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Home My WebLink AboutEDA 2025-03-06 Agendas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raig Hulse, Director of DATE: March 6, 2025 Economic Development SUBJECT: Approve minutes of the Economic Development Advisory Committee meeting. PRESENTER: Craig Hulse, Director of Economic Development SUMMARY: The minutes are approved by majority vote of the Economic Development Advisory Committee. GENERAL DESCRIPTION: The Economic Development department prepares action minutes for each Economic Development Advisory Committee meeting. The minutes for the previous meetings are prepared and provided for review of the Committee. Upon approval of the minutes, an RECOMMENDATION: Approve minutes of the August 7, 2024 Economic Development Advisory Committee meeting. MINUTES OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE OF THE CITY OF NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TEXAS HELD IN THE COUNCIL WORK SESSION ROOM, 4301 CITY POINT DRIVE August 7, 2024 The Economic Development Advisory Committee of the City of North Richland Hills, Texas, met on the 7th of August at 11:30 a.m. in the Council Work Session Room. Present: Mr. Mikhail Orlov GRITR Mr. Jay Garrison JA Garrison & Associates Mr. Mark Wood Howe/Wood & Company Ms. Mindy Monroe Legend Bank Ms. Darlisa Diltz NTEEC Mr. Curtis Nash Ms. Stephanie Seybert Seytec Staff Members: Mr. Craig Hulse Economic Development Director Ms. Elizabeth Copeland Economic Development Analyst Ms. Kelly Vaughn Administrative Secretary A. CALL TO ORDER Chairman Wood called the meeting to order at 11:33 a.m. B. PUBLIC COMMENTS No citizens present for public comments. th C. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF THE MARCH 28, 2024, MEETING APPROVED A MOTION WAS MADE BY MR. GARRISON, SECONDED BY MS. MONROE TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM THE March 28, 2024, MEETING. MOTION TO APPROVE CARRIED 7-0. August 7, 2024 Economic Development Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes 1 D. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Mr. Hulse presented a high level of what is going on in the community, specifically from an economic standpoint. D.1 Review updated City Council Vision, Mission and Goals for the City We recently had an election, and we now have a new mayor and several new members to council. A month ago, city council and executive staff of the city met together for a planning session and came up with a new vision and mission statement. The new vision Is to be the standard for transparent, resident focused, fiscally responsible, business- welcoming municipal government in Texas. In the past we were known as The City of Choice. The new vision is that we want to be he Standard. The mission from that vision is to promote an exceptional quality of life for our community by being resident focused, fiscally responsible and business friendly. Going forward these three things will be our focus. City staff agrees there is opportunity for growth and improvement in all three of those facets of how our city operates. From there, council identified the following goals: operational excellence in every area, become easier to do business with, steward the , be a great place to work, revitalize neighborhoods and commercial corridors, enhance connection with the city and their neighbors, and finally maintaining and enhancing public safety, security and our infrastructure. In the past we had nine goals, now there are seven. Some were combined, but unilaterally they are all embraced and endorsed by council and staff. D.2 Update on Local and Regional Economic Trends NRH Unemployment is close to a historic low and there has been no change since the previous year. We are consistently lower than the region. If you compare us to the state DFW inflation persists at 4% but rate of increase is declining. 2% is ideal. It is up 18% over the last 3 years. This is something we track very closely. E- Commerce is out pacing local brick and mortar. The key here is that it is not keeping up with the pace of 4% inflation. This tells us that consumers are starting to slow their spending habits and becoming more conservative. We can expect the federal fund rate to have 2, possibly 3 adjustments as we move later into the year. This is good because it was 0% a year and a half ago, so you can anticipate a lower rate will have an impact upon residential real estate debt and financing, Consumer confidence remains down 30% from pre-pandemic. Currently it is 6% higher than the U.S. which is typical. Traditionally it is lower during Presidential election cycles. Mr. Hulse asked the members of the EDAC council to give updates on their respective businesses. has a great home base of customers. He acknowledged that a bakery is a luxury expense, and a lot of people choose not to pay August 7, 2024 Economic Development Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes 2 the extra money for special occasions. Business is consistent but they face challenges due to high inflation. Jay Garrison said that his practice is going well. He said that he is up 12% in revenues this year. Mindy Monroe stated that Legend Bank is doing very well. They have enjoyed the best year they have ever had and have had significant loan activity. Mikhail Orlov, reports that his business is up 20% but faces challenges with inventory accumulation and rising healthcare costs. The company is working to find creative solutions. They have invested a lot into expansion and bringing robotics and are rolling out new services. Mark Wood discussed the impact of elections on commercial real estate, noting a slowdown in new projects. Stephanie Seybert states that Seytech is also on a pattern for growth. She reports hiring two new employees monthly and expanding into robotics and new services. Mr. Hulse thanked everyone for sharing such valuable