Exponential Growth is Real, and It’s Here

The fourth and final panel featured Daniel Bowman, Executive Director/CEO of the Allen Economic Development Corporation; Rex Glendenning, broker and owner of Rex Real Estate; Joey Grisham, Economic Development Director for the Anna Economic Development Corp.; Alexis Jackson, Director of Celina EDC; Peter Tokar III, President & CEO of McKinney Economic Development Corporation; and Carl Pankratz, President and Managing Director at Blackacre Commercial. 

The final panel was also moderated by REjournals’ own Jeff Johnson.

Collin County has a great problem: the area has had 100% growth in ten years. But the flood of new residents and the evolving circumstances impacting the workplace are raising the bar in city planning. There is one major theme and question which should lead master planning and community development, which is, how does Collin County become the next next-gen county?

For example, incoming residents of McKinney in desirable corporate workforces are joining long-time residents in the county’s small rural communities. These existing residents may suddenly find themselves in an urban environment as the area quickly develops. So how do you balance the mix and meet the needs of both old and new residents?

This is where the role of economic development councils come in. Economic development councils make investments and deals not to compete with private developers but to steer development in a balanced way. Convention centers, hotels, entertainment venues, community colleges, medical projects, and manufacturers are also being wooed. Meanwhile, developers are being encouraged to put in roads at their expense against future impact fee credit, in order to help the cities where they are doing projects.