< PreviousState New 2024 Minimum Wage Rate Washington $16.29 California $16 New York $16 Connecticut $15.69 New Jersey $15.13 Maryland $15 Colorado $14.42 (proposed) Arizona $14.35 Maine $14.15 Illinois, Rhode Island, Hawaii $14 NORTH AMERICAN REPORTS A Chip Ecosystem Thrives A semiconductor packaging and test facility has landed in Peoria, Arizona, with an investment of $2 billion. Leading semiconductor manufacturer Amkor Technology, Inc., has decided to expand on the company’s 39-year presence in the Greater Phoenix area. “Semiconductor companies, foundries and other supply chain partners understand the need to strategically broaden their geographic footprint. The announcement of our new advanced packaging and test facility in Arizona is a clear signal of our intent to help our customers ensure resilient supply chains and be a part of a strong American semiconductor ecosystem,” said Amkor President and CEO Giel Rutten. The 55-acre site will be built out in phases, with the fi rst phase expected to come online within the next two to three years. The location decision was made strategically, as the company will support Apple’s Arizona semiconductor fab. Upon completion the Amkor facility will create 2,000 new jobs. Amkor joins a growing number of chip manufacturers and suppliers in the state. Photo: Getty Images BETA Technologies moves forward with manufacturing a fully electric aircraft. Photo courtesy of BETA Technologies Committed to Clean Delivery in New York N ew York’s Plattsburgh International Airport will be seeing a lot more of BETA Technologies as the company invests $41 million to upgrade its current facility, fi rst established in 2017. The aerospace company’s expansion will support production and testing of its all-electric aircraft by establishing BETA’s permanent test fl ight and aircraft delivery center, bringing on 85 full-time jobs. The investment is supported by a $20 million grant from Clinton County as part of the Empire State Development Regional Economic and Community Assistance Program. As the company moves forward with its electric aircraft, companies such as UPS and United Therapeutics are lining up to purchase it. Where There’s More to Minimum O ver 20 states have announced plans to increase their minimum wage in 2024. Here is a look at the top wage increases. Source: Data provided by ADP Photo: Getty Images 26 JANUARY 2024 SITE SELECTIONEngineering and design fi rm Timmons Group will bring 400 employees to Springline at District 60 in 2024 with a $50 million investment. Photo courtesy of Chesterfi eld County Moving Along in Chesterfi eld C onstruction is well underway for engineering and design fi rm Timmons Group’s new $50 million HQ in Chesterfi eld, Virginia. To be located in the county’s Springline at District 60 development center, the fi ve-story, 150,000-sq.-ft. facility will be home to the company’s 400 employees by the end of 2024. The new HQ is just a mile away from Timmons’ current offi ces, allowing for a smooth transition once complete. Timmons is one of the fi rst companies to occupy space at the mixed-use development, which plans to off er a sports and entertainment venue, a grocery store, residential living and retail space upon full buildout. Nothing Sappy W ith eight mill locations throughout Louisiana, Weyerhaeuser has plans to invest $96.2 million to upgrade its Shreveport lumber mill. The company’s Winn Parish location will expand to include new technology that will aid in increasing overall safety, productivity and reliability. In doing so, the lumber mill will add three Continuous Dry Kilns, a low-carbon process drying system and a new trimmer, sorter and stacker over the next two years. The state awarded the company a $500,000 performance-based forgivable loan from the Economic Development Award Program to cover costs associated with the expansion. Ditch Traffi c for High-Speed I n December 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom and the California High-Speed Rail Authority received word of a $6 billion funding infl ux from the Biden-Harris Administration’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. This award will be used to advance the state’s goal of building its 500- mile Central Valley railway that will off er aff ordable and fast transportation from Los Angeles to San Francisco. A trip that would typically take a little over six hours by car (not accounting for traffi c) will be available by bullet train at speeds of over 200 miles per hour when complete in 2028. California High-Speed Rail Authority’s $3.07 billion share of this funding represents the largest federal investment to date and aids in advancing various aspects of the project. It will be used to purchase six electric trains for testing and use, design and construct trainset facilities, construct a Fresno station, acquire the state’s Merced and Bakersfi eld extensions from Amtrak and fund construction within the Central Valley. Testing of the initial rail line will begin in 2028, with the potential to take 400,000 vehicles off the roads. Rendering courtesy of the California High-Speed Rail Authority Installation of the new Dry Kilns will reduce the Weyerhaeuser’s greenhouse gas emissions, waste and maintenance costs. Photo courtesy of Weyerhaeuser SITE SELECTION JANUARY 2024 2728 JANUARY 2024 SITE SELECTION by RON STARNER ron.starner@siteselection.com Site selectors keep Southern locations at the top of their short lists. Here Come the Boys FROM THE SOUTH SITE SELECTORS SURVEY T he Sunbelt states of the Southern U.S. remain the favorite business destinations for site selection consultants in 2024, but a few up-and-coming places may surprise you. In the annual Site Selectors Survey, conducted in early December by Site Selection magazine, site consultants from around the country were asked 13 questions. We polled them on their favorite business climates, the biggest Dallas is the first-choice city for HQ projects, according to site consultants. The Dallas Arts District is one of the city’s most popular