Expansion News and Views: From Iowa to Namibia

- Snap-On Tools broke ground yesterday on a $12 million facility in Algona, Iowa. The investment will add 51,000 square feet to an existing plant, and create 30 new jobs. The state and the Kossuth-Palo Alto County EDC awarded the company $2.8 million for the expansion, and the city offered a $300,000, 10-year loan and $250,000 worth of job training. (The Messenger, Iowa)

- Continental Airlines is trying to decide which airport to throw $45 million at for an expansion. Will it be Newark, Cleveland, or Houston? The expansion could bring up to 700 jobs to the region. And bragging rights. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

- Those crafty developers from down under are getting set to move into the U.S.! Australia's Macquarie Goodman, the world's second largest industrial property trust, has spent $5 billion over the past 18 months to build its Euro and Asian platforms, and now is looking towards America. The trust would be going head-to-head with their biggest competitor, U.S.-based ProLogis. Look out for themÑthey expect to be a major presence within two years. (Reuters)

- Auto Owners Insurance Group plans to build a $45 million, 96,00 square-foot data center in Lansing, Michigan, adding 80 new jobs. the new facility will be near its corporate headquarters. On Monday, Delta Township voted to sell a half-acre of land to the company for $1. That's right, one hundred pennies. The township is also paying $24,000 in water and sewer connection fees. (The Lansing State Journal)

- First Jamaica Trust Limited (FJT) is seeking $25 million to develop real estate in Jamaica and Central America. On Wednesday, the International Monetary Fund proposed the full loan to FJT. The Trust invests through its property management firm which manages around 750,000 square feet of commercial and residential space in Kingston. (The Jamaica Observer)

- Speaking of Kingston, earlier this month, the mayor of the city, Desmond McKenzie, gave a speech in Massachusetts. He urged Jamaicans living in Boston to invest more of their savings in the country's development, to help restore the country's economic viability. (The Jamaica Gleaner)

- The World Bank approved a $7.5 million loan to support education and training of Namibia's workforce. This is the first part of a program called Namibia's Education and Training Sector Improvement Program (ETSIP1), a five-year, $357 million program to train workers and attract business. I hope it works, because that's a lot of money to pay back.