Category: Central/South Texas News DO NOT USE

McAllen On The Move

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A powerhouse city. Boomtown. The epicenter of the Rio Grande Valley. There are plenty of ways to describe McAllen, Texas, but they all have one
thing in common: growth. “With the volume of consumers that comes in to
McAllen daily, our city has developed a robust economy,” says Rebecca Olaguibel, the city’s Director of Retail and Business Development. The numbers are incredible for a city its size. With a population of around 140,000, McAllen generates more than $3 billion in gross retail sales thanks to 18 million people (an average of 39,000 people per day) who visit the city every year. It’s just 10 miles north of the Mexican border, so international visitors flow through it via McAllen International Airport and the two international bridges managed by the city. “It’s truly a geographic jackpot,” says Olaguibel, who has worked for the City of McAllen for 12 years. Its retail offerings are part of the draw of McAllen, making it the premiere shopping destination in South Texas and northern Mexico. While new
shopping centers and big box retailers open up new locations there, city leaders say it’s important to recognize the critical role small businesses play in the overall success of McAllen. Click to read more at www.rednews.com.

TEXAS JOB FORECAST

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DALLAS – Texas employment will grow 2.1 percent this year, according to the Texas Employment Forecast by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Based on the forecast, the state will add 263,700 jobs this year. Employment in December 2019 will reach 12.9 million. This prediction comes after incorporating September 2019’s annualized employment growth of 0.7 percent and a decrease in the leading index. “After strong growth in June and July, Texas jobs decelerated in August and September,” said Keith R. Phillips, Dallas Fed assistant vice president, and senior economist. “The weakness in oil and gas extraction is spilling over to other sectors such as transportation and warehousing, which experienced job losses in both August and September. “Manufacturing employment continues to grow at a good pace, however, in part driven by continued strength in petrochemical and refining activity. Construction activity also remains robust.” Click to read more at www.recenter.tamu.edu.

The FBI Raid Of Texas Real Estate Investor Nate Paul

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This week, agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation descended unannounced on the home and business of Nate Paul, a young Texas real estate investor who became known for buying up prominent real estate assets in the state capital of Austin. The FBI confirmed the raids to Forbes but declined to specify the nature of its search at Paul’s sprawling 9,175-square-foot Austin home or the downtown Austin offices of his World Class Holdings. Local media reported FBI agents were spotted leaving World Class’ offices with documents. Paul, 32, and World-Class Holdings, were the subject of a complimentary Forbes article in 2017, which described how Paul had snapped up commercial real estate in Austin, including valuable downtown locations and 3M’s 158-acre campus, and built a large self-storage company with 60 or so sites across the nation. Click to read more at www.forbes.com.

Austin’s a “Brain Drain” City For Tech Talent — Is That Good or Bad?

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AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin is once again a top 10 city for having the most talented people working in the tech industry. In CBRE’s 2019 “Scoring Tech Talent” report, Austin beat out other Texas cities like Dallas-Forth Worth and Houston. “[Austin’s] the envy of just about every other tech city, not only in the United States but globally,” said Spencer Levy, Chairman of Americas Research & Senior Economic Adviser. Highlights from the report include: Total tech occupations went up by almost 3,000, from 69,610 in 2017 to 72,360 in 2018. The average office rent went from $34.99 in Q1 2018 to $37.62 in Q1 2019. Austin is poised to become one of the largest tech growth markets in the next five to 10 years. Levy told KXAN, “Talent, infrastructure and foreign money. The more you can get in all three of those things, the more you’re going to be able to attract and retain the talent in your market.” Click to read more at www.kxan.com.

Reshaping South Texas Commercial Real Estate

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ANN EATON, Opportunity Zones Manager for the City of San Antonio Economic Development Department:
• First authorized in 2017, San Antonio has OZs located in 9 parts of town: Brooks City-Base, Downtown, East Side, Far South, Far Southeast,
Near South, Near Westside, Northeast Corridor, Port San Antonio, and Lackland Air Force Base.
• We’ve created a new mapping tool and website related to economic development opportunities in specially designated areas to market the
assets and needs in our OZ clusters.
• The Westside Strategic Plan will be available in September. Working in partnership with Wendell Davis & Associates, this plan will identify
business and commercial corridors in need of investment and community redevelopment. Click to read more at www.rednews.com.

Hotel Building Boom Underway in Round Rock, Pflugerville, Hutto

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From the behemoth Kalahari Resorts & Conventions—expected to offer 975 hotel rooms at completion in November 2020—to the boutique 39-room Ruby Hotel that opened in February, the hospitality industry is alive and well in Round Rock. “We definitely are seeing a building boom, or increased interest, in hotel development in Round Rock,” said Bradley Dushkin, Round Rock’s assistant director of planning and development. For projects in the works, the size and price point of the new hotels are varied, Dushkin said. A Tru by Hilton, which opened in February, offers a “no-frills” option for business travelers, he said. Large to medium-sized hotels, including the Embassy Suites and the Four Points by Sheridan, will offer needed conference room space when they open. Kalarahi, the hotel arguably making the biggest splash, is a resort-style getaway complete with the nation’s largest indoor waterpark. Click to read more at www:communityimpact.com.