Economic Development Digest 
 
| Economic Development News
Opportunity Zone Summit | Monday, August 19

The Gulf Coast Economic Development District (GCEDD), the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA), and the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) are hosting a summit for communities and investors interested in developing real estate and businesses in the region's Opportunity Zones. The summit will be from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Monday, August 19, at the Houston-Galveston Area Council, Second Floor Conference Room B, 3555 Timmons Lane.

The summit will focus on providing technical assistance that community developers can use to market their project to Opportunity Zone investors. Registration is required, and limited to those actively seeking to develop projects and businesses in Opportunity Zones.

For more information, contact Joshua Owens at 832-681-2613.
Harris County Small Business Import & Export Summit  | September 6

Harris County Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia invites you to attend the inaugural Small Business Import & Export Summit on Friday, September 6, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Sylvan Beach Pavilion, 1 Sylvan Beach Drive, La Porte.

Experts will share their insights on the regional and global market outlook and provide instructions on how to obtain financial assistance. Registration is required.
Amazon Opens New Tech Hub in Houston

The Greater Houston Partnership announced tech giant Amazon has chosen Houston as the home of its newest North American Tech Hub

Amazon officially opened the doors of the new 25,000-square-foot hub in CityCentre on July 26. The company expects to hire a team of roughly 150 Amazon Web Services (AWS) employees to work at the site. 
Announcing the 2019 NADO Photo Contest

The National Association of Development Organizations is pleased to accept entries in the 2019 NADO Photo Contest through September 12. The contest is an opportunity for member organizations to tell the story of their regions through images capturing the people and places that communities great places to live, work, and play.
Disaster Recovery Program | IEDC 

The International Economic Development Council (IEDC) is placing experienced economic development professionals as volunteers in economic development organizations throughout 
the region that can use expert input doing various
tasks such as: 
  • Attracting inward investment
  • Business outreach, retention and recovery 
  • Community outreach, finance, flood control and mitigation
  • Grant writing, strategic planning, and training/education
Thanks to U.S. Economic Development Administration funding, the volunteers-- who typically come for five days and then do supplementary work remotely--are completely free of charge to communities in the region.
 
For more information, contact Joshua Owens at 832-681-2613.
TEEX Recovery Courses Accepting Course Requests/Reservations 

Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) is accepting course requests and reservations. The 12-hour Disaster Recovery Public Assistance course and the four-hour Disaster Recovery for Senior Officials course can be scheduled now. TEEX will come to your community; there is no-cost for this training. For more information, contact Andrew Wenzel, Program Director, at [email protected].
 
|CEDS Updates
June Gulf Coast Labor Market Analysis  

Workforce Solutions provides a monthly analysis of the Gulf Coast region's labor market. Some highlights from the June 2019 report are:
  • The regional unemployment rate was 3.8%, which is up .6% from last month, but down from 4.6% last year.   
  • Trade, Transportation, and Utilities added the most jobs (6,700)
  • All sectors except Information showed year-over-year growth 
The report highlights data from the Texas Workforce Commission and the Bureau of Labor Statistics focusing on the region's 13 counties. Reports are available on Workforce Solutions' webpage.
 
| Funding Opportunities
Jobs Plus Initiative | October 1, 2019

The Jobs Plus program develops locally-based, job-driven approaches that increase earnings and advance employment outcomes through work readiness, employer linkages, job placement, educational advancement, technology skills, and financial literacy for residents of public housing. The place-based Jobs Plus program addresses poverty among public housing residents by incentivizing and enabling employment through earned income disregards for working residents and a set of services designed to support work including employer linkages, job placement and counseling, educational advancement, and financial counseling. 
Community Facilities (CF) Direct Loan & Grant Program | Ongoing

USDA Rural Development provides funding to construct, enlarge, or improve essential community facilities in rural areas.  USDA has more than $2 Billion still available for rural communities to build or modernize education, health care, municipal and public safety facilities this fiscal year. 
 
| Upcoming Developments
The Sarah at Lake Houston broke ground last month at 17810 West Houston Parkway in Atascosita. The three-story, 350-unit is expected to be complete in 2020.
 
Fort Bend ISD's 12th high school campus is being built on an 80-acre plot near the Ferndell Henry Center for Learning and Heritage Rose Elementary School east of FM 521 in Rosharon. The 485,000-square-foot campus is expected to open by the 2022-2023 school year.
 
Larkspur at Shadow Creek, a 55-and-older community, broke ground on a 12-acre property at 12635 Shadow Creek Parkway in Pearland. The 257-unit will include 42 private cottages. The project will become available in 2020.
 
Alta River Oaks, a seven-story apartment building, will start construction at 3636 W. Dallas Street. The 364-unit project will open in 2020. Alta West Alabama recently broke ground at 3623 W. Alabama Street. The 304-unit luxury community will open in 2020.
 
Telge Crossing is being built on 24 acres at the southwest corner of Telge Road and Jarvis Road. The mixed-use project will include 15,000 square feet of retail, 12,000 square feet of office space and a 303-unit multifamily project. The development is expected to be complete in 2020.
 
The Lower Heights District along I-10 between Studemont Street and Sawyer Street. This mixed-use project will be built in phases. Phase I will be complete in 2020 and will include 370-unit multifamily development Alexan Lower Heights and 75,000 square feet of retail and restaurant. There will be an additional 370-unit multifamily project, 150,000 square feet of office space, and 75,000 square feet of retail for future phases.

Plans for mixed-use, 900-acre project Bridgeland Central are underway. The development will contain 1,650 single family units and 2,200 multifamily units and will be located east of the Grand Parkway, between Bridgeland Creek Parkway and Bridgeland Lake Parkway. Phase 1 of the project will feature 800,000 square feet of retail, 40,000 square feet of restaurants, a 36,000-square-foot, 250 hotel rooms, 650 multifamily units, and 350,000 square feet of office space. Construction could begin in 2020.
 
Houston Methodist Clear Lake Hospital will start construction on a multi-year project expansion of its campus at 18300 Houston Methodist Drive. The first phase of the expansion is a six-story, 150,000-square-foot medical office building.

Compiled from reports in Community Impact Newspapers, Houston Chronicle, and Texas A&M University Real Estate Center
 
Upcoming Events
August 23 | Sales Tax Workshop | TEDC | Abilene 

September 10 | Women's Issues in Transportation Conference | TRB | California


September 20 | Sales Tax Workshop | TEDC | San Antonio 

October 9-11 | Annual Conference | TEDC | San Antonio 

October 13-16 | Annual Conference | IEDC | Indiana 

October 19-22 | Annual Training Conference | NADO | Nevada


October 25 | Sales Tax Workshop | TEDC | Houston  

November 6-8 | Big State Big Plans | APA | Waco  

December 13 | Sales Tax Workshop | TEDC | Austin 


The Economic Development Digest is published monthly by the

Houston-Galveston Area Council, 3555 Timmons Lane, Suite 120, Houston, TX 77027
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