Louisiana Continues to be Recognized in National Rankings
As the International Council of Shopping Center’s (ICSC’s) State Director for Louisiana, I recently contributed an article for our Quarterly Membership Newsletter that I’d like to share:
Louisiana State Director’s Message – Summer 2015
I have written many times in recent newsletters about Louisiana’s economic development growth and I can’t help myself but to continue to report the good news. Our State continues to be on an unprecedented roll for economic growth and diversification that is really changing our trajectory in a way that is having extreme benefits on our industry, our career, our families and our long term well-being. The progress and growth is not going unnoticed, this summer’s publications have bestowed some significant rankings and milestones.
For the 6th straight year, Southern Business and Development has ranked Louisiana #1 among Southern states for attracting the most significant capital investment and job-creation projects per million residents. In the State of the Year category, Louisiana earned honorable mention. While not receiving State of the Year this year, Louisiana has earned State or Co-State of the Year honors in five of the past seven years. In addition our cities are being recognized individually as well.
- 2015 Small Market of the Year (Pop < 250K) – Lake Charles
- Honorable Mention – Houma-Thibodaux
- 2015 Major Market of the Year (Pop 750K – 2M)
- Honorable Mentions – New Orleans & Baton Rouge
- 2015 Mid-Market of the Year (Pop 250K – 750K)
- Honorable Mention – Shreveport
In June Area Development magazine awarded Louisiana the 2015 Silver Shovel Award (Pop 3M to 5M category) for posting one of the best economic development performances in the U.S. during the past year. The awards honor states with the most significant impact from their 10 leading investment and job creation projects during 2014. This is our State’s 6th year in a row earning a Silver Shovel Award.
In May Chief Executive magazine honored Louisiana with its highest ranking ever in its CEO survey of state business climates, ranking #7 on Best & Worst States for Business. This is up 40 positions since January 2008, representing the greatest improvement of any state in that time period. Additionally, Site Selection magazine picked Louisiana No. 2 in U.S. for economic development competitiveness in 2014 with 7 of the top 10 states located in the Southeast, which points to the region’s sustained competitiveness over the past decade.
All of this just a decade after most of the nation had written Louisiana off for dead following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the summer of 2005, quite remarkable to say the least. This is not only encouraging for our personal businesses but also inspiring for the business community in our State. I see the retail industry as a huge beneficiary of this success during this past decade with even brighter days ahead.
ACREcon Keynote Presentation
Last week I traveled to Birmingham to deliver the keynote address at ACREcon, the annual conference hosted by the Alabama Center for Real Estate (ACRE). ACRE is a well-organized, statewide commercial real estate group and I was honored to be asked to speak at their event. I was very impressed with the meeting and the record-setting attendance.
During the presentation, I introduced myself and Stirling Properties to many in the ACREcon audience who weren’t familiar with us and discussed our decision to open an office in Mobile – our first in Alabama. Emphasizing the importance of regionalism, I also discussed the rise of the Gulf Coast into the National spotlight and the significant economic drivers that are shaping the region’s future growth.
Click the image below to view the presentation slides from my keynote.
The Strength of the Gulf South
I wanted to share a PowerPoint I recently presented at a meeting highlighting the strength of the Gulf South. In recent years, the Gulf South has been gaining the Nation’s attention and rising to the top of many National Rankings. Activity in the Gulf South is driven by achievements in a variety of areas, must notably Energy/Oil & Gas Production, Chemical Processing, Aerospace, IT & Digital Media, the New Orleans BioDistrict and Coastal Restoration.
When you look at the entire picture of what is happening down here – from the LNG facilities in Lake Charles, Airbus in Mobile, the IBM announcement in Baton Rouge, the medical corridor in New Orleans, and the activity in the IT sector and coastal restoration – it is an amazing picture. Truly. Nowhere else in the country is this level of activity occurring.
Click the image below to view the presentation.
