Greater Philadelphia Named Among Top Metros for New
and Expanded Facilities by Site Selection Magazine
The Greater Philadelphia Region was named among the top ten metro areas for tier one new and expanded facilities in 2012 by Site Selection Magazine, which finalized its Governors Cup Award/New Plant Data numbers today.
We are delighted to see Greater Philadelphia recognized as a top metro for new and expanded facilities in Site Selection Magazine, said Tom Morr, president & CEO of Select Greater Philadelphia. There have been a number of large expansions throughout the region to accommodate growth at area companies as well as corporate re-locations into Greater Philadelphia from areas across the globe.”
New and expanded facilities in Greater Philadelphia spanned diverse industries with companies including Shire, which plans to expand to a 500,000-square foot campus located at Atwater Corporate Center in Malvern, Pennsylvania. Endo Health Solutions Inc. recently completed and moved into a new 320,000-square foot facility at the same campus this year; and in one of the largest built-to-suit development projects in New Jersey, Subaru of America is relocating and expanding its parts distribution center and training facility to a new 526,050-square-foot location in Florence.
Amazon recently completed a 1,000,000 square foot distribution center in Middletown, Delaware and recently announced a groundbreaking on another 1,000,000-square-foot facility in Mercer County, New Jersey creating hundreds of jobs in the region. In addition, Hawker Beechcraft – manufacturer of business, special mission, light attack and trainer aircraft –opened its newest 60,000 square-foot factory-owned aircraft maintenance facility at New Castle County Airport (ILG) in Wilmington last year.
The impact of jobs, both as a result of expansions and the need to accommodate more employees in the region, is tremendous, said Morr. In fact, as a result of business growth in the region, more than 3 million workers made Greater Philadelphia the 5th largest metro area in 2012.”
The ranking for the Greater Philadelphia region was based on regions with a population greater than 1 million people. The Governor’s Cup Awards are the annual Site Selection suite of awards that recognize the Top States in the nation based on new or expanded facilities over the past 12 months, as well as the Top Metropolitans, Top Micropolitans, and Top Industries. The results are published in the March 2013 issue.
Select Greater Philadelphia has worked with Greater Philadelphia’s business community, state and local and government and economic development partners to recruit and welcome more than 80 companies to the region. Among them, Mark Group – a provider of home energy efficiency analysis and improvements – expanded to a new headquarters and training facility at the Navy Yard in Philadelphia last year to accommodate 110 jobs as a result of its growing business.
BCEDC assisted Select Greater Philadelphia in identifying projects in Bucks County that matched Site Selection’s New Plant requirements. BCEDC’s and other region’s responses were combined with Select Greater Philadelphia’s research, aggregated and re-viewed and then submitted it to Site Selection Magazine on behalf of the entire region.
About Select Greater Philadelphia
Select Greater Philadelphia (Select) is an economic development marketing organization dedicated to attracting companies to the Greater Philadelphia region. Select assists companies interested in the vicinity by providing detailed information about the 11-county area and a one-stop connection to numerous resources that help companies make informed decisions about locating to the region. Through global marketing efforts, Select works to promote the region’s key assets to help build the area’s economy. The Greater Philadelphia region encompasses northern Delaware, southern New Jersey and southeastern Pennsylvania. Select is a private, non-profit organization and an affiliate of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce. For more information, call 215-790-3777 or visit www.selectgreaterphiladelphia.com.