information from their industries and said that he would be taking a survey to see if the council would like to extend these meetings to two hours to allow for more discussion. D.3 Development Trends (commercial, residential and multi-family) Interest rates, inflation and construction costs took a toll on FY 2023 development. There has been a slight rebound for FY 2024. City Point is responsible for the majority of single- family builds in FY 2024. NRH is running out of room for new construction, over 90% built out and pushing infill development and redevelopment. The market has become more active and deal oriented. There is a notable increase in listings. List prices are starting to slightly decline for the first time in years and buyers are no longer waiting for interest rates to drop. Rental rates increased by almost 25% over a two-year period and then have remained flat since 2022. The age of the complex determines the level of rent. There is a dramatic difference between the newest builds and the older multi-family that we have in NRH. Vacancy levels remain low. There is record low retail vacancy at 6.3%. The peak was 19% in 2005. About 60% of NRH commercial real estate is retail and restaurants. Office is struggling nationwide, Two NRH call centers recently closed because they needed more room. Industrial vacancy is up due to these recent relocations; however, the market is strong. August 7, 2024 Economic Development Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes 3 D.4 New and Upcoming Business Report The business pace has been slightly below historical levels due to tight business lending and elevated interest rates. The activity is picking up on the expectation of improving economic conditions. There are numerous attractive businesses in the pipeline. Malibu Jacks should be opening in July 2025. They purchased the former At Home building which is 160,000 square feet on the border of Hurst. This is a good win for NRH that complements Peppa Pig which will also be opening in the spring of 2025. Caddo Office Reimagined is also set to open in September of this year. This is a 30,000 square foot building that hosts 100 executive suites that will be available for rent monthly. This will bring a daytime population to this sector of town that will benefit surrounding businesses. s Deli is coming to the property that once was Chick-Fil-A. They plan to open late fall. The new Starbucks on Davis is set to open this month. Farther north, in between Wild Fork and Dutch Brothers, we have a new building that will soon be home to Five Guys and Einstein Bagels. Finally, Volli has had their permit reissued and they plan to open the adventure portion park of their facility by Halloween, which will generate revenue while they build out and finish their restaurant, pickleball courts and their big screen TV bar area. E. PROJECT AND PROGRAM UPDATES E.1 2020 Street Bond Project Update Mr. Hulse updated the members on the $49 million NRH bond package voted on in 2020 and gave progress on all major streets and where they are on the timeline towards completion. During the month of May 2023, the city was awarded a $4.2 million grant from the Economic Development Administration, the largest grant in North Central Texas for the Cares Act, that went to the cities for public infrastructure. Bedford Euless will be completed in just a few weeks. Iron Horse East was completed earlier this summer. E.2 City Point Development The Delegate Apartments are in the final phase of completion. Pre-leasing has been going on and they are very happy with the lease up so far. The commercial progress along City Point drive has been slow. The horizontal underground infrastructure has been placed. The concrete pads will be added once the space has been leased. A Homewood Suites Hotel has been approved and they are currently designing the construction drawings. Construction timeline will be 18-24 months. August 7, 2024 Economic Development Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes 4 E.3 Davis Boulevard/Boulevard 26 Neighborhood Empowerment Zone The council adopted the EZ Street program to address financial barriers in business development along Boulevard 26 and Davis Boulevard. The program was officially launched in January through a Direct Mail and an email blast to 160 area property owners, 110 businesses and 30 brokers. Since that time, we have had 15 meetings, 5 potential projects and 1 under an agreement that Council just recently approved. E.4 Restaurant Rewards Program The Restaurant Rewards Program is a software application that would be downloaded to your phone. You will be able to go to any restaurant in North Richland Hills, find the restaurant in the App, take a picture of your receipt and upload it to the app. Once the receipt is uploaded you can receive 5% cash back through Venmo, PayPal or a check in the mail. The launch for this project will be in January 2025, after the peak period holiday season. The budget for this program has been identified through a promotional fund that is hotel occupancy tax revenue. The budget is $110,000; $10,000 for the software and promotion of the program and $100,000 for the actual rewards. This has the potential to generate $40 thousand in local sales tax revenue and a $2 million boost in local sales. No action or resources are required of the businesses. billboards. There will be posts on the paid advertising on Facebook to targeted zip codes. There will also be promotion through an insert into the water bills and window posters for restaurants. Advertising for the program will begin this December. F. ADJOURNMENT Chairman Wood adjourned the meeting at 12:50 PM. ______________________________________________ Mark Wood, Chairman ______________________________________________ Craig Hulse, Secretary August 7, 2024 Economic Development Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes 5