‘Freaking Awesome’ Chicago Ranked Top City in U.S. For Business Investment
CHICAGO – Coined “freaking awesome” in the March 2007 edition of Site Selection magazine, Chicago has once again taken the No. 1 spot and was ranked as the top city in the United States for business investment.
The magazine’s proclamation of Chicago as “top metro” in 2006 lands it the award the fifth time in the past six years.
Site Selection, whose annual ranking is considered by some as the industry scoreboard for economic development, added: “Chicago lures young, high-tech talent on the way to becoming the No. 1 metro in America.”
The magazine says Chicago landed 165 corporate facility projects – totaling more than $5 billion in capital investment – and specifically points to the city nabbing the new regional headquarters for EA SPORTS. The choice by EA SPORTS is cited as a $6 million, 200-job relocation to Chicago’s River North neighborhood.
Kudo Tsunoda, the general manager of the EA SPORTS Chicago office, told Site Selection that it chose Chicago because “the city is freaking awesome. It has such a vibe and a pace to it. … The city stimulates creative minds and enables EA to effectively recruit top young talent.”
“Chicago’s economic diversity is a huge strength for our city,” said Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, who on Tuesday won a record sixth term as mayor. “We’re strong in so many sectors including manufacturing, business services and technology. This – combined with our impressive professional talent pool – makes us a truly global competitor.”
While Chicago’s 165 projects took the magazine’s first-place spot, second place with 110 projects went to Washington, D.C. Atlanta came in third with 110 projects and New York and Los Angeles did not make this year’s top 10. The full table of city rankings can be found below.
“The city is really on fire. It is rocking and rolling,” said Paul O’Connor, executive director of World Business Chicago, in the Site Selection ranking. “Mayor Daley’s transformation of the neighborhoods is making these areas a great place to live and raise a family. In turn, that has created the highest-end talent pool that is clustered within three or four miles of downtown.”
Other major Chicago projects noted in the Site Selection story include the decision by United Airlines to move its world headquarters downtown to 77 W. Wacker Dr.
“Chicago has demonstrated once again that the ‘Second City’ moniker does not apply to its economic development performance,” said Site Selection editor Mark Arend. “Those in the economic development community in Chicago should be proud of this recognition because their efforts clearly are paying off.”
To be counted as a “project” in the Site Selection ranking, cities must meet one of three factors: new and expanded facilities must involve a capital investment of at least $1 million, create at least 50 new jobs or add 20,000 square feet of new floor area.
Site Selection, which covers corporate real estate and economic development, says it is read by 44,000 corporate executive readers. Arend, who has worked at Site Selection for a decade, says the magazine has been publishing this ranking since 1989 and has been tracking this data even longer
