginia.com Portsmouth Portsmouth Econ. Dev. 200 High St., #200 Portsmouth, VA 23704 Robert D. Moore, Dir. Econ. Dev. 757.393.8804 www.accessportsmouthva.com Newport News Newport News Econ. Dev. Auth. 2400 Washington Ave., 3rd Fl. Newport News, VA 23607 Florence Kingston, Dir. Econ. Dev. 757.926.8428 www.newportnewsva.com Richmond Greater Richmond Partnership, Inc. 901 E Byrd St., #801 Richmond, VA 23219 Jennifer Wakefi eld, Pres./CEO 804.643.3227 www.grpva.com Virginia Beach Virginia Beach Econ. Dev. Dept. 222 Central Park Ave., #1000 Virginia Beach, VA 23462 Taylor Adams, Interim Dir. 757.385.6464 www.yesvirginiabeach.com WASHINGTON Washington State Dept. of Comm. 2001 Sixth Ave., #2600 Seattle, WA 98121 Lisa Brown, Dir. 206.256.6124 www.choosewashington.com Kennewick Tri-City Dev. Coun. 7130 W. Grandridge Blvd., #A Kennewick, WA 99336 Karl Dye, Pres./CEO 509.735.1000 www.TryTri-Cities.org Lacy Thurston Econ. Dev. Coun. www.thurstonedc.com Olympia Experience Olympia & Beyond www.experienceolympia.com Richland City of Richland 625 Swift Blvd. Richland, WA 99352 Mandy Wallner, Econ. Dev. Mktg. Specialist 509.942.7595 www.discoverrichland.com Port of Benton 3250 Port of Benton Blvd. Richland, WA 99354 Miles Thomas, Dir. Econ. Dev. & Govt. A airs509.375.3060 www.portofbenton.com SeaTac City of SeaTac Cmty. and Econ. Dev. 4800 South 188th St. SeaTac, WA 98188 Aleksandr Yeremeyev, Econ. Dev. Mgr. 206.973.4843 www.seatacwa.gov150 MAY 2021 S I T E S EL E C T I O N Seattle Greater Seattle Partners 1301 Fifth Ave., #1500 Seattle, WA 98101 Brian McGowan, Pres./CEO 206.389.8657 www.greater-seattle.com Spokane Greater Spokane, Inc. 801 West Riverside Ave., #100 Alisha Benson, CEO 509.624.1393 www.greaterspokane.org Vancouver Port of Vancouver USA 3103 NW Lower River Rd Vancouver, WA 98660 Mike Bomar, Dir. of Econ. Dev. 360.823.5330 www.portvanusa.com WEST VIRGINIA West Virginia Dept. of Econ. Dev. 1900 Kanawha Blvd. E. Building 3, Suite 600 Charleston, WV 25305 Secretary Mitch Carmichael 304.558.2234 www.WestVirginia.gov Charleston Charleston Area Alliance www.charlestonareaalliance.org WISCONSIN Wisconsin Econ. Dev. Corp. 201 W. Washington Ave. Madison, WI 53703 Heather Smith, Senior Dir., Bus. Investment and Attraction 608.210.6814 www.InWisconsin.com Franklin City of Franklin 9229 W. Loomis Road Franklin, WI 53132 Calli Berg, CEcD, EDFP Dir. Econ. Dev. 404.427.7566 www.franklinwi.gov Madison Madison Region Econ. Partnership www.madisonregion.org Milwaukee Milwaukee Econ. Dev. Corporation www.medconline.com WYOMING Wyoming Bus. Coun. 214 West 15th St. Cheyenne, WY 82002 Brandon Marshall, Bus. Dev. Dir. 307.777.2800 www.wyomingbusiness.org Casper Advance Casper 111 S Durbin St. #200 Casper, WY 82601 Morryah McCurdy, V.P. of Bus. Dev. 307-577-7011 www.advancecasper.com Cheyenne Cheyenne Leads www.cheyenneleads.org PUERTO RICO Invest Puerto Rico 1225 Ponce de León Ave. PH 782, San Juan, PR 00907 Michael P. Gay, CEcD, Chief Bus. Dev. O cer 608.438.2337 www.Investpr.org INTERNATIONAL CANADA Invest in Canada www.investcanada.ca ALBERTA Invest Alberta www.Investalberta.ca BRITISH COLUMBIA Government of BC www.gov.bc.ca MANITOBA Government of Manitoba www.gov.mb.ca NEW BRUNSWICK Opportunities NB www.onbcanada.ca NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR Government of Newfoundland & Labrador www.gov.nl.ca/tcii NORTHWEST TERRITORIES Government of Northwest Territories www.iti.gov.nt.ca NOVA SCOTIA Bus. Nova Scotia Bus. Inc. www.novascotiabusiness.com NUNAVUT Government of Nunavut www.gov.nu.ca ONTARIO Government of Ontario Invest Ontario www.investontario.ca PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND Innovation PEI www.innovationpei.com QUÉBEC Investissement Québec www.investquebec.com SASKATCHEWAN Invest Saskatchewan www.thinksask.ca/invest YUKON Government of Yukon www.gov.yk.ca ARGENTINA Buenos Aires Metro Area Invest BA https://investba.buenosaires.gob.ar/en AUSTRALIA Australian Trade and Investment Commission www.austrade.gov.au/International/ invest Melbourne Invest Victoria www.invest.vic.gov.au/ Sydney Metro Area Invest NSW www.invest.nsw.gov.au AUSTRIA Vienna Vienna Bus. Agency www.viennabusinessagency.at BELGIUM Invest in Belgium www.business.belgium.be BRAZIL Sao Paulo Metro