Site Selection magazine crowned the Houston area the “Top Metro” in the U.S. for 2012 corporate relocations and expansions in its most recent issue. Read Houston Business Journal columnist, Olivia Pulsinelli’s, article below.
Mar 4, 2013, 11:38am CST
Olivia Pulsinelli
Web producer- Houston Business Journal
Site Selection magazine has crowned the Houston area the “Top Metro” in the U.S. for 2012 corporate relocations and expansions, while Texas reclaimed the top spot in the states’ ranking.
This is the second consecutive year — and the third time in four years — that the Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown metropolitan statistical area took the No. 1 spot among the metro areas, the Greater Houston Partnership said in a Monday statement. The area recorded 325 new or expanded facilities in 2012, up from 195 the year before.
The Chicago metro area took the No. 2 spot with 311 projects, and the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington area was No. 3 with 224, the GHP statement said.
“One of the greatest strengths of doing business in Houston, and in Texas as a whole, is that we provide the resources and environment to help any company succeed,” GHP CEO Bob Harvey said in the statement. “We intend to continue to make Houston the most attractive place to locate or expand a business in the United States.”
Texas also reclaimed the magazine’s Governor’s Cup with 761 projects — 270 more than runner-up Ohio’s 491. The previous year, Ohio squeaked past the Lone Star State with a 34-project lead.
Atlanta-based Site Selection listed a variety of projects in five sectors — energy, chemicals, machinery manufacturing, professional services and data centers — as driving factors behind the state’s success. Many of the projects — including those from Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM), Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: APC), Shell Oil Co. and Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) — were in the greater Houston area.
The Site Selection ranking is “further proof that Texas continues to be a beacon of opportunity for entrepreneurs and job creators,” Gov. Rick Perry said in GHP’s statement.
Site Selection’s analysis excludes retail, government, school and hospital projects. Projects must meet at least one of three criteria: at least $1 million in capital investment, at least 50 new jobs created or at least 20,000 square feet of new floor area added.
