Well, it can't be sunshine and rainbows everyday, now can it? Louisville has had two major announcements in past two weeks, and neither of them have been good.
Medco, the New Jersey-based pharmacy company, has decided that it will not locate a major 1,300 position facility in Louisville; the facility will instead be located in a suburban collar county of Indianapolis. The Medco project would have brought hundreds of very high paying jobs to the area, and would have been a major coup for a city that is branding itself as the next big logistics hub in America.
In choosing to locate in Indianapolis, Medco decided to forgo 30,000,000 dollars in tax incentives offered by the state of Kentucky. Indiana offered substantially less money to Medco at 18,000,000 dollars. It looks like that the key reason Medco picked Indiana over Kentucky was pretty simple: they currently couldn't operate in Louisville under current pharmacy laws. Indiana quickly changed their regulations, while Kentucky put it off at several meetings, until it was too late for Medco. The damage was done, and 1,300 jobs went 100 miles north.
The other major disappointment of the week is the sale of locally headquartered Genlyte to Netherlands-based Royal Phillips Electronics. Genlyte is Louisville's fifth largest publicly held company, and with strong growth, it was poised to break into the Fortune 1000 list. The sale is a serious blow to the local business community.
The silver-lining to this cloud is that Phillips has at least agreed to headquarter this new division of the company in Louisville. Current Genlyte management has all agreed to stay with the newly formed division of Phillips. Phillips has been on a buying spree, of sorts, in the field of light production, having acquired a Massachusetts and Canadian based company in recent months.
Showing posts with label Economic Development. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Economic Development. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Monday, April 09, 2007
River City News Briefs
Downtown Holiday Inn Completes Renovations
The Charlestown Road corridor of New Albany continues to expand with the announcement of a 16,000 square foot building of Class A Office Space. The building is not large, yet it is significant for the Southern Indiana suburbs, because while they have been able to land plenty of new retail establishments and industrial users, they have nearly no white collar office jobs. In fact, Clark and Floyd counties combined have less than 350,000 square feet of Class A space. A local developer though hopes to help change that fact. He is building his new development near the entrance of the planned Purdue University business incubator and campus. He is banking that "if you build it, they will come." I hope so - Southern Indiana could certainly use some more high paying, quality jobs.
Local Groups Assess Needs of Fort Knox
Fort Knox is going through some growing pains. In 2005 the BRAC realignment meant that the local army installation will be seeing a net gain of 3,500 position - which will translate into around 12,000 new residents in area by mid 2010. Fort Knox and it's surrounding communities (such as Radcliff) are not yet fully prepared for the onslaught of new residents. So local groups are completing needed studies to identify areas of growth potential before the new residents get to town. In the report they're updating the local land-use study for county and municipal governments, they're looking at the local road needs, housing needs, retail and job needs. These new positions at Fort Knox will be one of the largest spurts of growth for the base in a very long time and local governments do not want to be caught unprepared as the local population swells.
New Albany Logistics Firm Adds 50 Employees
L&D Mail Masters, a local logistic firm, announced they will be adding almost 50 new employees to their workforce. The small, New Albany-grown business currently has 100 employees and 20 million dollars in revenue. Their expansion will mean an investment of 4.2 million dollars in buildings and equipment. Salaries will begin in the mid 30,000 dollar range.
The much maligned Holiday Inn Louisville-Downtown has finally completed a much needed 7.5 million dollar renovation project that includes newly refinished guest rooms, lobbies, meeting space, and restaurants. The new features include high speed Internet throughout the building, new fitness room and indoor jacuzzi, new contemporary lobby, new beds, and new fixtures in bathrooms. The hotel now also boasts an "upscale" eatery with patio seating on Broadway. The Holiday Inn is one of the last hotel properties in downtown to complete a major overhaul in recent years. Since the opening of the Louisville Marriott-Downtown, nearly all hotel properties in the CBD have completed major overhauls to compete in a tightening market. And with 1,300 rooms to be added by 2010, including an upscale Westin, downtown hotels will again need to reevaluate their conditions, and plan accordingly.
