Subscribe Love

Council, EDC discuss goals, target businesses

by | Jan 19, 2023 | Latest

In an annual meeting, members of the Sachse Economic Development Corporation and Sachse City Council gathered to discuss economic goals for the city as it approaches buildout.

Economic Development Manager Jerod Potts provided an overview of target business sectors and potential development projects during the joint council and SEDC meeting Thursday, Jan. 12, at City Hall.

Potts said the main goals for the emphasis on attracting commercial entities into the city is to diversify the city’s tax base, encourage industry clusters, provide high-quality jobs and ensure the resilience of the local economy. 

“With the pandemic, we saw certain industries were impacted and we don’t want to overinvest in one element,” Potts said. “While clusters can be great, we don’t want it to be the only thing we go after in case the economy tanks and our economy is shot.”

Councilmember Michelle Howarth said she supports the goals but wants the city to focus on bringing in businesses soon to alleviate the tax burden on residential taxpayers. Potts said one benefit to increasing the economic development in the city could bolster the daytime traffic in Sachse.

“One of the things I keep hearing is a desire for more commercial and retail spaces,” Potts said. “We have the data that shows that there is significant leakage but in order to have those amenities, you have to have the daytime population to support it.”

When it opens, Evolve Biologics and the nearly 300 jobs it will bring to Sachse is an example of a business that could help increase daytime traffic at local restaurants, he added.

Additionally, Potts also briefed the SEDC and council on target economy sectors for the city, namely medical and life sciences companies that could complement Trinity Regional Hospital and Evolve Biologics. The city is also looking to bring in technology firms to extend a corridor of such companies north of Richardson.

City Manager Gina Nash said staff has communicated with the Dallas Regional Chamber and used the addition of Evolve Biologics to demonstrate that it is possible to bring medical companies to Sachse along with high-quality jobs. However, the city tries to stay ahead of the Dallas Regional Chamber because it cannot explicitly favor developing one area of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex over another.

“We are at the top of their mind,” Nash said. “They aren’t going to pick one city over another but they are going to give out contacts.”

For the full story, see the Jan. 19 issue of The Sachse News.

Subscribe Love

0 Comments

Related News

Mobile housing initiative helps veterans

Mobile housing initiative helps veterans

Bradley Tiegs, co-founder and executive director of the Undaunted Warhorse Initiative, along with a veteran client who received a donated trailer after his was destroyed in a fire.  Courtesy photo Bradley Tiegs spent years serving others—as a Marine, a teacher and a...

read more
Bluegrass on Ballard returns in May

Bluegrass on Ballard returns in May

Bluegrass on Ballard, the annual music and arts festival, is set to return to historic downtown Wylie on Saturday, May 31. This year’s event will feature a day of fun for the whole family, complete with live music, a classic car show, arts and crafts vendors, fair...

read more
Budget process underway for next school year

Budget process underway for next school year

The routine business of charting the financial direction of Wylie Independent School District is in progress and included a budget presentation at last month’s board of trustees meeting. As Wylie ISD prepares for the 2025-26 fiscal year, administrators are building a...

read more
Early voting starts April 22

Early voting starts April 22

Residents from Collin and Dallas County cities with upcoming general elections head to the polls later this month to begin the early voting process to elect city council members, school trustees and Collin College trustees in contested races. The first day of early...

read more
Final scores for week of April 7-12

Final scores for week of April 7-12

Sachse tossed a one-hitter with three strikeouts during last Friday's 19-0 win for the Lady Mustangs over South Garland. Photo by Tina Lopez / C&S Media From Staff Reports Final scores for games played by Sachse from April 7-12: Friday, April 11 Baseball Sachse...

read more
Wylie Show and Sale exhibits students’ skills

Wylie Show and Sale exhibits students’ skills

Wylie ISD FFA students exhibit their steer at the F.O. Birmingham Ag Center at the Wylie Show and Sale last week. The future of agriculture was on display at the 58th Annual Wylie Show and Sale at the F.O. Birmingham Agricultural Center in Wylie. Over the course of...

read more
Subscribe Love