Business View Civil Municipal - July 2023

218 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 4, ISSUE 7 Buying Into The Palmview Dream The city has already seen some fruits of its labor with major retailers buying property and investing, including Buffalo Wings & Rings, Circle K, Wendy’s, Blue Wave Car Wash, and PJs Coffee of New Orleans, all in the last year alone. Together, they join other brand names such as Walgreens, HEB, Autozone, and Peter Piper Pizza just to name a few. All these retail outlets are helping to establish a thoroughfare through the city, creating pedestrian-friendly zones as well as a healthy business environment. The city’s management is currently in talks with two large retailers who have expressed interest in setting up shop within the city. While the city is encouraging more growth by inviting national brands, they are aware of the need to maintain a small-town feel. Many retail outlets are operated and owned by the locals, such as the three building materials and supply stores, , one of whom is Materiales El Valle Co. They are still the backbone of the community, along with the countless small mom-and- pop shops, restaurants, and daycare centers. “They’re a part of the fabric that keeps the city moving forward, and they matter. It’s these individuals who kept the tax rate going and brought in jobs and revenues for the city and citizens, so we don’t want to break away from them,” says Mayor Villarreal. The city has conducted a leakage report centered around industries that are underserved or “over served”, which produced data regarding building materials and supply stores. The data revealed that a Home Depot or Lowes moving into the city, While they’d do great business for the city, management has decided it could cannibalize from local establishments like Materiales El Valle Co, so they focus on other retail industries. Reconfirming their support for local establishment, Leo states, “ we’ve always been known to be a small town with a big heart, but we’re actually not that small secure another $20 million from the Texas Department of Transportation for a total of approximately $26 million. The project to develop the old highway, and connect the city corridors, is set to start in 2024 and is essential for the city’s growth as it is the first step in establishing a downtown shopping area. “We’re creating another commercial area for the downtown area, where businesses will be on both sides of the street. It will provide a place where locals can eat, shop and stay, maybe even for some nightlife and entertainment. We’ve been investing and planning this for seven years,” says Michael Leo, City Manager of the City of Palmview. Infrastructure The city has invested over $2M on new street paving and drainage projects, as well as bringing new streetlights to poorly lit neighborhoods that were previously in unincorporated areas. They were just awarded over $1 million for additional drainage projects from the Texas General Land Office. Coupled with the $25 million for the Veterans expansion and the support from Agua Sud with $20 million in wastewater infrastructure, Palmview knows first hand that infrastructure is key to economic development and growth.