State praised for its efforts
Tuesday March 04, 2008
Development push recognized by national magazine
Tennessee's economic development efforts were recognized this week by a national publication.
Site Selection magazine reported that the Volunteer State ranked No. 3 in its 2007 "Governor's Cup," a tabulation of states with the most new or expanded capital projects. Tennessee had 293 projects, trailing only Ohio and Illinois.
Meanwhile, the Knoxville region earned some recognition of its own from the magazine. According to the figures compiled by Conway Data Inc., the publisher of Site Selection, Knoxville's 22 projects tied for 10th among metropolitan areas with a population between 200,000 and 1 million.
According to a news release from the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, a project is counted in Site Selection's rankings if it meets at least one of three criteria: a capital investment of at least $1 million, creation of at least 50 new jobs, or creation of at least 20,000 square feet of new floor area. Retail and government projects are not counted, nor are hospitals or schools.
"From Governor (Phil) Bredesen's first day in office, the creation of higher-skilled, better-paying jobs has been a priority for us," Economic and Community Development Commissioner Matt Kisber said in a news release.
Source: Knoxville News Sentinel
