Texas ranks high on corporate facilities list

Houston Business Journal - by Ford Gunter Reporter

Texas has placed second on a list of U.S. states with the most new and expanded corporate facilities.

Ohio topped the 2008 Site Selection Governor's Cup list for the third year in a row and the fourth time in the past six years. Ohio had 503 projects, compared to Texas' 497. Michigan was a distant third with 296 projects.

The data is tracked by Conway Data Inc. 's New Plant database and published in the official publication of the Industrial Asset Management Council . It does not include retail and government projects, or schools and hospitals.

To qualify, new facilities or expansions must involve a capital investment of at least $1 million, or create at least 50 new jobs or add at least 20,000 square feet of new floor area.

Though Texas placed second, the state's Tier 1 metropolitan areas (with populations over 1 million) dominated the list. The Houston-Baytown-Sugar Land area ranked first with 179 new and expanded facilities, and the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington Metroplex was second with 156.