Business View Civil and Municipal | January 2021

59 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL JANUARY 2021 “more largely on a state level; that triangle between San Antonio and Austin, Dallas and Houston.” Converse is an eight sq. mile city just 15 miles northeast of San Antonio’s downtown (and with annexation phases in the plans may become even larger to represent a possible population of 100,000). It is part of Loop 1604 that runs through the east side of the city and drivers can reach the I-35 headed to Austin very easily, as well as the I-10 which runs toward Houston. Residents of Converse, including Kuborn, know the trends. She notes, “It’s interesting, you can pop into downtown San Antonio in about 15 minutes going through I-10 instead of the I-35 because there’s more traffic on the north side of San Antonio. Access to those highways make Converse an attractive place to live and run a business. We are really out there, boots on the ground, trying to talk to brokers, investors, entrepreneurs, and people who are looking for additional locations – site selectors and such – explaining that because we are in this exponential growth pattern, we truly are an untapped market. We’ve got so many citizens in this community and its only continuing to grow. No matter where your story begins your next chapter is in Converse, so come help write our story.” The city’s housing industry is booming with 3,000 homes platted and under construction. Converse is attracting people, including young families, from California, Illinois and, on a small scale, the East Coast. One reason is that the price of housing in the community remains affordable. Houses in the new subdivisions are selling anywhere from $200,000 to $250,000. Kuborn acknowledges, “Because of the population and housing boom, we’re trying to grow the different amenities and resources for our residents. I know retail is a tough sector right now, but ultimately we are still a community and we still have a lot of people who are having to drive outside our city limits for the simple things, like having a larger offering of full services, CONVERSE , TEXAS