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Located just 3.5 miles west of downtown Giddings, Altman Plants isn’t just a growing company; it’s the most sizable “growing company” in Texas. The company’s sprawling 140-acre facility earned Altman its place as the largest commercial nursery in the Lone Star State.  Rows and rows of greenhouses stretch across 70 acres...Continue Reading

Giddings, Texas, folks who chose to “staycation” over Labor Day weekend were treated to an amazing social scene with outstanding music, food, craft cocktails, and brews. Revelers flocked to the streets to celebrate with two evenings of free concerts at the historic Giddings Railroad Depot Complex sponsored by LCLESO Texas...Continue Reading

The creative economy is a vital economic engine for Texas, growing more than 30 percent over the last decade. In fact, the Texas Arts and Culture Industry generated $6.1 billion for the Texas economy, totaling nearly $380 million in state sales tax revenue and $50.1 billion in gross domestic produc...Continue Reading

From coast to coast, demand for new warehouse and distribution space is hitting record-breaking levels. According to a recent report from Cushman & Wakefield,1 the U.S. industrial construction pipeline topped 600 million square feet for the first time ever in Q1 2022, with nearly 95 percent of that tally classifie...Continue Reading

Having a proper business mindset is a recommendation we've all heard upon starting a new exciting business endeavor. But what exactly stays behind the words "proper business mindset?" In a nutshell, it represents a certain way of thinking that implements various growth strategies, people skills and approaches to situations and issue...Continue Reading

From agriculture to tourism, forestry to manufacturing, rural communities bring their own specific perspectives to economic development. They are proud to promote their unique value propositions, including quality of life advantages, natural beauty, commuter options to larger urban centers but with more affordable housing and amenities, safe, family-friendly environments an...Continue Reading

Proving ROI for quality of place improvements typically centers around job creation and talent attraction. Economic development organizations understand that if their community does not have the workforce, they will likely not attract new companies to their area or see expansions in their local industries. A community's quality of life an...Continue Reading

More workers are finding themselves out of a job (or becoming worried they might soon be) as a string of high-profile companies, mostly startups and in tech, have moved to freeze hiring or even to slash workers and rescind job offers. New unemployment claims edged up to an eight-month high las...Continue Reading

AUSTIN — For the eighth consecutive month, Texas broke job growth records for 2022 by adding 82,500 total nonagricultural jobs in June, and total nonagricultural employment reached 13,431,100, according to data released today by the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC). “Texas leads the nation once again, creating more jobs and unmatched economi...Continue Reading

Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) is a project delivery strategy that focuses on transparency and collaboration, forming a cohesive team, and implementing methods to enhance efficiency and generate desired project outcomes. This isn’t just about a new contract relationship between design and construct — the owner is a key stakeholder. The cultur...Continue Reading

For companies around the world, supply chain snags have been top-of-mind for much of the past year. Delays are common, and U.S. domestic shipping rates for moving goods are up approximately 23 percent over 2020 levels, according to Cass Information Systems, Inc. High demand continues to outpace logistics capacity, an...Continue Reading

What makes a good location for a data center? There are quite a few factors, and some of the most important are the availability of space, land, and power. However, emerging technologies that will require edge computing — such as 5G, virtual reality and metaverse applications, AI, and self-driving car...Continue Reading

The national news headlines in 2021 shifted dramatically, from wall-to-wall pandemic coverage to stories of extraordinary economic growth and recovery. After a dramatic downturn in 2020, the economy came roaring back with unexpected gusto — and that enthusiasm is reflected in the economic development activity that was bringing smiles an...Continue Reading

Texas Business and Economic Development Organizations Launch Texas Return To Work Initiative Employer resource guide and surveys are first coordinated local, regional, and statewide effort to assist public and private sector economic first responders  Austin, Texas -- Today, the Texas Association of Business (TAB), Texas Economic Development Council (TEDC), Texas Chamber o...Continue Reading

This one or that? It can be incredibly difficult to sort through the many property options for an optimal site selection decision, especially when so many important factors need to be taken into account. ZoomProspector's brand-new Compare Properties feature makes it easier than ever to do side-by-side site and buildin...Continue Reading

AUSTIN – Gov. Greg Abbott earlier today announced the appointments of nine top Texas executives to the Board of Directors of the Texas Economic Development Corporation (TxEDC), based in Austin. TxEDC is the private side of a public-private partnership with the Governor’s Office of Economic Development & Tourism. Its role i...Continue Reading

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment has fallen to pre-pandemic levels, but that doesn’t mean the workforce is simply returning to normal. In March of 2022, a record 4.5 million Americans quit their jobs, leaving 1.9 job openings for every unemployed worker. According to the Institute o...Continue Reading

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment has fallen to pre-pandemic levels, but that doesn’t mean the workforce is simply returning to normal. In March of 2022, a record 4.5 million Americans quit their jobs, leaving 1.9 job openings for every unemployed worker. According to the Institute o...Continue Reading

July is Park and Recreation Month! Parks and recreation are important for quality of life and economic development because they create and augment attractive, vibrant, and resilient communities like Giddings, Texas. Research on smaller communities has found that amenities such as recreation opportunities are likely as big of contributors to health...Continue Reading

The Giddings Economic Development Corporation has named its new director. David Stedman was hired to fill the role formerly held by Tonya Britton, following her retirement in February. Stedman, who currently lives in Grayson, Georgia, has over 25 years of experience in advertising and marketing.  Since 2010, he has been the CE...Continue Reading

Competing on a national and global scale for large economic development projects — and winning — is a sure sign of a community’s vitality. A community’s ability to position large-scale, shovel-ready land tracts for investment consideration exponentially increases its ability to secure desired jobs and capital investment at the loca...Continue Reading

There is a great feeling of achievement in creating your own business. You can successfully work for yourself and have flexibility in your daily schedule. The potential for growth, expansion and money is unlimited as long as you are able to maintain your company's progress and profits for the lon...Continue Reading

Texas is the state with the most Fortune 500 companies, according to the 68th Fortune 500 annual list of the largest U.S. corporations, with 53 Fortune 500 corporate headquarters that call the Lone Star State home. New York state dropped from No. 1 to the No. 2 spot with 51 Fortun...Continue Reading

AUSTIN — Texas added 62,800 total nonagricultural jobs in April 2022, showing growth in the number of new jobs for the sixth consecutive month, according to data released late last week by the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC). The state set new employment records last month as total nonfarm jobs reached 13,284,50...Continue Reading