Louisiana Rising in the National Rankings
As the International Council of Shopping Center’s (ICSC’s) State Director for Louisiana, I recently contributed an article for the July 2013 edition of our Quarterly Membership Newsletter that I’d like to share:
As the returning ICSC State Director, I am extremely excited about the progress that we are making in the State of Louisiana on a number of fronts. Most importantly for our retail industry the economic and business growth trends continue to show a phenomenal trend for the region. Over the last 5 years, Louisiana has risen significantly across numerous national rankings – and the accolades keep coming! It’s hard to keep up with all the good news, which is a great problem to have. Highlighted below for quick reference are some of the rankings earned by the State of Louisiana over just the last quarter – very impressive for a state that was traditionally on the bottom of every list.
Louisiana Rankings – 2nd Quarter 2013:
- Top 10 Most Entrepreneurial States
CNN Money, June 2013
- #1 State with the Most Engaged Employees (most involved & enthusiastic)
Gallup, June 2013
- 2nd in the U.S. for construction job growth from May 2012 to May 2013
Associated General Contractors of America, June 2013
- 11th among “Best/Worst States for Business” based on CEO survey (most improved in the U.S. over the past 4 years, up 33 spots since 2009)
Chief Executives, May 2013
- Top 5 State in the U.S. for worldwide exporting in 1st Quarter 2013
World Trade Center of New Orleans, May 2013
- #2 Best States for Retirement
Bankrate.com, May 2013
- #7 among “Top Ten Competitive States of 2012”
Site Selection, May 2013
- 2nd Least Stressed State in 2012
Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, April 2013
- 1 of 6 states experiencing the largest increases in entrepreneurial activity rates over the past decade; 9th for 2010 to 2012 Entrepreneurial Activity with a rate of 400 per 100,000 residents (U.S. 300 per 100,000)
Kauffman Index, April 2013
- 2nd fastest revenue growth (up 170%) and 4th fastest growth in number (up 84%) of women-owned firms from 1997 to 2013
The State of Women-Owned Businesses, March 2013
- 12th in the U.S. for per-capita economic development project wins
Site Selection’s 2012 Governor’s Cup, March 2013
- Record-breaking $63.2 billion in merchandise exports in 2012, growing 15% over 2011
International Trade Administration, March 2013
- 3rd Best State for Banking
MoneyRates.com, March 2013
Louisiana’s cities and metro areas are also commanding positive national attention. Summarized below are some of the rankings earned over just the last quarter in these areas.
Notable Metro/City Rankings – 2nd Quarter 2013:
- Lafayette #1 overall among 100 Leading Locations in the U.S. for economic & job growth; #1 for Economic Strength, Year-Over-Year Growth & “Recession-Busting” factors among Top 25 Mid-Size Cities
Area Development’s Leading Locations for 2013, Summer 2013
- New Orleans and Shreveport among Top 20 Fastest Growing Cities in U.S.
NerdWallet.com, June 2013
- New Orleans is America’s Fastest Growing City
Forbes, June 2013
- New Orleans #3 among “Big Cities Winning the Battle for Information Jobs”
Forbes, May 2013
- Benteler Steel/Tube in Shreveport among “Top North American Deals of 2012” – 2nd largest investment in the U.S. during 2012
Site Selection, May 2013
- New Orleans #2 “Boomtown” in America, based on population and GDP growth
Bloomberg, April 2013
- Baton Rouge and Alexandria among “25 Best Places to Retire” out of 400 total U.S. cities
Forbes, March 2013
- New Orleans & Baton Rouge among Top 30 Best Cities for Young Entrepreneurs 2013
Under30CEO, March 2013
Louisiana has fared relatively well during the Great Recession and the national rankings show it. National and trade publications are taking notice and businesses are too. Louisiana is well positioned for a great future.
IBM – What a Win for Baton Rouge!
IBM‘s recent announcement that they will open an 800-job technology center in downtown Baton Rouge is a HUGE game changer for Baton Rouge, LSU and Louisiana. Along with the new, well-paying, tech-sector jobs that IBM will bring, the state has committed to fund an expansion of LSU’s computer science program, which will help to provide a well-trained workforce. Additionally, a mixed-use building to be developed on the river and occupied by IBM will transform the skyline of downtown Baton Rouge.
