Economic development news from Salt Lake City covering the past several months includes -

In January of 2008 the ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Rankings for 2007 placed Utah in the number one position, largely due to the red hot employment growth along the Wasatch Front.

Nevada, Florida, and Utah lead the United States and North America in encouraging entrepreneurs and the creation of new businesses, according to a new study released by independent research organization The Fraser Institute.  “Small and entrepreneurial businesses are key to creating new jobs, innovation and ultimately economic prosperity. Consequently, states or provinces with a high level of new business creation are going to have more dynamic and faster growing economies,” said Jason Clemens, Resident Scholar with The Fraser Institute and co-author of Measuring Business Creation in Canada and the United States. (Utah Business Magazine December 2007)

Now in its 100th year at 9 Exchange Place in downtown Salt Lake City, the Boston Building is being completely renovated and restored to bring back the elegance it had when it was built in 1907.  Hamilton Partners, which acquired the Boston Building last April, is investing more than $7 million to refurbish the 107,000 square foot building and restore it to near historical accuracy.

The Walt Disney Co. is launching a major expansion of its Utah video game development business and expects to hire as many as 500 new employees over the next 10 years. The well-known entertainment conglomerate operates Utah’s Avalanche Software and Fall Line Studios under its Disney Interactive Studios unit. It is now out to expand those businesses, which employ about 140 Utahns, to gain a stronger share of the $47 billion a year video games market.

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