I love a good success story.
Seems like Utah, and the entire nation, has been through such a long stretch of not-so-great economic news. Okay. It was downright cold and gloomy (brutal, really) for awhile there. Real estate professionals watch Utah’s economic indicators as if our lives depend on its success (oh—wait—they do). Some truly good recent economic development announcements feel a little like springtime after a particularly hard winter.
In comes Adobe. In comes Adobe with plans to build a $100 million campus, bring 1,000 jobs to Utah, and lead the way for other mighty high-tech companies to follow suit. I love a good success story and I really like Adobe. In an Aug. 5 Associated Press story by Paul Foy entitled, “Utah Officials Say Adobe Investment is a Big Deal,” the importance of Adobe’s announcement was underlined by quotes from the state’s economic development gurus.
Foy quotes Spencer P. Eccles, executive director of Gov. Gary Herbert’s economic development office as say, ‘This is a watershed moment for Utah.’
Jeff Edwards is president and CEO of the Economic Development Corporation of Utah. The corporation’s primary function is to woo major companies. In his article Foy quoted Edwards as saying, ‘We’ll look back at this as a real tipping point.’
Is Utah destined to be the new Silicon Valley? It seems some company bigwigs are referring to Salt Lake City and the surrounding areas as the Silicon Slopes. I’m just fine with that. World-class ski resorts make the Wasatch Front a logical place for people to work and play.
With Twitter Inc, eBay Inc., Electronic Arts, Inc. and Walt Disney Co.’s video-game unit, Disney Interactive all on their way to Utah executives can expect a higher quality of life for their employees and we can expect a higher quality of life too.
Tax Credits a Small Price to Pay
Yeah, I know these companies are receiving substantial tax credits to come to Utah. I believe (and apparently Utah officials do to) that the economic stimulation for our state will far outweigh any potential loss of tax income.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again—the jobs and actual operation of the company are just the icing on the cake. We can expect major land sales, then the employment of several contractors and sub-contractors. An amazing amount of supplies of every kind will be in high demand. Convenience stores, building suppliers, and support services of every kind will see increases in sales activities in the very early stages of implementing these high-tech companies’ plans.
In the end we’ll have:
- High-tech jobs for our local graduates
- High-tech industry to set the bar
- Tax income once the credit period expires
- An overall increase in property values at building sites and in many cases surrounding them
Congratulations to Utah’s economic development leaders.
Is it any Wonder Utah Ranks Right at the Top with Businesses?
On Aug. 10 Mike Gorrell of the Salt Lake Tribune touted Utah’s recent ranking as the “second best pro-business state” in the nation. The distinction was bestowed upon Utah by the Chicago-based Ronald Pollina, according to Gorrell. Apparently the company’s Corporate Top 10 study evaluates job retention and creation by the 50 states and federal government.
Second only to Virginia, Utah—for the second year in a row—rose to the top. The study takes 31 factors into consideration including:
- Taxes
- Human resources
- Right-to-work legislation
- Energy costs
- Infrastructure spending
- Workers compensation laws
- State economic development efforts
Isn’t it time you owned your piece of the premier business destination dream? Search for your perfect home or property now at www.allutahhomes.com.
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