News & Resources

Young adults today move more than previous generations. A recent Zillow study found that in 2017, close to one in two millennials – more than 45% – had lived in their current home for fewer than two years. By contrast, in 1960, approximately 34% of young adults had lived in their current residences fo...Continue Reading

AUSTIN, TX – Texas has secured the No. 1 spot on Chief Executive Magazine's annual ranking of the Best and Worst States for Business. Texas has achieved the top spot every year since the ranking's inception. The ranking reflects CEO perceptions of the best and worst states for business based o...Continue Reading

Area Development has announced its annual Gold and Silver Shovel Award winners for 2020, with Texas claiming a Gold Shovel. The annual Gold and Silver Shovel Awards recognize states for their achievements in attracting high-value investment projects that will create a significant number of new jobs in their communities. Read full article.Continue Reading

Drawing on lessons from the battlefield is common practice for business leaders seeking tested strategies to succeed against adversity. The battle against Covid-19, an invisible enemy, feels to many observers like a military engagement. Readers familiar with Agile methodology and its business applications, aimed at empowering teams to better respond to changing custome...Continue Reading

A return to normalcy won’t cut it in the post-COVID workplace. How real estate leaders approach this all-new landscape will have lasting implications on our communities’ health, employee safety and well-being, and organizational performance alike. If it sounds like a tall order, that’s because it is. Yet, tumultuous times have historicall...Continue Reading

When KPMG released its ranking of the top 20 Technology Innovation Hubs for 2020, the annual list read like a proverbial roundup of the usual suspects: After Silicon Valley, the report named Singapore, London, Tel Aviv, Tokyo and New York as the next top five. The rest of the top 2...Continue Reading

Local entrepreneurs have found a home in Micro Market Midland - a community of business owners sharing a beautiful downtown retail space. The market was temporarily closed due to COVID-19, but has since reopened, taking safety precautions to protect workers and guests.  “We have a passion for local small businesses an...Continue Reading

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented change to the United States. Individuals and businesses alike are facing uncertainty unlike anything experienced in recent times. Lost income and health concerns coupled with the absence of social structures typically provided by extended family, friends and other relationships have given rise to hig...Continue Reading

At a time when more people are working from home but business deliverables and deadlines remain the same, managers are seeking tangible ways to make remote work function just as well as the usual methods for employees they support. Below are four tangible steps that managers can take to combat communicatio...Continue Reading

The concept of an “innovation center” is certainly not new. However, without much fanfare, over time, some operations have reinvented the traditional center model, changing how and where they operate, leaning upon new partners and resources, and switching out the types of clients or markets served. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-1...Continue Reading

Economic development compliance is historically a long process, one that is typically managed over a multi-year time frame. Companies have negotiated incentives to help offset costs associated with growth and expansion and count on the economic benefits as part of their strategic growth plan — specifically, their plan for buildin...Continue Reading

Texas’ pro-business climate has made it an ideal place for investment. Powered by the oil boom, technology and life sciences, our economy topped more than $1.9 trillion in the fourth quarter, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, making it among the largest economies of the world. As recently as December 2019...Continue Reading

Communities across the country have responded to the COVID-19 crisis by implementing various stages of stay-at-home practices and shutdowns of nonessential businesses. While  those practices seem to have directionally reduced the feared spikes, they leave less money for local governments to pay for expected services such as public safety, tras...Continue Reading

AUSTIN, Texas — As state leaders begin to restart the Texas economy, policy experts from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin and the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston have issued a nine-point playbook with their vision for rebuilding a mor...Continue Reading

In the interstate economic-development wars, few rivalries can match the long-running one between California and Texas. At a time when so many Americans have such sharply divided attitudes on the proper role of government, these states illustrate the extremes. They're both also thought to be, in their own way, model...Continue Reading

The COVID-19 pandemic has swept across the country, bringing unprecedented changes with it. Employees and employers are working together to determine how to best protect everyone’s health as they get businesses back on track. Naturally, questions abound for the employees in a wide range of industries who must now adap...Continue Reading

After intense reaction to COVID-19, employers across the country are beginning to reopen their business or consider doing so. One of the most significant questions arising is how to resume operations while protecting employees and customers. Simply opening the doors or restarting manufacturing equipment is not enough. Every business shoul...Continue Reading

The Midland Downtown Farmers' Market (“MDFM”) is open for business. This local treasure is a place where local artisans, farmers, bakers, and chefs connect with community members in search of fresh and tasty treats, along with unique items and gifts. Vendors are all residents of the Permian Basin and ar...Continue Reading

The Texas Department of Transportation is beginning a project to build an overpass in Midland. By allocating $3 million toward this Loop 250 overpass, the MDC is accelerating the construction of an essential overpass in Midland. This project will also unlock a large amount of undeveloped property in North Eas...Continue Reading

Generally speaking, everyone resists change. Especially sudden change. But Covid-19 changed all that. Friday rolled around and we were told to grab-your-stuff and go home and no one knew when we would be back. You hear people say, “When things go back to normal…” Well, will things really go back t...Continue Reading

Site selection has traditionally focused on analyzing and comparing markets based on their current — and sometimes historical — capacity to support a corporate end user’s organizational objectives. More recently, a fundamental shift is under way where clients are challenging their consultants and candidate communities to also provide assessments o...Continue Reading

The COVID-19 pandemic is already causing shifts in the economy and workforce. Other than the obvious loss of employment, some of which will hopefully be temporary, another significant shift in the workforce involves employees in the professional services sector and others forced to work remotely from home. Although companies allowin...Continue Reading

It’s almost always good news when an industrial manufacturer needs to find a new plant site. It means business is growing, new markets are emerging, and financials are healthy. However, this is the point of time in the business cycle when decisions about next steps need to be made carefully...Continue Reading