Economic Development Features

Leaders throughout the state have had their eyes trained carefully on economic indicators for the last several months, aware that trouble is brewing in other parts of the country and that some key industries are ailing. But by and large,…

Metro Atlanta, undoubtedly the state’s biggest economic engine, experienced robust growth and job creation in 2007, despite a weakened economy and concerns about water and transportation. And 2008 promises continued corporate expansion, infrastructure improvement and major residential, commercial and retail…

A couple of decades ago, a history professor at Dalton College and State University told his students that some day northwest Georgia would be one long continuous city along Interstate 75 from Atlanta to Chattanooga. For anyone who has made…

Northeast Georgia’s burgeoning wine industry is a great fit for an area that relies on agriculture and tourism, and winemakers are eager to develop the potential. “We need partners in the wine industry to make it grow and give the…

As the U.S. Army Armor School heads toward Fort Benning and Kia plant activity intensifies, west central Georgia counties are watching ripples of growth spread over the entire region. By January, as the nearly 3,000-worker hiring process began at the…

In real estate, the battle cry is “location, location, location.” In central Georgia, officials looking to recruit industry are borrowing that mantra as they promote a region with access to interstate highways, ports and airports, as well as a relaxed…

With a little collaboration and a willingness to think outside the box, many counties in east central Georgia registered an economic boost in 2007. Five neighboring counties – Lincoln, Warren, Wilkes, McDuffie and Columbia – have come together to promote…

Despite the economic gloom that has enve-loped much of the nation in the early months of 2008, economic development leaders in southwest Georgia remain upbeat – and they have reason to be. This 25-county, still mostly-rural region has had more…

What a difference a year makes. This time last year, the talk in southeast Georgia was all about residential development. Houses were going up faster than kudzu covers the ground and selling just as quickly. Jump forward a year and…

The director of the Selig Center for Economic Research at the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business reports on some key Georgia industries. New Home Construction Georgia’s housing downturn will deepen considerably, with existing home sales declining through the…