Announced relocations and expansions in the Nashville area since July of last year have accounted for 6,988 jobs, 4.7 million square feet of space and $1.7 billion in capital investment, business leaders say.
Figures were released Thursday by the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and Tennessee’s Department of Economic and Community Development.
“Although these are challenging times, I am excited about the economic development opportunities in Nashville and Middle Tennessee,” said Matt Kisber, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. “We’ve worked hard to create and maintain a nationally recognized business climate and streamline the economic development process through partnerships on both the state and local levels and that work will pay dividends.”
“This is a testament to Middle Tennessee’s strong economic foundation,” said Alexia Poe, director of the Mayor’s Office of Economic and Community Development.
The chamber and Mayor Karl Dean are currently working with Atlanta-Based Market Street Services to develop a new economic development strategy for the region. The new strategy, P2020, will be announced at the end of June, and implementation of the strategy will begin in 2011.
“Fortunately, Nashville enters this planning process in a position of strength,” said Ralph Schulz, president and CEO of the Nashville chamber. “When it comes to per capita income growth, overall employment growth, cost of living, the diversity of our economy and entrepreneurialism, we are as good as, or better than, any of our top-performing peer cities.”