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Welcome
to the City of Good Abode
The existence
of FedEx's massive hub helps make
Memphis one of the world's largest distribution centers.
Memphis is a city with a whole handful of nicknames: Home
of the Blues. Birthplace of Rock and Roll. The Bluff City.
The City of Good Abode. North America's Logistics Center.
And there are more than a handful of reasons why Memphis means
so much to so many.
When a reporter once asked a young army sergeant named Elvis
Presley what he missed most about Memphis, the King simply
replied: "Everything."
And, well, no wonder. Memphis, Tennessee, located on a high
bluff overlooking the Mississippi River, is a beautiful, tree-filled
southern American city imbued with a character, a charm and
a history all its own. Memphis is a great place to live and
raise a family -- truly a place of good abode. It is one of
the most culturally significant cities in all of North America,
and indeed, the world, in terms of its lasting influence on
popular art and culture. Not surprisingly, Memphis is mentioned
in more popular songs than any other American city.
On the flip side of the record, so to speak, Memphis is also
the center of commerce and cargo for a region that extends
a hundred miles in any given direction, a confluence of transportation
systems and natural geographic assets that combine to give
Memphis its business identity as North America's Logistics
Center.
And those headed for Memphis won't find it hard to get there.
Memphis International Airport is the nation's most on-time
hub airport in the decade of the 90's, with the best air traffic
control rating in the nation. It's one of the 10 fastest growing
airports in the country and the busiest cargo airport in the
world. On the passenger side, activity increased 5.73 percent
in 1999 to an annual total of 10,289,802 passengers. By mid-year
2000, passenger activity was up 6.83 percent from the first
half of 1999 to 5,453,783. The airport was promoted to major
hub status in 2000.
In terms of ground access, Memphis already sits at the crossroads
of Interstates 40 and 55. A new federal highway, Interstate
69, the "NAFTA Highway" which will run from Canada
to Mexico, is federally mandated to pass right through Memphis.
Construction plans are now underway.
Memphis also boasts the second-largest river port on the nation's
inland waterway system and the third-largest rail center in
the United States. When combined with the 200 motor carriers
that can reach half the U.S. population in two days, Memphis
offers logistics advantages that few cities can match.
These natural advantages, combined with the less frantic
pace of life in the American South, make Memphis an increasingly
attractive city for new business relocation and expansion.
Take a look:
* Twenty-nine major companies moved to Memphis in 2002, bringing
over 1,991 new jobs, utilizing more 4 million square feet
and investing over $262 million.
* Another 122 existing Memphis companies announced major
projects in 2002, creating over 4,600 new jobs absorbing 3
million square feet of space and investing more $654 million.
* A total of 151 major projects created 6,597 new jobs and
occupied more than 7 million square feet of industrial and
office space.
Memphis' total capital investment from announced major projects
in 2002 was an impressive $916 million. And these aren't low-wage,
low-skill jobs either. Per capita personal income grew 69%
over the past ten years, exceeding the growth rate of cities
such as Dallas, Atlanta, Charlotte, Nashville, Indianapolis,
Louisville and Birmingham.
Increasingly, companies are discovering the Memphis advantage,
as evidenced by these success stories:
* In the December 2000 issue of Inc. magazine, Memphis was
ranked number seven for the second consecutive year among
the "50 Best Big Metro Areas" in the cover story,
which is "Hot Zones -- The Best Places to Start and Grow
a Business."
* Memphis ranked number eight among America's Top 40 Real
Estate Markets for the second consecutive year according to
Expansion Management magazine. The ranking is based on data
supplied by CB Richard Ellis and Grubb & Ellis.
* Memphis had the highest rate of high-tech start-ups over
the last three years among the nation's 60 largest metro areas
according to research done by the Brandow Company.
* In 2000, Southern Business & Development magazine ranked
Memphis second overall among major Southern markets for new
business development.
* Memphis was recognized as a top 10 emerging convention
destination in Successful Meetings, a New York-based convention
and meetings industry trade publication.
* Memphis is the financial center of Tennessee with the headquarters
of three national banks and Tennessee's only full-service
brokerage company.
* Worth magazine has listed Memphis as having four of the
nation's top 50 wealthiest city neighborhoods, ranking with
such posh areas as New York's Upper East side, San Francisco's
Pacific Heights and Los Angeles' Bel Air. The four Memphis
neighborhoods that made the cut were: No. 25, Central Gardens;
No. 29, Galloway; No. 30, River Oaks; and No. 37 Chickasaw
Gardens. Memphis and Atlanta were the only Southeastern cities
on the list, which was dominated by affluent California and
New York areas.
* Memphis had the lowest median home price in the annual
"Who's Buying Homes in America" survey conducted
by the Chicago Title Corporation. The 20 metro areas surveyed
made up one-third of the U.S. housing market. According to
the same report, Memphis had about double the rate of home-buying
among African-Americans and other minority groups compared
to a decline for the surveyed cities overall.
* The Mortgage Bankers Association of America put Memphis
at No. 10 on its Top Ten Hottest U.S. Markets for Mortgage
Lenders hot index list, which ranks markets by such loan-business
generators as household, or family, formations, population
growth and employment levels.
* Memphis ranked 6th in the nation in the number of properties
on the National Register of Historic Places, and has more
historic listings per capita than any city in America.
In 2002, Memphis set its sights on industries including life
sciences, corporate headquarters and logistics. It then went
on to post big successes in attracting these companies.
Specifically in the biotech arena, Accredo Heath Inc., a
company that distributes drugs for long-term illnesses and
other conditions, selected Memphis, along with Cell Genesys,
a firm in the final stages of developing a lung cancer vaccine.
According to company leaders, Cell Genesys chose Memphis for
its central U.S. location, excellent transportation infrastructure
and world-class reputation for biomedical research.
So, as you can see, connections are being made in Memphis
every day, and great things are happening. The city is warm,
friendly, easily accessible and full of vibrant activity.
To find out more about Memphis, the City of Good Abode, call
Jim Apple at 901-543-3516 or e-mail him at japple@memphischamber.com
Visit the Chamber on the Web at www.memphischamber.com
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