Civil and Municipal - Jan 22

63 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 3, ISSUE 1 water projects right now.” On the commercial side, Commerce is home to a variety of retail establishments and restaurants. The city also has a growing manufacturing sector. Nexus 1, a subsidiary of Canadian company, Nexii, is opening a plant in Commerce, bringing with it 200 new jobs. Lisenbee recounts, “Nexii is looking to open five manufacturing facilities in the US. We are the second location. Their entire approach to construction and construction management is a green, very low carbon footprint process. It is pretty innovative, which is another reason why we like it so much.” The city has other available industrial property, much of which is accessible by railroad, an important advantage for major industrial operations. With growth on the horizon, Lisenbee offers his thoughts on what the future looks like for Commerce, describing, “In the next three to five years, I think we are going to see a very real impact from population growth. We have to be ready, but we have to manage it in a way that it doesn’t compromise our character as a rural community. It requires infrastructure to support that population, and we are going to be ready for it. Also, the innovative use of technology is something we can’t be afraid of. We have a great partnership with the university to explore and evaluate new ways to do and solve old problems in a way that is effective for our community and the community of the future.” With continued focus on innovation, education, and courage, the City of Commerce has much to look forward to, as they “Honor the Past, Preserve the Present, and Prepare for the Future”. COMMERCE , TEXAS CEDC partnering with industry to achieve economic growth 1119 ALAMO ST, COMMERCE, TX 75428 903 886 1121 WWW.COMMERCETXEDC.ORG