Developer Plans Class A Space for New Albany
The Charlestown Road corridor of New Albany continues to expand with the announcement of a 16,000 square foot building of Class A Office Space. The building is not large, yet it is significant for the Southern Indiana suburbs, because while they have been able to land plenty of new retail establishments and industrial users, they have nearly no white collar office jobs. In fact, Clark and Floyd counties combined have less than 350,000 square feet of Class A space. A local developer though hopes to help change that fact. He is building his new development near the entrance of the planned Purdue University business incubator and campus. He is banking that "if you build it, they will come." I hope so - Southern Indiana could certainly use some more high paying, quality jobs.Local Groups Assess Needs of Fort Knox
Fort Knox is going through some growing pains. In 2005 the BRAC realignment meant that the local army installation will be seeing a net gain of 3,500 position - which will translate into around 12,000 new residents in area by mid 2010. Fort Knox and it's surrounding communities (such as Radcliff) are not yet fully prepared for the onslaught of new residents. So local groups are completing needed studies to identify areas of growth potential before the new residents get to town. In the report they're updating the local land-use study for county and municipal governments, they're looking at the local road needs, housing needs, retail and job needs. These new positions at Fort Knox will be one of the largest spurts of growth for the base in a very long time and local governments do not want to be caught unprepared as the local population swells.
New Albany Logistics Firm Adds 50 Employees
L&D Mail Masters, a local logistic firm, announced they will be adding almost 50 new employees to their workforce. The small, New Albany-grown business currently has 100 employees and 20 million dollars in revenue. Their expansion will mean an investment of 4.2 million dollars in buildings and equipment. Salaries will begin in the mid 30,000 dollar range.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Recent Announcements Promise 1000 Jobs
The past week has seen several announcements that promise to bring up to 1000 new jobs to the area. While they're not white collar jobs, they're still not too bad:
Solectron, a California-based manufacturer and repairer of electronics, will soon add 700 positions to their new and expanded space off of I-65. The company, which recently doubled it's capacity, will add these new jobs by the end of the year. The pay will range from 10 to 18 dollars an hour, based on the level of experience. Company officials noted that Louisville was picked for the expansion due to the location ofthe UPS WorldHub and the flexibility that it provides them in shipping.
CafePress, an online provider of customizable bumper stickers, tshirts, and other products, will add 120 positions to their Riverport facility. Average salary will be 15 dollars an hour.
RalCorp, a producer of frozen bakery goods, will add a new product line ot their Louisville operations, and add 120 workers. The average salary will be 18 dollars an hour.
LEO Steel is yet again proposing a new facility for Riverport that would employ 130 people and pay an average of 19 dollars an hour. It would be an investment of 220 million dollars and would prouce steel slabs and coils for export. LEO has been eyeing Riverport for nearly a decade now, and this latest proposal is number 4 since 2000. Don't hold your breath.
Solectron, a California-based manufacturer and repairer of electronics, will soon add 700 positions to their new and expanded space off of I-65. The company, which recently doubled it's capacity, will add these new jobs by the end of the year. The pay will range from 10 to 18 dollars an hour, based on the level of experience. Company officials noted that Louisville was picked for the expansion due to the location ofthe UPS WorldHub and the flexibility that it provides them in shipping.
CafePress, an online provider of customizable bumper stickers, tshirts, and other products, will add 120 positions to their Riverport facility. Average salary will be 15 dollars an hour.
RalCorp, a producer of frozen bakery goods, will add a new product line ot their Louisville operations, and add 120 workers. The average salary will be 18 dollars an hour.
LEO Steel is yet again proposing a new facility for Riverport that would employ 130 people and pay an average of 19 dollars an hour. It would be an investment of 220 million dollars and would prouce steel slabs and coils for export. LEO has been eyeing Riverport for nearly a decade now, and this latest proposal is number 4 since 2000. Don't hold your breath.
Friday, March 02, 2007
UofL Health Campus' New Masterplan
The University of Louisville health campus in downtown Louisville is one of the great economic engines of the region. Inside those buildings, researchers have pioneered such medical breakthroughs as the first hand transplants, are on the cutting edge of mechanical hearts, and are American leaders in the research of full face transplants. Researchers and doctors at the health campus are truly making a difference for the community and the field of medicine.
That is why it is important to give this complex of research and patient care buildings a new vision for growth in the future; and last week UofL did just that with a new strategic master plan for the downtown campus.
