Louisville Forward named one of Site Selection magazine’s Top U.S. Economic Development Groups for 2015
Back-to-back recognition based on achievements in job creation
and community investment
LOUISVILLE, KY (May 2, 2016) – Mayor Greg Fischer today announced that Louisville Forward, the city’s economic and community development organization, has been named one of the Top U.S. Economic Development Groups for 2015 by Site Selection magazine, an achievement earned two years in a row. Since its creation in July 2014, Louisville Forward has helped businesses create nearly 10,500 new jobs in Louisville, representing an investment of nearly three billion dollars.
Earlier this year, Louisville also was named a Top 10 Metro by Site Selection magazine for business activity in 2015. The city has received other accolades, such as “A Top 10 City for Jobs” by Glassdoor, “One of America’s Most Future-Ready Cities” by Dell, and “The Best Destination experience” by World Travel Association.
“This highly-coveted national recognition is well deserved by Louisville Forward and represents another record year for 2015,” Fischer said. “Our integrated approach to economic and community development with coordinated concierge-style assistance has produced the highest amount of job creation in the last decade and points to Louisville’s future success.”
Top economic development projects acknowledged by Site Selection magazine include:
Ford Motor Company – expanding their manufacturing operation with a $1.3 billion investment, creating 2,000 new jobs.
Grupo Antolin – Opening two facilities off Westport Road. A $13.7 million investment that will bring 200 new jobs to the area.
General Electric – expanding their washer line operations with a $100 million investment that will create 250 new jobs.
Other notable projects include Capture LLC, Koch Filter Corp., Anthem, 310 Tempering and Houston-Johnson.
“Locations throughout the U.S. and in every region of the world compete aggressively for direct investment at home and from abroad,” says Mark Arend, Site Selection Editor in Chief. “Those appearing on these rankings have demonstrated with actual project numbers and other measures that they have the location attributes most in demand by capital investors.”
Louisville currently is experiencing approximately $3 billion in construction, which will result in the addition of nearly $600 million in urban living options, the 30-story Omni Hotel, $83.3 million in bourbon distillery experiences and the $28 million Paristown Pointe project.
The recognition is based on four objective criteria – jobs, capital investment, jobs per capita and investment per capita. Subjective criteria such as creativity of economic development strategy; depth and breadth of project activity; ability to generate impactful deals; and the ability to document the work of the economic development organization as it relates to real results were factors in determining the top groups.
Louisville Forward unites economic development efforts and built environment functions, allowing business owners to go from concept to permit in one streamlined agency. To achieve its goals of raising the median wage across the city and growing the number of jobs, the Louisville Forward team focuses on five strategic business categories that are historic and contemporary areas of strength to Louisville: Advanced Manufacturing, Food and Beverage, Lifelong Wellness and Aging Care, Logistics and eCommerce, and Business Services.
For more information about Louisville Forward, visit http://louisvilleky.gov/ louisvilleforward.