The Landscape of Site Selection

 

Site Selection

As we enter the summer of 2025, the landscape of site selection, economic development, and policy continues to evolve.

At Ashmore Consulting, we’re seeing key trends shaping investment decisions and business strategies nationwide.

Here’s what’s top of mind:

Housing crisis:

• Housing supply is too low.
• Fast-growing markets are not producing enough housing.
• Affordability, supply chain, and workforce challenges are pushing new creative solutions, from modular construction to policy shifts in zoning and incentives.

Energy crisis:

• Availability of electricity has become a major issue for large-scale industrial projects.  We have transitioned from coal and nuclear to renewables, which are deemed by some as not as reliable as traditional energy sources.
• We have begun to see solutions to the energy crisis.
• Not enough transformers/transmission lines to meet demand.
• The regulated states and deregulated states have trouble with the regulatory structure.
• Rising demand and grid capacity constraints are reshaping energy infrastructure investment, making sustainability and reliability top priorities for site selection.

Office crisis:

• The future of office space remains uncertain, with adaptive reuse and hybrid work influencing corporate real estate decisions.
• Way too much office due to working from home.
• Reuses possible?
  • Residential conversion increases education, healthcare, retail, and a ‘follow the people’ strategy by building neighborhoods
  • Technology companies, the life science market, wet labs, and  data centers
• Office conversion grants, affordable housing grants, CBDG, property tax abatements, and construction material sales tax exemptions.
• Any building 50+ years old or older state and federal historic preservation tax credits.  LIHTC, PACE, parking subsidies, special improvement district, TIFS, transformational mixed use.

Impact of tariffs:

• Global trade policies and shifting supply chains continue to impact manufacturing and industrial site selection.
• Significant impact?   We buy most significantly from China, Mexico, and Canada.
• Injection of considerable and widespread uncertainty in 2025.  Seek curated, reliable, real-time information that is truly relevant to your business and scenario plan.  State and local tax planning, strategic location analysis, and strategies to maximize tax credits and incentives are integral to effective scenario planning.
• Trends: Order more now, seek new global and domestic suppliers, recruit suppliers, and look at foreign trade zones.

Data center solutions:

• Power availability, land access, and economic incentives remain key as the demand for digital infrastructure skyrockets.
• Hottest industrial product that’s out there from 2024, which continues in 2025.
• A massive industry that has popped up in the last five years and is having an impact on the energy crisis and industrial development.
• The sector is not slowing down.

Site development strategies:

• Infrastructure readiness and workforce availability are now make-or-break factors for successful site development.
• The private sector industrial site market has stopped in the past two years.  Pickup begins in the market in 2025 and 2026.

ROI tax policy, economic development incentives, land use planning:

• Targeted, aligned & measured incentives and long-term economic planning are proving essential for sustainable business growth.

• ROI project benefits, fiscal impact, costs/benefits, and economic impact remain crucial when positioning to communities.

Booming defense industry:

• Rising federal investment is fueling expansion in aerospace, defense tech, and advanced manufacturing.
• Strong industry, high wages, significant benefits.

Growing food and beverage industry:

• Consumer demand, automation, and logistics optimization are reshaping where and how facilities are built.
• Continuing to grow.
• Longest term successful run year-to-year for the growth of any industry.
• One of the most significant contributors to the gross domestic product.

Impact of economic development planning:

• Forward-thinking communities are leveraging proactive planning to attract investment and drive sustainable growth.
• Focus on communities that have a strong economic development plan.
• Seek out communities that learn, listen, and do; that build consensus, have mapped out where they want to go in the next five years and believe in the power of planning.

Shifting Landscape:

In today’s rapidly shifting landscape, making the right site selection is more complex—and more critical—than ever.

From navigating energy constraints and housing shortages to aligning with communities that prioritize infrastructure, workforce, and long-term planning, the stakes are high.

 

At Ashmore Consulting, we help businesses cut through the noise with data-driven insights, strategic foresight, and a deep understanding of what makes a location truly work.

If you’re ready to make a confident, future-focused site selection decision, let’s start the conversation.

Contact us today to schedule a consultation and explore how we can help you find the right place to grow.