The original master plan was crafted nearly 15 years ago, and has been a good document from which to base the growth of the campus, but times have changed and the needs of today are different from the early 1990's. By the year 2027, the campus is expected to double in size, and to accommodate the growth, some changes are going to be made in the area.
One major new component of the campus will be a pedestrian-only corridor to replace a secluded alley and loading dock area. Along this new pedestrian corridor, you will find a small "urban forest" to give patients a secluded location to get away and meditate. There are also 10 new buildings that have been identified for the future, several of which are already under construction or in the planning process. Currently there are several large surface lots that are expected to become buildings in the future, and to replace those lost parking spots, two more parking structures are proposed. Along with those new strucures, the new VA Hospital is expected to be built in the UofL campus. A southern gateway is also to be built as to better differentiate the campus from the surrounding area.
Right now UofL has several new buildings under construction in the campus - including two research buildings and one patient care complex that will be used by doctors from University Hospital. The years to come, however, promise even larger changes.
That is why it is important to give this complex of research and patient care buildings a new vision for growth in the future; and last week UofL did just that with a new strategic master plan for the downtown campus.
The original master plan was crafted nearly 15 years ago, and has been a good document from which to base the growth of the campus, but times have changed and the needs of today are different from the early 1990's. By the year 2027, the campus is expected to double in size, and to accommodate the growth, some changes are going to be made in the area.
One major new component of the campus will be a pedestrian-only corridor to replace a secluded alley and loading dock area. Along this new pedestrian corridor, you will find a small "urban forest" to give patients a secluded location to get away and meditate. There are also 10 new buildings that have been identified for the future, several of which are already under construction or in the planning process. Currently there are several large surface lots that are expected to become buildings in the future, and to replace those lost parking spots, two more parking structures are proposed. Along with those new strucures, the new VA Hospital is expected to be built in the UofL campus. A southern gateway is also to be built as to better differentiate the campus from the surrounding area.
Right now UofL has several new buildings under construction in the campus - including two research buildings and one patient care complex that will be used by doctors from University Hospital. The years to come, however, promise even larger changes.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Louisville: A Competitive City?
On Friday the Greater Louisville Project (from henceforth to be known as GLP) issued it's 2007 Competitive City Report for Louisville. The stated goal of the GLP is to "accelerate the pace of change to redefine Louisville as a skilled and educated community that claims it's place in the top tier of American cities."
That is a lofty goal indeed. Especially for Louisville.
The report is a slick presentation of graphs, maps, and promotional messages. Much of the information was useful...and encouraging. Some of it was simple blubbering by a civic group - but what can ya say, they're all that way anyway.
The GLP report focuses on the central county - Jefferson County, Kentucky - unlike this recent report that focuses on the entire metropolitan statistical area. The GLP report is simply one piece of an overall puzzle that represents the trends and movements in the Louisville region. In some cities, a report that focuses on the central county would be less important than it is in Louisville - but this report holds a lot of weight for Louisville because 3 out of 5 residents of the MSA are residents of Louisville Metro - Jefferson County.
This report focused it's energy on three points of comparison - Educational Attainment, Professional Jobs, and Balanced Regional Growth. The report compared Louisville to 14 other competitor cities - Raleigh, Charlotte, Greensboro, Richmond, Nashville, Omaha, Cincinnati, Columbus, Birmingham, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Memphis, Jacksonville, and Dayton. And at least on the education front, we're making real progress
By steadily increasing the number of people in the age group of 25-34 with Bachelors Degrees, we have moved from the near the bottom of the pack at 11th place, to the middle of the pack, at 8th place. In 2000, only Dayton, Memphis, and Jacksonville fared worse than us in this age group, but by 2005, Louisville had rushed past Greensboro, Indianapolis, Kansas City, and Birmingham in this category. That is progress for Louisville.
In the performance of JCPS students on the Kentucky state CATS test, we've also seen marked improvement in only 4 years. In 2001 79% of JCPS students were proficient in reading, 70% in science, and 59% in math. By 2005 those numbers had increased to 87% in reading, 77% in science, and 72% in math. Those are big leaps in a district as large and diverse as JCPS, and in such a short period.
Louisville ranks near the top of cities in the category of citizens with *some* college experience. That highlights a huge opportunity for Louisville's institutions of higher education to develop new program to retain and graduate more students.
