The Memphis and Shelby County Regional Economic Alliance’s (REA) 2019 outcomes for jobs, investment, and minority/local business spending far exceeded its earlier projections.
January 9th was the first quarterly meeting of the year for REA.
At that meeting, the group showed that EDGE, the Downtown Memphis Commission and Greater Memphis Chamber approved 82 projects compared to its goal of 45 – Projects like Riviana Foods’ expansion, Bluff City Law, AutoZone’s commitment to bring tech jobs downtown, and Pandrol USA, a maker of rail infrastructure, moving its headquarters to Memphis – to name a few.
The group assisted in the creation of 1,649 jobs compared to its projection of 1,594, generated $2.7 Billion in capital investment, well over its projection of $615 million and drove $478 million in spend with minority and women-owned firms, compared to its goal of $73 million.
For 2020, REA expects to assist 68 projects that will create 3,800 jobs, invest $1.1 Billion in investment and commit $109 Million to contracts with minority and women-owned firms.
REA includes representatives from the City of Memphis, Shelby County, the Downtown Memphis Commission, the Greater Memphis Chamber, and EDGE. It was formed in 2018 to add resources, increase collaboration, provide accountability, and better utilize data in business recruitment and retention for Greater Memphis.
The REA Board meets again in April.
