story that includes downtown reinvestment, significant residential growth, expanded public safety infrastructure, new healthcare access, and a deliberate push to diversify the city’s business base. DOWNTOWN REVITALIZATION ANCHORED BY REAL INVESTMENT Seagoville’s downtown is a clear priority for city leadership and the Economic Development Corporation. Centered around the intersection of Kaufman Street and Malloy Bridge Road, the city is working to strengthen the downtown corridor through a mix of targeted redevelopment, business recruitment, and long-range planning rooted in a 2019 downtown corridor study. A signature project is the city-owned hardcorner property where the EDC controls multiple buildings. One of those buildings underwent a major transformation last year—taken down to the studs and rebuilt with new walls, electrical, water, and sewer infrastructure. The result is the downtown home of Doe Belly’s Kitchen, a regional restaurant that opened in January and has already become a visible driver of foot traffic and activity. City leadership sees Doe Belly’s Kitchen not as a one-off win, but as a model. With other EDC-owned buildings nearby, Seagoville is aiming to replicate the strategy and continue recruiting destinationstyle tenants. A new partnership is also underway to bring a barbecue restaurant downtown in 2026, reinforcing the idea that successful downtown revitalization often happens through clustering— one strong anchor creates momentum for the next. From the mayor’s perspective, the intersection itself is the heartbeat. While State Highway 175 is widely seen as Seagoville’s main commercial corridor, the downtown core carries its own power. “If you stand at Kaufman Street and Malloy Bridge Road, there’s all kinds of traffic,” Childress notes. “The more we can put down there, the more successful everything around it will be.” BUSINESS INCENTIVES DESIGNED FOR REAL PROJECTS Seagoville is not relying on generic “open for business” messaging. The city and EDC operate with an incentive model designed to meet projects where they are, and leadership notes that support is evaluated case by case based on community benefit and feasibility. Over time, Seagoville has deployed a wide range of tools, including tax increment financing, public improvement districts, Chapter 380 agreements, sales tax rebates, and sales tax sharing agreements. More recently, the EDC modernized its façade grant program and introduced a new downtown 69 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 07, ISSUE 01 SEAGOVILLE, TX
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTI5MjAx