In 1990 nearly 1 in 5 Louisvillians hadn't even finished high school. In 2005 that number had essentially been cut in half, to 1 in 10.
Louisville's college and university have seen a swell in the number of college students in recent years, and an increased student population has led to a large increase in the number of degrees conferred in the area.
In regards to personal income Louisville has also seen some good growth. In 2000 Louisville was ranked 11th, only ahead of Memphis, Nashville, Indianapolis, and Dayton, when measuring Median Income. By 2005 Louisville was right in the middle of the pack, ranked 8th. In those 5 years Louisville had also surpassed Birmingham, Jacksonville, and Kansas City.
Another bright spot for Louisville is it's low crime rate when compared to competitor cities. Only two cities - Dayton and Raleigh - boasted a lower crime rate.
Of course, not everything can be good news.
One of the trouble spots for Louisville was the stagnation when it comes to creating and retaining high-paying professional jobs. In 2000 Louisville ranked near the bottom, at 11th place...and still occupies that position. Despite large leaps in educational attainment, we're still having trouble luring in professional opportunities.
Louisville's African-American community lost ground in home ownership rates.
In 2000 Louisville was next to last (a good thing in this case) in the percentage of families spending more than 30% of their income on housing. That number has increased, and Louisville has moved up several spots. This means working families are finding it increasingly difficult to afford good housing on their salaries in the central county.
Despite growth in home values in Louisville, it has been slower than many of our competitors, and Louisville has lost ground in this measure as well.
It is my opinion that this report, despite it's shortcomings, shows a stregthening city, and one full of opportunity for continued improvement. If you throw out all the comparisons to other cities, you find a region that seems to have fully awoken from it's doldrums of the 70's and 80's. We're growing larger, better educated, and have better oppotunities than any other time in our city's history. This is truly an exciting and great era for Louisville.
That is a lofty goal indeed. Especially for Louisville.
The report is a slick presentation of graphs, maps, and promotional messages. Much of the information was useful...and encouraging. Some of it was simple blubbering by a civic group - but what can ya say, they're all that way anyway.
The GLP report focuses on the central county - Jefferson County, Kentucky - unlike this recent report that focuses on the entire metropolitan statistical area. The GLP report is simply one piece of an overall puzzle that represents the trends and movements in the Louisville region. In some cities, a report that focuses on the central county would be less important than it is in Louisville - but this report holds a lot of weight for Louisville because 3 out of 5 residents of the MSA are residents of Louisville Metro - Jefferson County.
This report focused it's energy on three points of comparison - Educational Attainment, Professional Jobs, and Balanced Regional Growth. The report compared Louisville to 14 other competitor cities - Raleigh, Charlotte, Greensboro, Richmond, Nashville, Omaha, Cincinnati, Columbus, Birmingham, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Memphis, Jacksonville, and Dayton. And at least on the education front, we're making real progress
By steadily increasing the number of people in the age group of 25-34 with Bachelors Degrees, we have moved from the near the bottom of the pack at 11th place, to the middle of the pack, at 8th place. In 2000, only Dayton, Memphis, and Jacksonville fared worse than us in this age group, but by 2005, Louisville had rushed past Greensboro, Indianapolis, Kansas City, and Birmingham in this category. That is progress for Louisville.
In the performance of JCPS students on the Kentucky state CATS test, we've also seen marked improvement in only 4 years. In 2001 79% of JCPS students were proficient in reading, 70% in science, and 59% in math. By 2005 those numbers had increased to 87% in reading, 77% in science, and 72% in math. Those are big leaps in a district as large and diverse as JCPS, and in such a short period.
Louisville ranks near the top of cities in the category of citizens with *some* college experience. That highlights a huge opportunity for Louisville's institutions of higher education to develop new program to retain and graduate more students.
In 1990 nearly 1 in 5 Louisvillians hadn't even finished high school. In 2005 that number had essentially been cut in half, to 1 in 10.
Louisville's college and university have seen a swell in the number of college students in recent years, and an increased student population has led to a large increase in the number of degrees conferred in the area.
In regards to personal income Louisville has also seen some good growth. In 2000 Louisville was ranked 11th, only ahead of Memphis, Nashville, Indianapolis, and Dayton, when measuring Median Income. By 2005 Louisville was right in the middle of the pack, ranked 8th. In those 5 years Louisville had also surpassed Birmingham, Jacksonville, and Kansas City.
