Sanford was recently recognized as a 2020 top micropolitan area, placing fifth in the United States, according to Site Selection Magazine. The complete ranking was released in the publication’s March issue.
Each year, Site Selection Magazine releases a top 100 ranking of micropolitan areas based on “corporate projects landed.”
In the release, author Adam Bruns highlights Sanford, saying, “Sanford, North Carolina, has seen a steady hum of projects in Lee County from companies such as Audentes Therapeutics and Kalyani Group’s Bharat Forge, which is creating 460 jobs and investing nearly $171 million in a project first announced in 2019 that came to fruition in 2020. Kalyani Group is a $3 billion conglomerate, and this is its first U.S. facility, which will serve automotive clients.”
“Beginning in 2008 with the Lee County Second Century effort, continuing with the Mayor’s Open for Business Agenda adopted in 2014 and the creation of SAGA in 2015, our community stakeholders worked intentionally and cooperatively to reach this level of national prominence,” commented Sanford Area Growth Alliance (SAGA) CEO Jimmy Randolph. “Local leaders in both business and government and the staff at SAGA deserve to take a bow. This recognition is what we’ve worked toward for the past thirteen years. However, we’re not done. This is just the beginning of an exciting decade ahead.”
A micropolitan community is defined as having a population between 10,000 and 49,999. Sanford ranked fifth in the United States, the highest-ranked community in North Carolina. Collectively, the state of North Carolina placed fifth in “Most Top Micropolitan Areas” with nine communities in the top 100, including Sanford.
“Being recognized as a Top 5 community – out of over 500 communities in the entire United States – is a marketing coup for the Growth Alliance,” remarked Bob Joyce, Senior Director, Business Retention and Expansion at SAGA. “Site Selection Magazine’s 138-year-old history and its reputation among corporate decision-makers means this award provides a significant boost for our national marketing efforts.”
“Communities that invest in themselves attract investment,” stated SAGA Board of Directors Chair April Montgomery. “Our community’s recognition by Site Selection Magazine, the result of a wildly successful 18 months resulting in 675 new jobs and $282M in new investment, is proof positive that our public-private partnership approach in economic development works.”
To read the full article from Site Selection Magazine, please click here.
Feature photo: The Railroad House Museum at Depot Park in Sanford gets a fresh coat of paint.
Contributed.
