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May 3, 2007 National Site Selection Magazine Ranks RCGA Among Top 10 Economic Development Organizations in North America, Top 6 of Major Metros Site Selection is the official publication of the Industrial Asset Management Council (IAMC), the world's leading association of corporate real estate executives. Site Selection is the leading magazine of corporate real estate, facility planning, location analysis and site selection. The circulation includes more than 32,000 manufacturing and corporate real estate directors, and decision makers from more than 800 of the Fortune 1000 companies. Economic development groups were first ranked according to 4 objective categories: new jobs; new jobs per 10,000 residents; new investment amount; and new investment per 10,000 residents. They were then scrutinized for more subjective attributes - among them: innovation; leadership; and customer service. Among the Top 6 Metropolitan Areas in this Top 10 national ranking, the RCGA was named in a group that included: the Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce; Greater Louisville Inc.; The Indy Partnership; the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce; and World Business Chicago. Site Selection did not rank organizations named within the Top 10. "The St. Louis region's economy continues its regional economic development initiative, marked by the addition of some 18,000 net new jobs over the past 12 months," noted RCGA President & Chief Executive Officer Richard C.D. Fleming. With the St. Louis "BioBelt" taking substantial root with job growth in the plant and medical sciences, strong overall performance in the St. Louis region's Professional and Business Services sector was led by a 8.5% growth in St. Louis Research and Development jobs, more than three times the nation's 2.5% in this sector. Likewise, according to a new study by the national technology association AeA, both Missouri and Illinois are adding well-paying information technology industry jobs. These jobs pay an average wage of $65,400 in Missouri, for example, or 81% more than the State's average private sector wage. Missouri's IT industry saw a net gain of 1,800 jobs for a total of 88,300 high tech workers in the most recent state-level rankings. During the same period, Illinois's IT industry experienced a net gain of 1,200 jobs for a total of 205,700 high tech workers. Fleming further noted that while the St. Louis region is both home to many long-established headquarters of major international corporations, it also is becoming a thriving entrepreneurial community. We are proud to be the hometown of 20 Fortune 1000 headquarters while at the same time, support a vibrant, emerging entrepreneurial sector. Our region's combination of a skilled workforce, outstanding quality of life attributes, and competitive cost structure, makes the St. Louis region an ideal place for starting and growing a company." "The strong growth in the St. Louis region's overall job base affirms the logic of the region's brand strategy - Perfectly Centered and Remarkably Connected. The regional branding and economic development campaign is helping to market St. Louis to businesses and investors that are growing the job base and wealth base of our community. The current national campaign has doubled our pipeline of pending economic development deals. We currently have over 65 active deals pending that collectively represent some 11,000 potential new jobs, and over $3 billion in new capital investment to the region," Fleming said. "The RCGA economic development team, headed by Senior Vice President for Economic Development Steve Johnson, the members of the Greater St. Louis Economic Development Network, and the commitment by the business and civic investors in the economic development campaign, are effectively working together to grow the region's economy," he concluded. As part of the region's ongoing marketing and branding initiative, the Fall 2007 Industrial Asset Management Council's National Forum has been recruited to St. Louis. The IAMC Fall Forum will be held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel at Union Station, October 6th through 10th, and is anticipated to bring the nation's leading corporate real estate executives and an equal number of national real estate brokers and site consultants to the St. Louis region, presenting an outstanding opportunity to showcase the metro area. The RCGA is the chamber of commerce and economic development organization for the 16-county, bi-state region. The mission of the RCGA is to unite the region's business community, and to engage dynamic business and civic leadership to develop and sustain a world-class economy and community. ### |
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