Another bright spot for Louisville is it's low crime rate when compared to competitor cities. Only two cities - Dayton and Raleigh - boasted a lower crime rate.
Of course, not everything can be good news.
One of the trouble spots for Louisville was the stagnation when it comes to creating and retaining high-paying professional jobs. In 2000 Louisville ranked near the bottom, at 11th place...and still occupies that position. Despite large leaps in educational attainment, we're still having trouble luring in professional opportunities.
Louisville's African-American community lost ground in home ownership rates.
In 2000 Louisville was next to last (a good thing in this case) in the percentage of families spending more than 30% of their income on housing. That number has increased, and Louisville has moved up several spots. This means working families are finding it increasingly difficult to afford good housing on their salaries in the central county.
Despite growth in home values in Louisville, it has been slower than many of our competitors, and Louisville has lost ground in this measure as well.
It is my opinion that this report, despite it's shortcomings, shows a stregthening city, and one full of opportunity for continued improvement. If you throw out all the comparisons to other cities, you find a region that seems to have fully awoken from it's doldrums of the 70's and 80's. We're growing larger, better educated, and have better oppotunities than any other time in our city's history. This is truly an exciting and great era for Louisville.
Monday, February 05, 2007
PharMerica in the Suburbs and Louisville's Genlyte
On Friday it was reported that Louisville's newest corporate citizen would by planting it's roots in suburban Jefferson County - off of Blankenbaker Parkway in Jeffersontown to be more precise.
The new 2 billion dollar company will fill the space that was vacated over a year ago when Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield built a new suburban building at Eastpoint Business Center and consolidated their operations. PharMerica is expected to lease nearly 100,000 square feet of space in the Blankenbaker Crossings building for their 300 to 350 new employees.
PharMerica looked at three locations in Louisville - 2 suburban and 1 downtown - before settling on Blankenbaker Crossing. Jeffersontown's mayor has commented that the city will bend over backwards to support the new company in any possible ways.
While I think it is a missed opportunity for the downtown core to score this fantastic, growing company...it is a win for the Louisville business community to have them settle roots here. The number of Fortune 1000 companies has been reduced in the last decade with RJ Reynolds being acquired and moved to North Carlina and the takeover of LG&E in the mid 90's by German electric conglomerate E.ON. Thankfully for the latter company, LG&E was basically left unchanged and E.ON made Louisville it's US Headquarters - although that still isn't quite as nice as having LG&E as our own Fortune 1000 company again.
Fortune 1000 companies are a point of pride for any community, and it is one indicator of a regions general economic strength and importance. Fortune 1000's are not the only indicators, o even the single most important one, but it is still great to have as many as possible.
It is because of this that I am excited about recent news from Louisville-based Genlyte. Genlyte is a homegrown company that has experienced explosive growth and is acquiring companies left and right, like last weeks announced acquisition of Pennsylvania-based lighting manufacturer, Hanover Lantern.
Genlyte's 2006 revenues were announced to be 1.48 billion dollars. Had Genlyte posted that number in 2005, they would have easily made Fortunes 1000 list. But last year they had sales of 1.2 billion - nearly 200 million dollars short of breaking into the top 1000 public companies. Revenue is up nearly 25 percent this year from last, and if they don't make the Fortune list for 2006, there is no doubt they will make the cut for 2007.
Louisville has a reputation of plodding along without much growth - and to a degree that has been very true. But times are changing, not just for Louisville, but for Kentucky. Kentucky is expected to ride the next wave of Southern expansion as people start looking for places that aren't yet saturated - such as Florida, Georgia, or Texas. This means we'll start seeing more economic diversity, more local companies, and greater opportunity.
Recent economic news from Louisville has been very bright, indeed. And I expect that momentum to continue. Not every week will bring with it a new company or large expansion, but Louisville will continue to do what it does best - nurture small groups and daring entrepreneurs. That's how Genlyte started. And Smoothstone. And Zirmed. And a whole slew of others.
Louisville has a lot of baggage to overcome...but slowly, we're turning the corner, and news like these recent developments, only embolden us more.
