West South Central 2013 Regional Forecast

You can sum up economic expansion in this region in one word: energy. Take a look at the list of energy-related projects that broke ground in the past year: the $880 million Los Vientos wind farm and the $750 million Hereford wind farm in Texas; the $721 million Entergy Ninemile plant expansion in Westwego, La.; a $535 million gas-fired plant in Horseshoe Bay, Texas; a $375 million Williams Petrochemical Plant expansion in Geismar, La., that broke ground in June; and a $255 million oil/energy plant in Westlake, La. There’s a pretty healthy office climate in north Texas, with some markets showing a real need for high-end office space. Cushman & Wakefield says Fort Worth, West Plano and Frisco, Texas, had a vacancy rate of less than 10 percent in 3Q 2012. Some of these office workers will probably be living in the $2 billion Viridian mixed use project in Arlington, Texas, which will have 3,500 single-family homes, 1,500 condo units, town houses and apartments, as well as a 400,000-square-foot town center, and medical, retail and office space, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.