EDCUtah blows its targets 'out of the water'

Brice Wallace 

Just like their compadres in Utah state government, the Economic Development Corporation of Utah had a banner 2021-22 fiscal year.

“We really blew our targets out of the water,” Erin Farr, senior business development manager, said during a briefing before the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity (Go Utah) board in July. “We’re really excited about the success that we saw this past year.”{mprestriction ids="1,3"}

EDCUtah, which has a contract with the state for corporate recruitment and expansions, had 37 project announcements during the July-through-June fiscal year, beating its target of 35. Thirteen projects were outside the Wasatch Front, above its goal of 10. The projected number of jobs to be created or retained was 21,600, far above the 9,000 target, “so that is just phenomenal growth we haven’t seen like this before,” Farr said.

Likewise, the total for capital expenditure on projects is projected at $2.2 billion, more than double the $1 billion target, and project square footage is pegged at 3.5 million, above the 2.5 million goal.

For comparison, in 2020-21, EDCUtah had project wins expected to generate or retain 8,305 jobs over the life of the projects, have total capital spending of $912 million and use 4.3 million square feet of space.

At the end of the fiscal 2022 year, EDCUtah had 127 “active” projects, including 73 in manufacturing and 17 in information technology.

“We’re excited to see that information and IT also coming up,” Farr said. “For a long time, for the past year and a half, we’ve been between five and 10 projects, so we’re seeing that starting to bump up as well.”

EDCUtah saw its net new projects reach 168, above the goal of 150; requests for information reach 60, above the target of 50; site visits reach 34, just short of 36 during a year with COVID-19 issues; and global outreach meetings reach 147, just short of the 150 goal.

Theresa Foxley, president and CEO of EDCUtah, thanked Go Utah for “what was an unexpectedly fantastic year, again besting many of our numbers by nearly double in many instances. … It really was a terrific year. Of course, all of these things are done in partnership, and we are firm believers that one plus one with EDCUtah and [Go Utah] equals three.”

Go Utah officials reported in June that its 2021-22 fiscal year included incentives for economic development projects expected to generate or retain 20,478 jobs over the next few years. That figure compares with 8,831 jobs in the prior fiscal year. The previous high was 13,364 in fiscal 2020.

Related statistics likewise were records. Total project capital expenditure for 2021-22 is estimated at over $1.97 billion, up from $464.3 million the prior fiscal year and comparing with over $1.1 billion in 2020. New total wages are projected at $12.73 billion, up from $5.5 billion the prior year. Total new state tax revenue is projected to reach $942.4 million, up from $341.3 million a year earlier.

For rural Utah for 2021-22, Go Utah reported projects that are expected to create or retain 8,972 jobs, up from 2,747 the prior year. Capital expenditure on rural projects is expected to be nearly $1.27 billion, up from $201.2 million. Total wages are expected to be $5.28 billion, up from $1.97 billion the prior year. New state tax revenue from rural projects is expected to hit $572.4 million, up from nearly $116.7 million in 2020-21.

Go Utah and EDCUtah corporate recruitment and retention numbers never match exactly because not all of EDCUtah projects go through the state incentive process.{/mprestriction}