Vista Discusses State Government Site Selection Programs at Economic Development Incentives Conference

Vista Site Selection co-sponsored the 2026 Vorys Economic Development Incentives Conference in Columbus, Ohio on February 28. Vista team members both moderated and participated in panels and presentations that discussed trends in site selection. Other members of the Vista team greeted visitors at our booth and showcased how proprietary mapping tools such as The System by Vista can help users identify ideal sites for their development needs.

This is the third in a series of posts highlighting panels and presentations that Vista team members took part in during the conference. You can read more about Vista’s case study about helping develop North America’s largest shiplift in Jacksonville, or about the panel we led on commercial real estate trends in 2026.

Today’s entry focuses on “Exploring State Site Programs and Their Impact on Economic Development,” a panel where Vista’s managing director & head of incentives compliance, Julie Miller, chatted with representatives from Ohio and Pennsylvania about the state-sponsored site selection programs they represent.

Terry Slaybaugh, the vice president of infrastructure for Jobs Ohio, joined to discuss the efforts of the Ohio Site Inventory Program (OSIP). He was accompanied by Ali Doyle, the managing director of business attraction for Pennsylvania’s BusinessPA platform.

Although approaching the issue from different angles, both organizations are initiatives aiming to bring business to their respective states by proactively identifying ideal development sites and streamlining development incentives for approved projects. Furthermore, these programs’ connections to state agencies allow them to accelerate necessary changes that developers require to move forward.

Both Terry and Ali acknowledged that such streamlining is necessary because the longer parties wait, the less likely it is that those deals close.

Vorys has done site selection work in more than 30 states in just the past few years and we know that the process for earning and realizing economic development incentives can vary greatly between them. Julie and the rest of our team have a proven record through the incentives process, from identifying the ideal site to negotiating incentives and ensuring compliance.

If you would like to learn more about our work in either site selection or incentives negotiation, no matter what state you’re in, please reach out to Vista Site Selection!