destinations. Photo courtesy of Visit Dallas30 JANUARY 2024 SITE SELECTION workforce challenges, the most critical location factors, rising countries for FDI, and other matters pertaining to corporate location intelligence. While there is a range of sentiments on specific locations, the South is king when it comes to perception. When we asked our national panel of site selectors to name the top state business climates in America, the respondents — 32 in total — voted for a clear-cut top four: Texas, North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee, in that order. Tying for fifth place were Florida and Virginia, followed by Alabama, South Carolina, Ohio and Indiana. California was ranked the worst business climate in the nation with 40.6% of the vote. Digging deeper, we asked consultants to list the best states for manufacturing projects, and again the South rose to the top. South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee occupy the top four spots. A breakthrough for the Midwest came when we asked respondents to name the best manufacturing workforces in the nation. Indiana, they said, has the second-best factory labor pool in the country. Texas is tops. Rounding out the top five in this category are South Carolina, Georgia and North Carolina. From Richmond to Ireland One sector that has seen a lot of movement since the beginning of the pandemic in early 2020 is corporate headquarters. So, we asked: “If you were running a company and needed to find a new home for its corporate headquarters, list three cities you would place on your short list.” The top three HQ locations right now, according to consultants, are Dallas, Atlanta and Nashville. Austin and Charlotte tie for fourth. Completing the top 10 are Columbus, Miami, Phoenix, Richmond, Chicago and Denver. The results mirror what’s happening in the real world. A CBRE Insights report in December showed that from 2018 to 2023, Texas attracted the most HQ relocations (209). Austin led the way with 66 projects, followed by Dallas with 32 and Houston with 25. California led the way with the most Charlotte tied with Austin for fourth place among site selectors' most favored cities for corporate headquarters. Uptown Charlotte, shown here, is one of the top destinations in the city for residents and tourists alike. Photo courtesy of charlottesgotalot.com32 JANUARY 2024 SITE SELECTION corporate HQ projects lost to other states, according to CBRE. e report stated that companies left San Francisco-San Jose, left Los Angeles- Irvine, and vacated New York City. e high costs to live and operate a business in those cities were cited as the primary cause of the relocations. Looking beyond U.S. shores, we asked the site selectors to name their preferred destinations for international investment. eir top three choices were USA, Mexico and Canada. e rest of the top was all over the map: India, Ireland, Germany, Vietnam, Singapore, Costa Rica and South Korea. The Issues That Matter We also asked about issues. Two that matter the most are state and local tax policy and workforce. Respondents ranked these two factors as practically dead even in importance; each received roughly % of all fi rst-place votes. Incentives and quality of life ranked No. and No. , respectively. To no one’s surprise, labor shortages were named the No. workforce issue of the year, followed by aff ordable housing and upskilling. Child- care and remote work tied for fourth. Also ranked among the top were rising income inequality, labor-management relations, lack of soft skills, global competition and STEM education. Two new questions were added this year: • How important is access to an innovation or BEST U.S. CITIES FOR HQ PROJECTS 1. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington T2. Atlanta T2. Nashville T4. Austin T4. Charlotte T6. Columbus T6. Miami-Fort Lauderdale T8. Phoenix T8. Richmond T10. Chicago T10. Denver BEST LOCATIONS FOR INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT 1. USA 2. Mexico T3. Canada T3. India 5. Ireland T6. Germany T6. Vietnam 8. Singapore T9. Costa Rica T9. South Korea Ireland’s consistency is hugely valuable to companies. Access to skills is a key factor in Ireland’s business attractiveness as well.” — Jessica Benson , Former VP, IDA Ireland Ireland’s consistency is hugely valuable to companies. Source: 2024 Site Selectors Survey, Site Selection Magazine34 JANUARY 2024 SITE SELECTION technology hub to you? • How important is a state’s commitment to sustainability principles to you? Fully three-quarters of all respondents indicated that access to an innovation or tech hub was either somewhat important or extremely important to them. A solid majority ( %), however, said that a state’s commitment to sustainability principles either was not important, or they had no opinion on the matter. Analyzing the Results Sunbelt locations enjoying most- favored-destination status is nothing new, but Richmond, Virginia, and Ireland garnering lofty rankings shows that you don’t have to off er a subtropical climate to compete for capital projects. Jennifer Wakefi eld, president and CEO of the Greater Richmond Partnership in Richmond, said her city’s eighth-place ranking as an HQ destination did not surprise her. “Our location is one of our greatest advantages,” says Wakefi eld. “We are equidistant to Washington, D.C., and the Research Triangle; and we are equidistant to Boston and Miami. at’s one reason Fortune , companies are headquartered here.” e international property research data fi rm CoStar is building a new Location Factor Votes Percent State and Local Tax Policy 24 25.0 Workforce 23 24.0 Incentives 13 13.5 Quality of Life 10 10.4 Community Colleges & Technical/Trade Schools 5 5.2 Worker Training Programs 5 5.2 Aff ordable Housing 3 3.1 Cost of Living 3 3.1 Regulatory Environment 2 2.1 Other 8 8.0 Total 96 State & Local Tax Policy Workforce Incentives Quality of Life 25% 24% 13.5% 10.4% Source: 2024 Site Selectors Survey, Site Selection Magazine MOST IMPORTANT LOCATION FACTORSNext >