Gain an all-around understanding of the Greater Phoenix region’s
economic development momentum by reading these stories from the full report:
Gateway to America: One Big Leading Indicator explores how
billions of dollars and millions of residents combine to make
Greater Phoenix a robust gateway for business.
Business Conditions: Market intelligence and analysis show companies
making intelligent location choices across the region in Firing On All Cylinders.
Ellen Harpel and Darrene Hackler of Smart Incentives explore how
incentive policies are being pulled in new directions with a greater
focus on benefiting people and places.
Talk to any experienced corporate real estate leader involved in
location decision-making and he or she will tell you the same thing many
of us experience from a different perspective every day: Parking can be
an issue, not to mention a real pain. So it can be worth our while to
study reports such as the 2022 edition of the Global Parking Index just released by connected
car services provider Parkopedia. Among the findings the company says it
derived from data on more than 90 million parking spaces in 90
countries:
“New York continues to be the most expensive city for 2-hour
off-street parking ($43.10 average) and is now also the most
expensive city for daily off-street parking ($52.65 average).
“Australia also continues to be the most expensive country for both
2-hour off-street parking ($19.12 average) and daily off-street
parking ($34.42 average).
“South Korea has been named the most expensive country for daily
on-street parking, with an average of $37.75, with Russia
experiencing one of the greatest changes in the last three years,
with a price increase of 42.7% for 2-hour off-street and 42.6% for
daily off-street parking.”
“Amsterdam ranks as one of the most expensive cities to park in the
world, being the most expensive city for 2-hour on-street ($13.31
average), the second most expensive for monthly off-street parking
($641.77 average), as well as the third most expensive for daily
off-street ($47.22 average).”
“U.S. cities dominate the results for the most expensive 2-hour
off-street pricing, however the most expensive cities for daily-off
street parking are predominantly found within Europe,” Parkopedia says,
“a trend that is most likely due to U.S. parking operators charging the
majority of the daily parking rate upfront (typically the first two
hours) in large U.S. cities, an uncommon practice in other countries.”
The three trends driving parking prices upward include inflation,
regional green initiatives and supply and demand. “In 2021, 79.1 million
motor vehicles were produced around the world,” saysthe European
Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), “an increase of 1.3%
compared to 2020.” Below are the Top 50 cities by price of monthly
off-street parking, with prices in US$ and adjusted for local currency
using World Bank’s Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) exchange rates.
Good Jobs First’s campaign to stop subsidies for Amazon
continues to ratchet up the pressure. “Amazon.com, Inc. has
squeezed more than $5.1 billion from U.S. states and
localities in economic development subsidies,” the
D.C.-based watchdog said last week in releasing new
tax-break data at its Amazon Tracker database documenting
hundreds of incentive deals. The fully downloadable data
from 309 documented deals also include media production tax
credits in New Jersey for Amazon subsidiary Audible;
property tax breaks for a Whole Foods in Portland, Maine;
tax abatements for a data center in Oregon and film
production tax credits for Amazon Studios projects in New
York. But 213 of the 309 incentive deals (69%) are for
distribution centers. Good Jobs First released the new
findings as part of the global “Make Amazon Pay” campaign featuring
events in many nations on Black Friday (November 25).
PROJECT WATCH
Alabama
Last Thursday, First Solar Inc. announced plans to invest $1.1 billion
to establish a photovoltaic (PV) solar module manufacturing facility in
Lawrence County, Alabama, in the northern part of the state, creating
over 700 jobs. The new factory in Lawrence County’s Mallard Fox West
Industrial Complex 25 miles west of Huntsville is part of the company’s
previously announced investment in scaling its American manufacturing
footprint to over 10 gigawatts (GW) by 2025, which is the year the
Alabama facility is due to be commissioned with a planned annual
capacity of 3.5 GW. The company is growing its manufacturing base “in
support of the effort to decarbonize the American economy and achieve
self-sufficiency in reliable and competitive renewable energy
technologies,” said the official announcement, noting the company’s
three facilities in Ohio, including one coming online next year. “This
facility, along with its sister factories in Ohio, will form part of the
industrial foundation that helps ensure this transition is powered by
American innovation and ingenuity,” said Mark Widmar, CEO of First
Solar.
Second Line Stages, whose facilities include offices in the heart of New
Orleans’ Lower Garden District, opened more large soundstage space in
the neighborhood early this month to mark the start of the 33rd Annual
New Orleans Film Festival. The investment comes two years after
California-based Hackman Capital Partners bought Second Line, originally
founded in 2010. New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell “said film and
television production brought about $1 billion of spending to New
Orleans in 2021 and is on track to top that this year,” reported
NOLA.com, “as New Orleans cements its spot as the fourth largest
television and film production hub in the United States.” The expansion
adds two city blocks to Second Line’s overall site and brings the
company’s total number of sound stages to eight.
Photo courtesy of the City of
Bloomington, Illinois
Four years ago, The Hustle noted that more than 1 million runners take
part in more than 1,000 turkey trots and fun runs across the United
States on Thanksgiving Day. There’s no telling what that total must be
today — you can probably find one within a sweet potato’s throw of
wherever you are right now. Among the long-running events held this week
will be the 44th Annual Turkey Trot Fun Run and Walk at Miller Park in
Bloomington, Illinois, where the full 3-miler gets started at 9:15 a.m.
Find a run near you, put on your best turkey hat, layer up and get
moving!
