There’s a reason that, after electrical power and workforce skills, the supply of ready sites was No. 3 on the list of most important site selection factors when we queried site seekers in fall 2024 for Site Selection’s annual Business Climate rankings.
In economic development circles, it’s called product development. Some states, regions, railroads and utilities have been at it for a long time: Witness TVA’s pioneering work with megasites and other industrial sites across its seven-state territory, certified site programs from CSX, BNSF and other railroads, Entergy’s certified sites in multiple states and AEP’s site inventory and special Bright Sites program for nearly 60 sites across 11 states that are most prepared for energy-critical facilities.
The newest kid on the block in the shovel-ready game is New Mexico, after Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham in April signed two bills — the Site-Readiness Act (SB 169) and the Utility Pre-Deployment Act (SB 170) — that will expedite site development, joining some 36 states that already have site readiness programs. The Site Readiness program is funded with $24 million.
“As a private developer in Doña Ana County, the passage of SB169 will significantly improve New Mexico’s competitive position for site selectors,” said Christopher Lyons, developer of Westpark Logistics Center in Santa Teresa, in the governor’s press release. “Companies looking to move operations to the U.S. from Asia, and those in the digital space, need to make very quick decisions. Sites that aren’t fully improved aren’t even considered, so having shovel-ready sites is critical. This will definitely improve our opportunities to grow New Mexico’s economy.”
The 166-acre Westpark development is in the Borderplex abutting the Mexican border, just across from where Foxconn operates in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. A bi-national community master plan encompassing 40,000 acres was prepared by regional landowners and has been endorsed by the governors of New Mexico and Chihuahua.
Law firm Maynard Nexsen in January chronicled its involvement in a megasite readiness program the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina (EDPNC) launched in 2022 after a number of large sites were gobbled up by projects. The firm was selected alongside Timmons Group and JLL to identify up to five megasites best positioned to successfully serve major advanced manufacturing projects. In May 2023, their report identified six potential sites for development in Brunswick, Wilson, Pitt, Nash, Cumberland and Rowan counties, all close to major highway systems with access to railroads and ports.
The North Carolina General Assembly then appropriated additional funds for megasite development — $10 million for use in the 2023-24 fiscal year and $97.8 million for use in the 2024-25 fiscal year, Maynard Nexsen writes. “In addition to funding megasite development, the General Assembly allocated $10 million during its 2024-25 fiscal year to fund a new ‘NC Selectsite Readiness Program’ and directed EDPNC to identify 15 other smaller locations with development potential. The NC Selectsite Readiness Program Report was issued on July 1, 2024, identifying the State’s top 15 ‘select sites,’ which is statutorily defined as ‘a parcel of contiguous property consisting of less than 1,000 acres that is viable for industrial development.’ ”
Dewey Evans, vice president at Dallas-based Site Selection Group, in early April authored “Site Readiness Surge,” an update on efforts by states to stay competitive in the product development game. Among the highlights:
- Alabama’s Site Evaluation and Economic Development Strategy (SEEDS) Act program, established in 2023, received $23.5 million in funding in February 2025 on top of the program’s original $30.1 million worth of grants.
- In 2022, the Kentucky Legislature approved $100 million for fiscal years 2023 and 2024 for its pioneering Kentucky Product Development Initiative (KPDI). The program’s success has led to an additional $70 million allocation for fiscal years 2025 and 2026, Evans reports.
- Already home to a successful program from Entergy Arkansas, the state last year awarded 13 communities a collective $10 million via the new Arkansas Site Development Program, the state’s first industrial site development program.
- This year, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker requested $500 million for “new and existing site readiness programs” in his FY 2026 budget.
- Michigan last year announced that $87.5 million of its original $100 million appropriated for the state’s Strategic Site Readiness Program had been allocated to 18 projects across the state.
- Approximately $106.6 million of an allocated $750 million has been awarded via the All Ohio Future Fund for project-ready sites.
Other programs continue to move forward in such states as Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia and South Carolina, where the state is seeking $150 million to help prepare sites in a busy environment: Commerce Secretary Henry Lightsey said proposals from counties across the state for site improvements totaled $2.6 billion.