The new 2 billion dollar company will fill the space that was vacated over a year ago when Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield built a new suburban building at Eastpoint Business Center and consolidated their operations. PharMerica is expected to lease nearly 100,000 square feet of space in the Blankenbaker Crossings building for their 300 to 350 new employees.
PharMerica looked at three locations in Louisville - 2 suburban and 1 downtown - before settling on Blankenbaker Crossing. Jeffersontown's mayor has commented that the city will bend over backwards to support the new company in any possible ways.
While I think it is a missed opportunity for the downtown core to score this fantastic, growing company...it is a win for the Louisville business community to have them settle roots here. The number of Fortune 1000 companies has been reduced in the last decade with RJ Reynolds being acquired and moved to North Carlina and the takeover of LG&E in the mid 90's by German electric conglomerate E.ON. Thankfully for the latter company, LG&E was basically left unchanged and E.ON made Louisville it's US Headquarters - although that still isn't quite as nice as having LG&E as our own Fortune 1000 company again.
Fortune 1000 companies are a point of pride for any community, and it is one indicator of a regions general economic strength and importance. Fortune 1000's are not the only indicators, o even the single most important one, but it is still great to have as many as possible.
It is because of this that I am excited about recent news from Louisville-based Genlyte. Genlyte is a homegrown company that has experienced explosive growth and is acquiring companies left and right, like last weeks announced acquisition of Pennsylvania-based lighting manufacturer, Hanover Lantern.
Genlyte's 2006 revenues were announced to be 1.48 billion dollars. Had Genlyte posted that number in 2005, they would have easily made Fortunes 1000 list. But last year they had sales of 1.2 billion - nearly 200 million dollars short of breaking into the top 1000 public companies. Revenue is up nearly 25 percent this year from last, and if they don't make the Fortune list for 2006, there is no doubt they will make the cut for 2007.
Louisville has a reputation of plodding along without much growth - and to a degree that has been very true. But times are changing, not just for Louisville, but for Kentucky. Kentucky is expected to ride the next wave of Southern expansion as people start looking for places that aren't yet saturated - such as Florida, Georgia, or Texas. This means we'll start seeing more economic diversity, more local companies, and greater opportunity.
Recent economic news from Louisville has been very bright, indeed. And I expect that momentum to continue. Not every week will bring with it a new company or large expansion, but Louisville will continue to do what it does best - nurture small groups and daring entrepreneurs. That's how Genlyte started. And Smoothstone. And Zirmed. And a whole slew of others.
Louisville has a lot of baggage to overcome...but slowly, we're turning the corner, and news like these recent developments, only embolden us more.
Monday, January 29, 2007
New Louisville Jobs
Well, I myself have started a new job, and it has taken away much of my computer time - hence the delay since my last post and the short post tonight. Despite the short post today, there have been some good job releases recently in Louisville.
Geek Squad to add 350 more positions
Best Buys announced it was amending it's plans for the Geek Squad City facility in Bullitt County. Six months ago Geek Squad City opened with plans for 500 full time employees, but now Best Buy will add 350 more positions for a total of 850 computer "geek" repairmen. When the facility was originally announced, the state of Kentucky offered over 10 million dollars in tax rebates. Louisville was eventually chosen due to the proximity of UPS WorldHub and the their ability to get computers in and out several days faster due to UPS.
California Printer to add 20 more jobs to West End location
Print Fulfillment Services, formerly OvernightPrints.com, which opened up a large facility in the economically stagnant West End last year, is preparing to add 20 more positions and invest nearly 2 million more dollars in their facility. Last year when their facility was under construction they made it clear they wanted to get as many local West End residents as possible in their operation. They want to continue that commitment with this newest expansion.
West End Indoor Recycling Center brings 20 positions, perhaps more
Last week a group of local investors submitted plans for a 5 million dollar indoor recycling facility in the West End. The facility plans to hire for 20 positions initially, with growth plans of up to 80 more positions. The group has made it known they want to try and also provide the bulk of their positions to locals of the West End.
PharMerica to add 200 HQ jobs
Louisville scored a coup with the gain of PharMerica to the local corporate scene. The HQ will initially have up to 300 positions, with 100 positions already being filled by Louisvillians. With salaries of over 77,000$ a year, that's nothing to turn your nose up to in Louisville.
