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Site Readiness Is Broken: What Manufacturers Should Demand From Their Locations
4 Dec 2025
News
Everyone says a site is “shovel-ready.” That phrase has lost all meaning. If you’re building a manufacturing facility today, you need more than a cleared patch of dirt and a marketing flyer. You need answers—real ones.
Forget the buzzwords. Ask for the utility capacity. Is there capacity to deliver power on the lines near my site? How is my site served? Is there capacity for my power needs at the substation that serves my site? Has anyone confirmed availability of transformers, circuit breakers and switchgear? Is the land site truly for sale, or is it tied up in probate with three owners and a cousin on sabbatical in the Himalayas?
The margin for error is shrinking. A $200 million project with a 28-month delivery target can’t afford uncertainty. And yet, too often, due diligence reveals that half the sites in play aren’t viable. Zoning is unclear. Environmental assessments are half done. Power isn’t real.
Click here to read the original article from Area Development.
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