Area Invest Sao Paulo www.investe.sp.gov.br CHILE Santiago Metro Area InvestChile www.investchile.gob.cl CHINA Ministry of Comm., People’s Republic of China http://english.mofcom.gov.cn Beijing Invest Beijing http://invest.beijing.gov.cn/english/ Hangzhou Hangzhou Investment Promotion Bureau http://tzcj.hangzhou.gov.cn Shanghai Metro Area Invest Shanghai www.investsh.org.cn Shenzhen Comm. Bureau of Shenzhen Municipality http://commerce.sz.gov.cn/szinvest/ index.html Wuhan Hubei China http://en.hubei.gov.cn COLOMBIA ProColombia https://procolombia.co/ Bogota Invest in Bogota www.investinbogota.org Cali Invest Pacifi c https://investpacifi c.org/en Medellín ACI, Invest in Medellín www.acimedellin.org/?lang=en COSTA RICA Costa Rican Investment Board Plaza Roble Lose Balcones, 4th Fl. Escazu, San Jose, Costa Rica Jorge Sequeira, Exec. Dir. 506.2201.2800 www.cinde.org Coyol Free Zone Ubicados de RTV en El Coyol 50 metros sur RITEVE Alajuela Alajuela, Costa Rica Carlos Wong, Mng. Dir. 506.2435.6000 www.coyolfz.com ® Eurocenter Inmobiliaria de Costa Rica ECR, S.A. Parque empresarial Eurocenter 1 Piso, Torre II, Barreal, Heredia, Costa Rica. Mr. Carlos Dorfel, CEO 506.2293.9990 www.eurocentercostarica.com Portafolio InMobiliario 205 Avenida Escazu San Jose, Costa Rica Maria Jose Crespo Pauly, Jefe de Comercializacion 506.2288.0101 www.portafolio.cr/es Zona Franca La Lima, S.R.L. Guadalupe, Cartago Province, Cartago, Costa Rica Fernando Carazo, Gen. Mgr. 506.2205.3600 www.lalimafreezone.com CURAÇAO Curaçao Ind. and International Trade Dev. Co. CURINDE N.V. www.curinde.com CYPRUS Nicosia Invest in Cyprus www.investcyprus.org.cy CZECH REPUBLIC Prague Metro Area Czech Invest www.czech-invest.eu DENMARK Ministry of Foreign A airs of Denmark www.investindk.com EGYPT COMESA Regional Investment Agcy. www.comesaria.org ESTONIA Enterprise Estonia (EAS) www.eas.ee FINLAND Business Finland www.Businessfi nland.fi FRANCE Choose Paris Region www.chooseparisregion.org GERMANY Germany Trade & Invest www.gtai.de S I T E S E L E C T I O N MAY 2021 151 Berlin/Brandenburg Metro Area Berlin Partner www.berlin-partner.de/en/ GREECE Athens Enterprise Greece www.enterprisegreece.gov.gr HUNGARY Budapest Metro Area Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency www.hipa.hu ICELAND Reykjavik Invest in Iceland Agency www.invest.is INDIA Delhi National Capital Region Invest India www.investindia.gov.in/state/delhi IRELAND IDA Ireland www.idaireland.com ISRAEL Invest in Israel www.investinisrael.gov.il Tel Aviv Metro Area Tel Aviv-Yafo Econ. Dev. Authority www.ta-eda.co.il/ ITALY Torino Invest in Torino Piemonte www.centroestero.org JAMAICA JAMPRO Trade & Invest Jamaica 18 Trafalgar Road Kingston 10, JAMAICA Diane Edwards, President +1 877.JAMVEST (526.8378) www.jamaicatradeandinvest.org JORDAN Aqaba Special Econ. Zone Auth. (ASEZA) www.aqabazone.com PBI Aqaba Ind. Estate LLP www.pbiaqaba-jo.com KENYA Nairobi Metro Area Kenya Investment Authority www.invest.go.ke KUWAIT Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Auth. www.kdipa.gov.kw/en LIBYA Misurata Misurata Free Zone www.mfzly.com MALAYSIA Malaysian Investment Dev. Auth. www.mida.gov.my MAURITIUS Econ. Dev. Board of Mauritius www.edbmauritius.org MEXICO Mexico City Metro Area Government of the State of Mexico www.edomex.gob.mx/ MOROCCO Invest in Morocco www.invest.gov.ma Tanger Med Zones www.tangermedzones.com/en NAMIBIA Windhoek City of Windhoek www.windhoekcc.org.na NETHERLANDS Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency www.Investinholland.com NEW ZEALAND Auckland New Zealand Trade & Enterprise www.nzte.govt.nz NIGERIA Lagos Metro Area Lagos Global https://lagosglobal.org NORTH MACEDONIA Directorate for Technological Ind. Dev. Zones http://fez.gov.mk POLAND Warsaw Metro Area Polish Investment and Trade Agency www.paih.gov.pl PORTUGAL Lisbon AICEP - Portugal Global Bus. Dev. Agency www.portugalglobal.pt ROMANIA Bucharest Metro Area InvestRomania www.investromania.gov.ro RUSSIA Moscow Metro Area Moscow City Investment Agency https://en.investmoscow.ru SINGAPORE Singapore Singapore Econ. Dev. Board www.edb.gov.sg SOUTH AFRICA Invest Durban www.Invest.durban Trade and Investment Kwa-Zulu Natal www.tikzn.co.za SOUTH KOREA Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency www.kotra.or.kr www.investkorea.org Seoul Metro Area Invest Seoul www.investseoul.com/v2/eng SPAIN Instituto Galego de Promoción Económica (IGAPE) Santiago de Compostela www.igape.es Pamplona SODENA - Navarre Dev. Agency www.sodena.com SWEDEN Business Sweden www.business-sweden.se Stockholm Metro Area Invest Stockholm www.investstockholm.com TOGO Lome Togo Free Zone Authority http://zonefranchetogo.org/en TRINIDAD & TOBAGO InvesTT – Trinidad and Tobago Level 19, Nicholas Tower 63-65 Independence Square Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago Christopher Lewis, President 868.368.0038 www.investt.co.tt TUNISIA Tunis FIPA Tunisia www.investintunisia.tn TURKEY Izmir Aegean Free Zone Dev. & Operating Co ESBAS www.esbas.com.tr Gumruk, Izmir IZMIR Dev. Agency www.izka.org.tr TURKS & CAICOS Invest Turks and Caicos Agency www.investturksandcaicos.tc UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi Investment Ofc. www.investinabudhabi.ae Dubai Dubai FDI www.dubaifdi.gov.ae Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman Metro Area Invest in Sharjah www.investinsharjah.ae/en UNITED KINGDOM Department for International Trade www.great.gov.uk London Metro Area London & Partners www.londonandpartners.com U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS U.S. Virgin Islands Econ. Dev. Auth. 8000 Nisky Shopping Center, #620 St. Thomas 00840 Wayne Biggs, CEO 340-714-1700 www.usvieda.org152 MAY 2021 S I T E S EL E C T I O N INVES TMENT PROFILE: SOUTH CAROLINA PORTS AUTHORITY History in the Making: SC Ports Sees Record Numbers, Opens First U.S. Container Terminal in 12 Years These are heady times for the South Carolina Ports Authority. As congested ports at several locations in the country make ships wait for berths, vessels and commerce at the Port of Charleston remain as fluid as the water they float in on. No waiting. Plenty of opportunity. The Port made history in March 2021 with record container volumes. Rail move volume was up strongly at Inland Port Greer and Inland Port Dillon too. So April was the perfect time for the Port to officially open the Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal on the Cooper River. It’s the first container terminal to open in the U.S. since 2009. Phase one will add 700,000 TEUs of throughput capacity to the Port of Charleston and an additional berth to the East Coast port market at a time of unprecedented, sustained demand. “The Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal is an investment in the future of South Carolina that will spur economic development, create jobs and further our state’s position as an international business destination for years to come,” said South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster. The Leatherman Terminal is part of SC Ports’ $2 billion infrastructure investment plan, which also involves enhancing Wando Welch Terminal. With these combined investments, SC Ports can handle four 14,000-TEU vessels simultaneously. SC Ports’ Senior Vice President of Marketing and Sales Micah Mallace says it couldn’t come at a better time — literally. The world watched as a ship blocking the Suez Canal threw the world’s largest monkey wrench into global commerce. Even after the Ever After was freed, schedules for ports, shippers, truckers, railroads and customers were bunched. Six weekly ships at the Port of Charleston — 28% of its total volume — transit the Suez. But Mallace is sanguine. “We’re in the very fortunate position where we’ll be able to handle whatever comes,” he says. While a year of supply chain frustrations and challenges continues for many, “we have remained fluid,” he says. The bunched-up Suez vessels were expected to arrive on the East Coast in late April, concurrent with the Leatherman Terminal ramp-up. “It very well could be just in the nick of time,” Mallace says. Just in time is an odd description for a project that took 20 years to come to fruition. “The thing that strikes me about the Leatherman Terminal is it’s such a bellwether of our business,” Mallace says. “The delivery timeline was slowed down in the by ADAM BRUNS adam.bruns@siteselection.com The arrival of the first ship at the Leatherman Terminal at the Port of Charleston signified the opening of the first container terminal in the U.S. since 2009. Photo courtesy of South Carolina Ports Authority S I T E S E L E C T I O N MAY 2021 153 This Investment Profile has been prepared under the auspices of South Carolina Ports Authority For more information, visit www.scspa. com/toolkit. Great Recession. en in more recent years, it was, ‘Holy cow, we need to expedite this.’ And now we’re talking already about the second phase. Previous forecasts for that next tranche of capacity were much further out at years, and now we’re talking a decade. It’s incredible, and indicative of the Southeast market we serve being such a boom area.” Any Time, Any Tide e addition of the Leatherman Terminal, as well as continuing improvements in the Port’s other services, means “we will be able to continue the normal cadence of throughput,” Mallace says. Normal cadence? Customers crave soothing language like that, with its promise of dependable operations. In SC Ports’ case, it’s more than a promise. “SC Ports has invested in port terminals, which is crucial as we continually expand in the Lowcountry,” says Tim Smith, executive vice president of business development for Lineage Logistics, the world’s largest industrial REIT for temperature-controlled real estate. e company in March expanded its site in North Charleston with a $ million investment. Since , SC Ports’ refrigerated cargo business has more than doubled with % growth for loaded containers. SC Ports recently expanded the reefer container service area at Wando Welch Terminal and built a new reefer container service area at the Leatherman Terminal. “We can con dently count on SC Ports to provide e cient operations and excellent cold- storage capabilities to support our growth, and we are excited about our future ahead in the region,” said Smith. Giving shippers and customers further con dence, the Charleston Harbor deepening project will yield feet of depth in , making it the deepest harbor on the East Coast. Green Lights All the Way Costs seem to be owing in Charleston’s favor too: Just as global retailers are getting faster approval from their boards to expand their supply chain infrastructure, new analysis reveals labor costs at the Port are the lowest among the top U.S. container ports, with costs going down over the last three years while nearly every other port’s costs have risen. Similarly, says Mallace, “we’ve seen local trucking costs go up exponentially in a lot of the major port markets the last months, and they really haven’t changed in Charleston.” Ah, but the things that are changing are all for the better: A new access road to the Leatherman Terminal just opened up and is rapidly going from a proving ground for some people’s sports cars to being covered up with truck tra c. As crane commissioning neared completion, “the heavy lift right now is on the computer screens at our o ce,” Mallace says. “After physical infrastructure, IT infrastructure is the most critical to a productive cadence at a terminal. We are in the process of delivering a new terminal operating system for all of our terminals and operations — tens of millions of dollars and years of work coming to a head over the course of this year.” As global commerce reopens, it’s a unique moment in history. In South Carolina, as new projects and systems roll out like clockwork, it’s a unique moment in time, like hitting all green tra c lights as you skate across town on your favorite drive. “We have invested in the right infrastructure at the right time to handle growing cargo volumes and bigger ships, ensuring SC Ports remains a top U.S. container port,” said SC Ports CEO Jim Newsome at the Leatherman Terminal opening. “Tomorrow is here at SC Ports.” A new port access road provides direct access between the new Hugh Leatherman Port Terminal located on the former Charleston Naval Base and I-26. Photo courtesy of Fluor We are fortunate that our gateway has capacity when e ectively no one else does.” — Micah Mallace, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, South Carolina Ports Authority We are fortunate that our gateway has We are fortunate that our gateway has capacity when e ectively no one else does.” We are fortunate that our gateway has It was a year to forget, except