For growing companies deciding where to locate or expand, the right site can mean the difference between transformative growth and missed opportunity. At its core, site readiness reduces risk, bringing clarity to timeline, costs, infrastructure, and approvals so companies can move forward with confidence. Delivering that level of certainty in economic development requires a more intentional, data-driven approach.
That’s where Team NEO’s site strategy team plays a critical role, working to elevate Northeast Ohio’s competitiveness by transforming how the region identifies, prepares, and promotes development-ready sites that can help fast track business growth.
More than vacant land
Team NEO’s site strategy ensures land and buildings are truly ready for development – de-risked and free of unexpected hurdles. Traditional site inventories often list parcels without clear insight into infrastructure, utilities, or overall readiness. Team NEO flips that model by helping the region build a portfolio of market-ready sites aligned with real site selection trends and corporate needs. Today, companies expect more than viability. They need clarity on timelines, costs, and constraints early enough to make confident decisions. Increasingly, companies are prioritizing sites prepared to the point where they can clearly envision their projects going vertical.
This proactive, data-driven approach is anchored in Team NEO’s Developing Opportunities framework, which analyzes thousands of site requests and project requirements to help communities understand what companies need from a site, including utility capacity, workforce access, acreage, and environmental conditions. It also identifies where targeted investment is required for the region to compete.
All-hands approach
Site readiness demands collaboration between JobsOhio, local economic development professionals, communities, utility providers, engineers and developers to advance a portfolio of development-ready sites that align with company needs. Together, these partners bring the expertise needed to identify promising parcels, complete due diligence, and secure the infrastructure and approvals that make a site truly competitive.
For example, utility partners help ensure that sites have the capacity for today’s usage and tomorrow’s growth. Local economic development professionals provide a full picture of workforce access, zoning, infrastructure, and community objectives. Developers assess the physical and environmental constraints that may impact projects. JobsOhio promotes sites throughout the region.
Team NEO and partners have also advanced unique programs to accelerate the region’s sites work. These include:
- The Industrial Site Pilot Program, led by Team NEO’s Right Sites Council, brought together experts in engineering, architecture, environmental, and construction to evaluate sites and develop realistic, cost-effective concepts for what could be built. The goal was to align each site with current market demand and strengthen Northeast Ohio’s pipeline of competitive sites.
- The Ohio Site Inventory Program (OSIP), led by JobsOhio’s, accelerates development that fills gaps in Ohio’s real estate inventory and helps the state compete for reactive site selection projects.
By coordinating stakeholders and programs across the region, Team NEO creates a seamless experience for companies, removes barriers that delay site readiness, and prepares sites to a level where companies move beyond evaluation and see a clear path to vertical construction.
Relationships vs. transactions
In a highly competitive environment, service matters. From the moment a company expresses interest in Northeast Ohio, Team NEO offers a concierge-like experience that supports both corporate decision makers and site selection consultants through every phase of the site selection process:
- Responsive site information: Team NEO ensures companies get up-to-date, accurate data about properties that match their operational needs.
- Seamless coordination: Working closely with regional partners, the team arranges site visits, connects companies with local stakeholders, and anticipates companies’ questions and key drivers.
- Strategic insights: The perspective Team NEO brings through its analysis of trends and patterns helps fast track business growth.
In 2025, Team NEO tracked nearly 130 active inquiries, far surpassing typical annual activity. Demand was particularly strong from advanced manufacturing and aerospace firms – reinforcing Northeast Ohio’s appeal to industries seeking strategic locations, established infrastructure, proximity to federal assets, airports, and universities, and access to targeted labor pools.
Playing the long game
Site preparation does not happen overnight. Even with all the work Team NEO and its partners have put in so far, Team NEO’s 2025 Developing Opportunities assessment found that only 45% of the region’s sites met readiness criteria and 18% advanced to site visits, limiting project conversion.
The gap exists because it takes time to assemble land, complete due diligence studies, enhance utilities, install infrastructure, and secure regulatory approvals. While significant work remains, Team NEO is actively working to accelerate these efforts and bring all (or most) of our sites to readiness criteria. Competition from neighbor states, and even from other Ohio regions, adds urgency to this work.
The regions that win will be those that move faster to reduce risk, align around data, and prepare sites to move confidently from evaluation to construction. The good news? Northeast Ohio has the playbook, the assets, and the partners to compete – and win.