Geek Squad to add 350 more positions
Best Buys announced it was amending it's plans for the Geek Squad City facility in Bullitt County. Six months ago Geek Squad City opened with plans for 500 full time employees, but now Best Buy will add 350 more positions for a total of 850 computer "geek" repairmen. When the facility was originally announced, the state of Kentucky offered over 10 million dollars in tax rebates. Louisville was eventually chosen due to the proximity of UPS WorldHub and the their ability to get computers in and out several days faster due to UPS.
California Printer to add 20 more jobs to West End location
Print Fulfillment Services, formerly OvernightPrints.com, which opened up a large facility in the economically stagnant West End last year, is preparing to add 20 more positions and invest nearly 2 million more dollars in their facility. Last year when their facility was under construction they made it clear they wanted to get as many local West End residents as possible in their operation. They want to continue that commitment with this newest expansion.
West End Indoor Recycling Center brings 20 positions, perhaps more
Last week a group of local investors submitted plans for a 5 million dollar indoor recycling facility in the West End. The facility plans to hire for 20 positions initially, with growth plans of up to 80 more positions. The group has made it known they want to try and also provide the bulk of their positions to locals of the West End.
PharMerica to add 200 HQ jobs
Louisville scored a coup with the gain of PharMerica to the local corporate scene. The HQ will initially have up to 300 positions, with 100 positions already being filled by Louisvillians. With salaries of over 77,000$ a year, that's nothing to turn your nose up to in Louisville.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Top 100 for Young People
Take it for what it's worth, but Louisville was again ranked as one of America's Best Communities for Young People. The ranking was largely based on the highly successful Every 1 Reads program which aims to brings all studetns to or above their grade reading level by 2008. And with over 6,000 volunteers, they're well on their way to acheieving that goal.
Another reason is GE's generous gift of 25 million dollars for the JCPS district to find ways to improve math and science scores.
Let's hope this programs continue to help Louisville students discover the values of education.
Another reason is GE's generous gift of 25 million dollars for the JCPS district to find ways to improve math and science scores.
Let's hope this programs continue to help Louisville students discover the values of education.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
A Decade of Progress?
KentuckianaWorks, the local workforce development group, released fresh educational attainment data for Louisville today from the year 2005. The group released data on key measures of the "educational activity" in the Louisville Metropolitan Area and gives us a ranking in comparison to 16 other regional cities.
VIEW REPORT HERE
In the year 2000 the city and KentuckianaWorks set out on a mission to markedly improve Louisville's standing in comparison to other regional cities by the year 2010. Since 2002 they have been providing a yearly scorecard of the results, and certain trends have certainly come to light.
The Good News:
The Bad News
This news, along with lots of other tidbits that one could glean from this report, and other like it, show a definite trend in Louisville. It is growing more educated, and a sightly faster rate than average. Louisville is gaining ground on its regional competitors.
Louisville has a very high number of people who have attended college, yet do not finish. This is a problem for area colleges that is slowly being corrected. University of Louisville is at critical point in it's history. The school's mandate is to become a top 20 urban university, and to achieve that goal they are implementing many new programs, including initiatives to retain and graduate more of it's students. It is slowly having an effect, and we can see those results in the numbers from our younger citizens achievement.
In regards to education, Louisville has had an elephant it has been trying to eat - but you know how to eat an elephant? One bite at a time. And Louisville has finally started doing that.
VIEW REPORT HERE
In the year 2000 the city and KentuckianaWorks set out on a mission to markedly improve Louisville's standing in comparison to other regional cities by the year 2010. Since 2002 they have been providing a yearly scorecard of the results, and certain trends have certainly come to light.
The Good News:
Louisville is definitely not stagnant in the numbers of people who are being better educated. In fact, Jefferson County has now surpassed the national average of people holding at least a bachelors degree, at nearly 28%.
When compared to the other 16 metro areas, the incredibly important 25-34 age sub-group has the 5th highest High School graduation rate, the 2nd highest rate of college attendance and Associate Degrees, and ranked 12th in Bachelors Degrees. These are all improvements from 2000.
In 2005 Louisville institutions awarded nearly 4,000 bachelors degrees - a 32 percent increase in 10 years.