for some projects to remember. Based on corporate end-user facility investment project data in the proprietary Conway Projects Database maintained by Site Selection publisher Conway Data, we have indexed capital expenditure and job creation data to determine the Top Deals of . Which deals pack the most combined punch? For North America, it’s GM in metro Detroit, Tesla in Austin, Centene in Charlotte and TSMC’s big bet on a chip fab in Arizona leading the way. Across the rest of the world, TSMC shows up again: Its investment in its home country of Taiwan is tops, followed by battery maker Britishvolt in the UK, electronics company Yageo in Taiwan and Pinewood’s fi lm studio in the UK. Presented alphabetically by company or project name, here are the Top Deals in North America and the Top abroad. (Full blurbs about the Top International Deals will appear in the online edition of this article posted at siteselection.com in May .) B2I: T OP DEALS OF 20 20 154 MAY 2021 S I T E S EL E C T I O N by ADAM BRUNS adam.bruns@siteselection.com Whole New World: Major Projects Break rough Sour Economy to Pursue Innovation and Restart Global Commerce S I T E S E L E C T I O N MAY 2021 155 T OP 20 NOR TH AMERICAN DEALS Agriculture Technology Campus | Early Branch, South Carolina $314 MILLION, 1,500 JOBS “Every job created in a rural community affects a family and improves their quality of life,” said Gov. Henry McMaster in September 2020 when plans were announced to establish this 1,000-acre ag-tech campus. Partners on the project at the South Carolina Industrial Campus in Hampton County include LiDestri Food and Drink, Mastronardi, Clear Water Farms and GEM Opportunity Zone Fund. The project will include greenhouses for locally grown, pesticide-free tomatoes, leafy greens, blueberries and other produce; a 150,000-square-foot distribution center; and a co-packing facility operated by LiDestri. Amazon.com | Detroit, Michigan $400 MILLION, 2,000 JOBS As reported by Senior Editor Gary Daughters, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan in August announced an agreement for the sale of 142 acres of the largely dormant Michigan State Fairgrounds, used most recently for drive-in COVID-19 tests, to local developers for this project, whose job creation total started out at 1,200 before being amended later. Duggan said the project would create at least 1,200 jobs, a figure he later amended to 2,000. The development team will cover the costs of an associated $7 million indoor transit center to serve up to 30,000 bus passengers a week. “Duggan’s contention that Amazon received no incentives for the deal was challenged in court by an activist group that initially won an eleventh-hour, temporary restraining order against the sale, maintaining that the city had dropped the property’s sale price by $2 million, a de facto incentive,” Daughters reported. “An appeals court quashed the order in early November, and work at the site began. ‘This is groundbreaking,’ Duggan said. ‘This city has never had a new building built for $400 million without tax breaks and incentives.’ ” Amazon.com | New York, New York $250 MILLION, 2,000 JOBS The same company is creating 2,000 jobs of a different sort in the Big Apple, at a new office in Midtown. The deal from Amazon (like similar big deals from other big tech companies in the city) came even after some thought the soured HQ2 deal in Long Island City in 2019 would scare off the e-commerce giant. But access to talent was a pull much stronger than squabbles over real estate and gentrification. The lease covers 335,000 sq. ft. in a building not far from Hudson Yards. It isn’t only major occupancy by Amazon in the city, as it also purchased the former Lord & Taylor building for nearly $1 billion, pre-leased industrial space in Red Hook and is even pursuing a delivery station in the aforementioned Long Island City. Axiom Space | Houston, Texas $2 BILLION, 1,000 JOBS NASA selected Houston-based Axiom Space to build a privately funded platform that will attach to the International Space Station. The company expects to launch its first module as soon as NASA and Axiom Space have formed a partnership that will create as many as 1,000 jobs in Houston. Image courtesy of Axiom SpaceNext >