Think about the time in your life when you might have gone house-hunting. If it was in the last 10 years or so, you likely didn't start by calling every real estate agent in the Southeast or even your own county. You probably went online or opened an app like Zillow, typed in three bedrooms and a good school district, limited your geography to no more than 30 minutes from work, and watched a few hundred listings shrink to a couple dozen. You toured a handful. You fell for two

You've probably driven past it: a cleared lot off one of our highways, a construction fence with a rendering zip-tied to it, maybe just a small sign that reads “Coming Soon.” Ever wonder how that company ended up choosing this particular patch of Catawba County dirt, out of every county in the country that would have loved to land them?

The confidentiality that can feel frustrating from the outside is actually what keeps opportunities coming to Catawba County in the first place. Companies need real assurance that sensitive information will stay protected before they'll even consider bringing an opportunity here, and that trust is part of what keeps us in consideration against other communities. At the same time, that confidentiality never extends to the vote itself.

Somewhere out there right now, someone is reading a headline about a new project coming to Catawba County, and there's a flicker of worry that this company's success — and its choice to land here — means a dollar is coming out of their own wallet or purse to make it happen. I get it. I'd think the same thing if I didn't do this for a living. It's probably the single most misunderstood piece of what we do, so let's take it head-on. First, a definition, because "incentive" g

Originally published at https://siteselectorsguild.com/redi-sites-round-four/ REDI Sites , a site readiness verification program created by the Site Selectors Guild, has announced its Round Four designations, recognizing 17 industrial sites that have met the program’s criteria for investment rea diness. This round marks a major milestone in the growth of REDI Sites: Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico, Ohio, and Oklahoma previously had no designated REDI Sites. With this announ