Small communities are becoming hotbeds for high-tech companies, says the January 2001 issue of Site Selection magazine. An article examined three second- and third-tier markets—Tacoma, Wash., LaGrange, Ga., and Blacksburg, Va.—that have attracted corporate attention in recent years. These new high-tech hubs, says the article, have taken advantage of government-backed initiatives to provide fast, affordable broadband networks to local businesses and residents.
Tacoma has emerged as a leading competitor in the Northeast for high-tech companies, luring giants such as Amazon.com as well as OnFree.com and InFree.com, one of the nations largest providers of free Internet access. Mitch Davis, founder and chairman of OnFree.com and InFree.com, cited less expensive Internet access and office space as his reasons for choosing Tacoma, especially over Seattle. Tacoma recently completed 775 miles of a hybrid fiber coaxial two-way telecommunications network, built about 1.1 million sq. ft. of new office space, and exempted new high-tech companies from paying property taxes for the next ten years.
Likewise LaGrange, Ga., located about sixty miles southwest of Atlanta, has become a magnet for businesses in the Southeast. The towns Fortune 500 employers include Duracell, Kimberly-Clark, Mobil Chemical, Caterpillar, and International Paper. LaGrange was recently named “2000 Intelligent City of the Year” by the World Teleport Association of New York, beating out Chicago, New York, London, and Toronto. And, upstaging Tacoma, new businesses in LaGrange pay no property taxes.
Blacksburg, Va. has achieved the highest per capita availability of Internet Service Providers in the world, thanks to a partnership between the towns government and Virginia Tech. Today, a virtual community known as the Blacksburg Electronic Village reaches more than 75 percent of the business community there and more than 87 percent of the towns 38,000 residents. One of Virginias highest priorities is to extend high-speed Internet access to all parts of the state in the near future.
Other second- and third-tier communities that have undertaken government-backed initiatives to provide broadband networks to local residents and businesses include:
Alta, Iowa
Ashland, Ore.
Benson, Ariz.
Burlington, Mass.
Butte, Mont.
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Coldwater, Mich.
Conway, Ark.
Coon Rapids, Iowa
Evansville, Ind.
Gainesville, Fla.
Glasgow, Ky.
Harlan, Iowa
Hawarden, Iowa
Laurens, Iowa
Lebanon, Ohio
Marietta, Ga.
Muscatine, Iowa
Newark, Del.
Newnan, Ga.
Paragould, Alaska
Raleigh, N.C.
Rapid City, S.D.
Robbins, Ga.
Shrewsbury, Mass.
St. Joseph, Mo.
Thomasville, Ga.
Based on a report from Site Selection magazine
