DC Velocity - October 2014

BY SUSAN K. LACEFIELD, ASSOCIATE MANAGING EDITOR

SITE SELECTION

IN HIS COUNTRY AND WESTERN SONG FROM THE ’90s, LYLE
Lovett opens by teasing those listeners who are not from Texas: “You say
you’re not from Texas/ Man, as if I couldn’t tell/ You think you wear your
hat right/ and pull your boots on so well.” Lovett goes on in the chorus to
affirm three times, “That’s right, you’re not from Texas,” but then ends
by reassuring the listener: “Texas wants you anyway.”
If industrial real estate experts and state business development officials
are to be believed, that sentiment also holds true for companies seeking
a location for their next warehouse or distribution facility. The state wel-
comes new business with open arms, relatively low costs, and a favorable
tax environment.

Or as Mabrie Johnson from the economic development organization North Texas Commission bluntly puts it: “The only reason why you wouldn’t want to come to Texas is you’re crazy.”

CENTRAL LOCATION

So just what does Texas have going for it? Where industrial site selection is concerned, quite a lot, says Tom Sanderson, CEO of the Dallas-based third-party logistics service provider Transplace. When companies go to choose a DC location, they typically concentrate on such factors as