Louisville now ranks 7th in the total number of post-secondary degrees awarded (Bachelors, Masters, Professional degrees, Doctorates, Associates, and specialized certificates) - up from 12th only 5 years ago.
There are 9,500 more students in Louisville area colleges in 2005 than there were in 2000. To compare, in 1990 there were 50,642 students enrolled in Louisville colleges and in 2000 there were 51,462. In 2005 there were 60,998. In five years there was an 18 percent total increase, much of it thanks to UofL, Jefferson County Community Colleges, Spencerian College, and Sullivan University.
The Bad News
Despite the increases in educational attainment, it was still not enough to push Louisville ahead in all current rankings.
In the number of Bachelors degrees conferred - 3,900 - only two cities, Birmingham and Memphis, conferred fewer. (Jacksonville was only ahead of Louisville by fewer than 70)
In the overall ranking of the entire population, Louisville was dead last in percent of the population with a bachelors degree. The Louisville MSA percentage total was 23.3%. Our nearest competitor, which is the Memphis MSA at 23.7%, is now within the statistical margin of error.
This news, along with lots of other tidbits that one could glean from this report, and other like it, show a definite trend in Louisville. It is growing more educated, and a sightly faster rate than average. Louisville is gaining ground on its regional competitors.
Louisville has a very high number of people who have attended college, yet do not finish. This is a problem for area colleges that is slowly being corrected. University of Louisville is at critical point in it's history. The school's mandate is to become a top 20 urban university, and to achieve that goal they are implementing many new programs, including initiatives to retain and graduate more of it's students. It is slowly having an effect, and we can see those results in the numbers from our younger citizens achievement.
In regards to education, Louisville has had an elephant it has been trying to eat - but you know how to eat an elephant? One bite at a time. And Louisville has finally started doing that.
Monday, January 22, 2007
PharMerica chooses Louisville
PharMerica, the new company formed by a merger between the Kindred Healthcare Pharmacy Division and a major Florida competitor, has picked Louisville over Tampa for it's new corporate headquarters. The headquarters, which will provide employment for upwards of 350 people, has yet to decide on a location within the city.
Currently, the pharmacy division of Kindred Healthcare has 100 employees in downtown Louisville, and to that total another 250 positions could be added in the new company. In October 2006, when Louisville offered the new company 8 million dollars in incentives, it was forecast that the company would need 75,000 square feet of new office space and they would have a payroll of 15.5 million dollars a year for 200 new employees. That would lead to a hefty 77,500 dollar average salary for each of those new jobs.
The company is expected to have revenues of around 1.9 billion dollars in it's first year of operation, making it the 825th largest public company in America according to the Fortune 1000 list.
This news is incredibly good for Louisville. These are the types of high-paying, office jobs that cities will often compete over. In their decision to locate in Louisville, several reasons were stated: good infrastructure, good incentives, and the nearby location of Kindred Healthcare, which will help PharMerica with technology and administrative support.
Rumors from last week said they had already picked Louisville and they were looking at space out in the suburbs, and had later backed out of a deal with a new suburban office building. Here is to hoping that the new PharMerica Corporation will join the growing list of companies that call downtown Louisville home. (And help drive the 9% vacancy rate even lower!)
Currently, the pharmacy division of Kindred Healthcare has 100 employees in downtown Louisville, and to that total another 250 positions could be added in the new company. In October 2006, when Louisville offered the new company 8 million dollars in incentives, it was forecast that the company would need 75,000 square feet of new office space and they would have a payroll of 15.5 million dollars a year for 200 new employees. That would lead to a hefty 77,500 dollar average salary for each of those new jobs.
The company is expected to have revenues of around 1.9 billion dollars in it's first year of operation, making it the 825th largest public company in America according to the Fortune 1000 list.
This news is incredibly good for Louisville. These are the types of high-paying, office jobs that cities will often compete over. In their decision to locate in Louisville, several reasons were stated: good infrastructure, good incentives, and the nearby location of Kindred Healthcare, which will help PharMerica with technology and administrative support.
Rumors from last week said they had already picked Louisville and they were looking at space out in the suburbs, and had later backed out of a deal with a new suburban office building. Here is to hoping that the new PharMerica Corporation will join the growing list of companies that call downtown Louisville home. (And help drive the 9% vacancy rate even lower!)
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