Economic Development
Valley partnerships lead to better jobs
When Nissan North America, then in California, was deciding where it wanted to relocate its corporate headquarters, TVA’s Senior Vice President of Economic Development John Bradley and Manager of Regional Development Ray Knotts (above) worked with the State of Tennessee and many other economic development partners to create the package Nissan needed.
In November 2005, Nissan announced its decision to move its headquarters to the Cool Springs area of Franklin, Tennessee, about 15 miles south of Nashville. That’s about 30 miles from its production facility in Smyrna and 80 miles from its engine and transmission plant in Decherd, Tennessee.
The 1,200 corporate jobs Nissan brought to Tennessee have an average salary of more than $85,000 per year, and analysts estimate that the headquarters will have a yearly impact of more than $500 million on the state’s economy.
While its 10-story headquarters, expected to cost more than $100 million, is being built, Nissan is occupying 13 stories of the BellSouth Tower in downtown Nashville.
“As we were talking with Nissan, we were focused on listening to their needs,” says Knotts. “We were able to succeed by working closely with our economic development partners as a team to meet Nissan’s needs and promote our assets, including reliable, affordable power.”
I proudly accept.
Ray Knotts
Manager, Regional Development