While 61% of projects are moving forward, the location choices at the top of the list include Boise, Colorado Springs and Columbia, S.C.
Scooped by
Richard Platt
onto Crowd Funding, Micro-funding, New Approach for Investors - Alternatives to Wall Street |
The impact of COVID-19 has extended into the decision-making process that determines where a company will locate. Suburban areas and mid-size cities, followed by rural areas, will be the biggest winners of new corporate expansions and relocations, with large urban areas falling to the bottom of the list, according to a survey releads on July 16 by the Site Selectors Guild. “Everything from physical distancing to changing transit preferences has affected the way that corporations view location decisions,” said Rick Weddle, CEO of the Site Selectors Guild. Conducted the week of June 29, 2020, in partnership with Development Counsellors International (DCI), the survey of Guild members aimed to uncover changes and new trends in corporate location strategy brought on by the COVID-19 crisis. The top findings of this research follow: Suburbs and Mid-Size Cities Will Be the Next Winners for Corporate Location Projects. The pandemic has brought suburban areas and mid-size cities into the forefront of consideration for future site selection projects and even put rural areas well ahead of large urban areas. When members were asked about locations that are “likely” or “very likely” to be considered by corporations looking to expand, relocate or open new facilities in the next 12 months, 64% chose suburban areas, 57% chose mid-size cities, 31% chose rural areas, and just 10% chose large urban areas.
Consultants indicated that New York would be hit especially hard among the nation’s largest cities. Of the consultants who agreed that large urban centers are “not at all” or “unlikely” to be considered for future projects, 100% said that New York City would be among the least likely locations to be considered for future projects in the next 12 months. Los Angeles and Chicago followed with 63% and 42%, respectively.