Texas Border Business
By Roberto Hugo González / Texas Border Business
At the Friends of COSTEP event, “How Serious Capital Makes Location Decisions,” Adam Gonzalez, CEO of the Council for South Texas Economic Progress, welcomed attendees and opened the program, thanking participants and recognizing board leadership, including Vice Chair Jim Darling, for their support. Gonzalez encouraged attendees to engage with the presentation and noted the value of bringing together stakeholders for discussion.
Gonzalez introduced the session developed by Rick Carrera, Director of Economic Development at the Council for South Texas Economic Progress, who organized the program and invited Carl Quesenberry to present. Carrera said he connected with Quesenberry through industry conferences and selected him after observing “the data, and all the considerations that go into” modern site selection decisions. He said the goal was to provide attendees with insight into how corporations evaluate potential investment locations.
Quesenberry, a Senior Director of Industrial Corporate Services at Avison Young with more than three decades of experience in site selection and corporate advisory, presented a framework for understanding how large-scale capital decisions are made. He said traditional approaches focused on low costs and incentives are no longer effective, emphasizing that “true cost is lifecycle cost, not day-one price.” His remarks framed site selection as a strategy centered on long-term operational resilience rather than initial savings.
He described a model based on two key concepts, “Determinants” and “Drivers.” Determinants, he said, are fixed requirements such as infrastructure, labor, and utilities that determine whether a project can function. Drivers, including incentives and market demand, influence investment timing and attractiveness. Quesenberry said misunderstanding this distinction can lead to failed outcomes, noting that a site missing a Determinant becomes a “stranded asset,” while one with only Determinants but no Drivers may remain viable without attracting investment.
The presentation also outlined a Two-Phase Model that separates regional evaluation from site-specific analysis, followed by a continuous validation process called a “Trust Loop.” Quesenberry said this approach ensures that investment decisions are tested against real conditions and that capital is deployed only after feasibility and timing align.
He illustrated the framework with a logistics development case study in Laredo, where a 22-month evaluation led to a $100 million investment decision. The example highlighted how infrastructure, trade activity, and location advantages factor into site selection when aligned with market conditions.
The session concluded with a discussion on regional opportunities and challenges. Quesenberry emphasized the importance of a data-driven approach and collaboration among communities, stating that successful regions focus on their inherent strengths when competing for investment.
See the PowerPoint presentation below:
