Economic Development Around the State
High Rankings: Georgia was named No. 1 for Best Business Climate in a survey of expert site selectors across the country by Site Selection, dethroning last year’s winner, Texas. Survey participants ranked states based on factors that relate to maintaining a business-friendly environment like workforce availability, training programs and cost of living. In the same survey, Atlanta was named the No. 3 best city in the country for corporate headquarters, topped only by Charlotte, N.C. (No. 2) and Dallas (No. 1).
Imports and Exports: Norwegian company Wallenius Wilhelmsen recently celebrated the grand opening of its newest global facility in Brunswick. One of the largest Ro/Ro (roll-on, roll-off cargo) carriers in the world, the company consolidated operations from its 85-acre equipment processing center in Pooler to the customized 300-acre facility.
Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital’s new Trauma and Critical Care Tower. Photo credit: PhoebeHealth.org
Albany Healthcare: Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Dougherty County celebrated the opening of a $150 million trauma and critical care tower in January. The 53,000-square-foot tower almost triples the size of the hospital’s previous emergency center and includes expanded, state-of-the-art emergency and trauma rooms, a neonatal intensive care unit and a surgical intensive care unit.
Best Performing: Gainesville-Hall County Metro has been named the top small metropolitan area by the 2025 Milken Institute Best-Performing Cities (BPC) report, citing strong job and wage growth, housing affordability and a robust high-tech presence. This is the first time the city, which has been featured among the BPC’s top 10 every year since 2016, has been named No. 1 for its category.
Bartow Mixed-Use: A new 2,390-acre mixed-use development is in the works in Bartow County. Located at the Interstate 75 interchange with U.S. 411, the project will include 10 million square feet of manufacturing, data center and logistics facilities along with shops, restaurants, hotels and residential for approximately 2,800 families, all linked by a network of trails, parks and walkways. Phases will be completed over the next 10-12 years, with groundbreaking on the initial infrastructure in late 2025 or early 2026. 