This economic win would not have been possible without the hard work and collaboration between the Baton Rouge Area Chamber (BRAC), the City/Parish of East Baton Rouge, Louisiana Economic Development (LED), Louisiana State University, the Baton Rouge Area Foundation (BRAF) and others that played a key role in successfully luring IBM to Baton Rouge.
Read more details in BRAC’s Press Release and LED’s Press Release.
Louisiana Well Positioned for Growth in 2013
As the International Council of Shopping Center’s (ICSC’s) State Director for Louisiana, I recently contributed an article for our Quarterly Membership Newsletter that I’d like to share. Read the article below about how well the State of Louisiana has been performing compared to the nation:
It is hard to believe that 2012 is already more than a month behind us. What an exciting time to be in the real estate industry and more specifically the retail segment of the industry. As we enter into 2013, new retail activity in our state continues to be on the rise and the industry has exciting and prosperous times ahead of us. I do not know anyone in our business locally that is not looking at a full pipeline of activity for the coming year. We should consider ourselves extremely blessed to be working in markets that have performed so well over the past few years.
Consider how well the State of Louisiana has performed over the last few years, in contrast to much of the nation.
Employment performance has been significant. At 5.5%, Louisiana’s December 2012 seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate is at a four-year low, tied for 11th lowest rate in the nation and well below the 7.2% Southern average and 7.8% U.S. average. Louisiana’s private sector added 26,800 jobs over the year, extending the state’s streak of private sector employment gains to 28 consecutive months. Compared to the U.S., Louisiana is one of just six states with more jobs now than before the national recession began; and since the official end of the national recession in June 2009, Louisiana has added jobs at a faster rate than both the South and the U.S.
Louisiana’s population is also growing according to the U.S. Census Bureau, experiencing five straight years of net population in-migration, with more people moving to the state than leaving. Louisiana netted over 20,000 people in the last four years and the in-migration gains are largely the result of the state’s economic performance. Compare that to the 15-year period from 1990 to 2005, when the state experienced net domestic out-migration of more than 7,500 people every single year, and one can quickly appreciate how much things have changed. Also, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the population growth rate over the last five years through July 1, 2012, was about 23 percent faster in Louisiana than that of the U.S. overall.
Economic competitiveness is reaching new heights. In 2012, Louisiana experienced its best year for business development in the last five years, securing more jobs and investment than in any of the previous four years. The state increased its recruitment of new jobs (up 17 %, to more than 24,000) and its attraction of new capital investment (up 24 %, to $22.3 billion) over the strong performance of 2011. It is incredible that this was achieved against the backdrop of a relatively stagnant U.S. economy. The best is yet to come, according to LED Secretary Stephen Moret. He predicts Louisiana will have at least $50 billion to $60 billion worth of new manufacturing projects under way over the next three to four years, many of which will be announced during the coming 12 to 18 months. In its 2012 economic outlook report, the American Legislative Exchange Council again ranked Louisiana’s economic outlook among that of the top 20 states in the U.S.
Louisiana’s business climate is also improving and people are starting to take notice. In the last five years, Louisiana has improved to its highest-ever position in every major national ranking of state business climates, with no other state exhibiting more improvement. CEOs nationwide voted Louisiana the most improved state for business over the last four years, according to Chief Executive. Louisiana ranked 7th in Site Selection’s business climate report in 2012 and 2011, up from 9th in 2010 and 25th in 2009. Area Development ranked Louisiana #6 among the top states for doing business, ranking #1 in the U.S. for cooperative state government and top 5 for incentives, economic recovery, speed of permitting, workforce training, cost of doing business, business climate and labor climate. Business Facilities ranked Louisiana #5 best business climate in America and Pollina Corporate Real Estate ranked Louisiana’s business climate #16 in 2012, up 24 spots since 2008. Additionally in 2012, the state ranked 2nd in the U.S. (1st in the south) for providing the lowest business tax burden for new firms and 10th in the U.S. (3rd in the south) for mature firms, according to the Tax Foundation.
Significant employment performance, population growth, strong economic competitiveness, and a nationally recognized, improving business climate in Louisiana has well positioned the state as the nation seeks sustained growth in 2013. All of this is good news for retail. And good news for us.
