In the first paragraph of my April column I promised that I would provide you, the reader, with information regarding the number and types of business attractions projects that have come our way. This month I will keep that promise by providing an insight about the types of “leads” we receive and what we did with those leads.
The Board and I also promised you in last month’s column that we would fill you in on the result of our efforts to “land” a major employer that was introduced to us and other nearby communities by the Office of the Governor. Right now it is a little premature to provide you with that information because we are still negotiating with that employer as well as competing with our neighbors for the deal. Most likely, this item will be the subject of next month’s column.
In the time I have served the CCEDC Board of Directors and the City Council as well as you, the community, we have received a total of 42 “leads” regarding business attraction projects. By all measures, this large number is an indicator of an improving economy. Now let me break down those leads.
Of the forty-two, six are still active. That’s the good news. Of those six, two came from the Office of the Governor, two came from our lead generation service provider, one was from an out-of-town commercial property broker and one was from a local contact. All together they represent millions of dollars in private investment, hundreds of employees and substantial amount of sales and property taxes. We will continue to work hard to land all of these business attraction projects.
What happened to the other thirty-six?
Well, thirty-one of them we put in the DO NOT QUALIFY, or DNQ, column. There were many reasons for our determination that Copperas Cove did meet the qualifications laid out by the company. Simply, the community did not have the proper existing building, the right type of airport service was unavailable and/or we lacked the proper rail service.
Five of them we did not respond to at all. Two we considered to be “fishing expeditions” by the company, two we deemed the company was not compatible with our community and the last asked for an unreasonable amount of financial support in comparison to what they offered to the community.
Now, let me offer some information about a few other projects the CCEDC Board of Directors and staff work on when we are not chasing leads.
On behalf of the CCEDC and the City, Oncor will be installing street lights on Constitution Drive. This is one of the last steps in the development of that new drive before we start planning the massive project of preparing the 70 acres or so across Constitution Drive from the new apartment complex. The development of this property will allow the CCEDC to market the property to our target industries as “business ready”. The goal, of course, is to bring new quality employers to our community.
Along with our regional partners, in August we will host a number of out-of-the-area commercial and industrial property developers and site selection consultants. This event is one element of our plan to introduce our community to those that have the ability to bring to Copperas Cove new employers and investors.
Sometime this summer the CCEDC Board of Directors will introduce to the community an aggressive and comprehensive Business Retention and Expansion program. Designed to provide economic development programs and services to our existing businesses, this initiative will be available to small businesses as well as our larger employers.
Lastly, there is Shops at Five Hills. The land is under contract and the community will soon be receiving progress reports. As is the case in projects of this size, a lot of work is going on behind the scenes.
Polo Enriquez
Executive Director
Copperas Cove Economic Development Corporation