Business Facilities - September 2008 - (Page 27)

METRO SPOTLIGHT Spokane, Washington By Bill Trüb Spokane: An Unspoken Success Story of the West L ocated on the eastern side of Washington state, 18 miles west of Idaho and 100 miles south of Canada, the Spokane region is home to 1.4 million people in the Inland Northwest. Since 2005, the Spokane region’s labor force has doubled the national average’s pace, adding more than 21,000 jobs since 2002. Spokane’s workforce is comprised of more than 90% college graduates, and more than 65,000 students study within a 75-mile radius of the city. The education hub of the Inland Northwest, Spokane has the second largest community college district in Washington, and the area boasts 18 higher education institutions in total. More than 60% of residents have attended college and almost 30% hold a bachelor’s degree, while more than 10% hold degrees beyond the post-baccalaureate level. Downtown Spokane Spokane’s attractive business climate has drawn some interesting organizations to its region. One in particular is Seattle-based Lighthouse for the Blind, Inc., which plans to open a satellite facility in Spokane this month, and increase its workforce to 40 people within three years. Within its first year, the Lighthouse hopes to employ five to 10 people who are blind. The U.S. Labor Department reports at least a 70% unemployment rate among the blind. Available positions at the Lighthouse include machinists, production workers, computer instructors, IT specialists, receptionists, and Web programmers, among others. The Lighthouse offers support services such as orientation and mobility training, housing support, and computer training. SPOKANE’S POWER OF COMMUNITY Spokane at night C PHOTO CREDITS: ALAN BISSON reated in 2001, the Spokane Community Empowerment Zone (CEZ) spurs economic development throughout Spokane County by offering tax incentives to qualified businesses engaged in manufacturing, R&D or software development. Businesses must apply for the credits prior to ground breaking or hiring; locate or expand within the designated geographic area (Spokane’s West Central, East Central, and Hillyard neighborhoods); and/or locate in a county having a designated zone and hire employees who are residents of the zone. Forty-two companies have taken advantage of the CEZ benefits, saving a combined $8 million in tax incentives. In turn, these companies have invested $94 million into the Spokane region and created 1,210 new jobs in total. Spokane’s CEZ offers: • A Sales and Use Tax Deferral or Exemption on new equipment and construction costs for new or remodeled buildBUSINESS FACILITIES 27

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Business Facilities - September 2008

Business Facilities- September 2008 Contents First Word Snapshots Corporate Moves:�Mississippi Editor's Location Picks 2008 The Palmetto State Reaches Across the Sea Corporate Moves:�Tennessee Metro Spotlight:�Spokane, WA Biotech: Building Block for Development Wind Power Lifts Iowa Germany:�Europe's Economic Juggernaut California Here We Come Up, Up and Away in North Carolina Corporate Moves:�West Virginia Metro Spotlight:�Decatur/Greensburg, IN Advertiser Index Ask the Expert

Business Facilities - September 2008

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