City Focuses on Economic Development through Redevelopment

While City services like parks and public safety are funded through property taxes and sales taxes, Garland's property and sales tax revenue is lower per capita than neighboring cities. In fact, it is estimated that Garland is about $88 million below average - every year - compared to similar-sized cities in the region. And economic growth is declining as the city approaches build-out.

The city is about 97% built out, which means there are not large tracts of vacant land for new development. That limits the ability to grow the tax base the traditional way - so strategy is key - and that's where redevelopment comes in. Unless Garland invests in infrastructure and targeted revitalization, the City will struggle to maintain the services the community expects - things like safe streets, quality parks, public safety, libraries and more.

To stimulate this future growth, Garland's Economic Development Department is focused on several initiatives. The first is land assembly, or acquiring multiple parcels of land to create larger, more developable sites. Owning larger, contiguous sites allows Economic Development to partner with real estate developers to revitalize neighborhoods and deliver large-scale mixed-use projects.

An example of land assembly to create areas for redevelopment is the area along State Street to the east of the Downtown area, which was included in the recent Old East Embree request for proposals. The City received multiple responses and is working with an appropriate developer for the future redevelopment of the area. The City also now has more than 50 acres assembled along I-635 and has purchased land around the VA hospital to develop health care infrastructure to serve Garland, which has been noted as one of the largest cities in America without a hospital in its boundaries.

The Economic Development Department also works with existing businesses to provide development incentives for expansions that bring additional revenue and jobs to Garland. For example, the City recently partnered with Kraft-Heinz on a $143 million expansion and revitalization project that will create 200 jobs and increase tax revenue. The incentive includes multiple performance requirements, and a portion of the incentive includes funds for façade and exterior improvements to help beautify the surrounding area.

Other growth initiatives include revitalization grants for aging retail shopping centers and improvements to neighborhoods through matching grants and other programs. A façade improvement program was made possible by the 2019 Bond Program to encourage private reinvestment by property owners of aging shopping centers, commercial properties and industrial areas. The North Garland Library and surrounding retail shopping center is an example of this renovation initiative.

Using similar economic development funding from the 2019 bond, the City has also worked to transform spaces such as Fortunate Son restaurant in Downtown Garland. That one investment, along with improvements to the Downtown Square, helped increase sales tax revenue in the area by more than double. The goal is to do more of that across Garland. That's the power of revitalization.

The City's 2025 bond program proposes additional funding to continue these economic development initiatives. To learn more about the 2025 bond election, visit GrowGarland.com.