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markjoeckel · 7 years ago

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Top Stories In DFW for 2017 by O.K. Carter

POPULATION UPSWING…The trend line is for a booming North Texas, NTCOG predicting annual population growth of just under 3 percent in the 10-county core to more than 9 million by 2030. That’s 1.5 million new households with 4.0 million people in those households, and 2.3 million non-construction jobs. The 16-county North Texas region is anticipated to add 1.6 million households with a corresponding 4.1 million people and 2.3 million non-construction jobs. This is a magnitude of growth never before experienced in the North Central Texas region and really is the BIG news story, though it’s kind of a stealth development. Baby boomers age out but seniors will be 13 percent of population by then in a generally highly more diverse environment with a much larger Hispanic population.

HOT COUNTIES…Meanwhile the Census Bureau tells us that Collins and Denton counties will be the fastest growing counties in the USA in 2018 and probably 2019 as well. If you drew a dot in the middle of the population center in North Texas five years ago and then drew the dot again today it would be obvious that the midpoint is moving steadily north, as is the level of affluence.

Interesting side note…Dallas economic development strategy is to create amenities to resist suburban flight even as Fort Worth’s brand new economic development plan frets about Cowtown become a “suburb” of Dallas.

BUT RIGHT NOW….Arlington winning regional economic development kudos, at least for the time being. 2017 was a YEAR to BEAT ALL YEARS for the nation’s most populous mid-city. The list: Groundbreaking of a $1.1 billion retractable-roof Texas Rangers ballpark that will draw tens thousands of fans to the Entertainment District year-round… also saw construction start of a $150 million Texas Live! By Loews flagship hotel and convention center. Positioned between AT&T Stadium and the future Globe Life Field, opening 2019…General Motors Arlington Assembly Plant, which is undergoing a $1.4 billion expansion to meet the global demand of their full-size, sports utility vehicles, celebrated a major milestone as its 11 millionth vehicle rolled off the line…the opening of 700,000 square feet Summit Racing giant store and warehouse with several hundred new jobs…United Parcel Service to open a 1.2-million square feet regional hub in early 2019, a move that would bring an estimated 1,400 full-time jobs and fill one of the city’s largest warehouse/industrial spaces. UPS a Fortune 500 company as is home builder D.R. Horton, which now has a sleek new six-acre campus headquarters with more than 400 employees just north of I-30.

Other economic development winners include in a big way, Westlake and in a smaller way nearby Roanoke… San Francisco-based Charles Schwab (NYSE: SCHW) will soon open up a massive operations center on a corporate campus planned adjacent to Circle T Ranch, a 2,500-acre mixed-use, master-planned development in Westlake, a 1.2 million square feet facility in half a dozen new buildings on 74 acres.

Little Roanoke (used to live there) has been cunningly efficient in restaurant development, even the legislature naming the city as “The Unique Dining Capital of Texas.Though only 5.3 square miles in size, Roanoke boasts more than 50 restaurants, putting it on par with cities five times its size. New include chef Erin Miller’s The Wharf Steak and Seafood, others likeOak Street. Craft & Vine Taproom & Eatery, Foster’s Sushi/Seafood Bar & Grill and Wise Guys Pizzeria.

BIGGEST ECONOMIC DOWNER… In a move that delivered an economic gut punch to Fort Worth, Exxon Mobile Corp. announced in June that it will relocate about 1,600 jobs in its Fort Worth-based XTO Energy division to the Houston area over the next three years. XTO had been a key player in developing Fort Worth’s place in the shale revolution taking place in the energy industry. On the upside, the move also means six of the seven buildings XTO owns in downtown Fort Worth are now on the market, of which there is a severe shortage.

MOST EAGERLY AWAITED NEWS…where will Amazon put its new regional facility, itself a provider of about 50,000 new jobs and $5 billion new development. North Texas is in the running at multiple locations…any such location would be a major regional victory…announcement expected as early as next month.

PENSION FUND WOES…Clearly there were more trends in news than economic development….biggest story for Dallas was the pension fund dilemma for police and fire department. Dallas (second worst ratio in nation) and Houston both had major shortfalls for different reasons…Tex Leg had to face the issue, idea being to gradually increase contributions and also move control back to the cities. Issue not over as everybody seems to want to kick the proverbial can down the road. By the way, FW pension funding has some issues as well, though not as troubling.

SCHOOL BUSES…Dallas County voters decided "against" school bus provider Dallas County Schools in November, voting to shut down the 171-year-old agency with 58 percent of the vote. Leaving dependent school districts scrambling to come up with solutions….more evidence privatization not always a solution. Dallas Council talking about diverting part of 1 cent mass transit sales tax to pension fund, making DART really nervous.

POLITICAL SCANDAL OF THE YEAR….6th Cong. District U.S. Rep. Joe Barton caught up in the “Me Too” tidal wave…announces retirement…12 GOP, 5 Dems.

TOLL ROADS….Everybody hates them, including the Legislature… Several big tollroad projects have been stalled….state increased highway funding and shot down a house bill that would allow the TXDOT to partner with private companies. This is about 20 big roadway projects including the stretch of Interstate 35 through Austin, LBJ Freeway in Dallas and its eastern suburbs, Interstate 35E through Denton County, Interstate 45 in Houston and Loop 1604 in Bexar County. TxDOT tried already to get around this with some accounting gymnastics but got stern message from Gov…TxDOT notorious for doing its own thing. Backed off tollroads. Now what?

SPORTS….we are obsessed and why not…Big area topics include Zeke Elliott’s suspension, TCU’s brief sojourn into top 10 football (still top 20), Alamo Bowl vs. Stanford…arrival of Froggies in basketball’s top 20…Departure of Yu Darvich from Rangers…good news for Darvich was that he was in the World Series…Bad news is that if there was a vote for least valuable player he’d have won it…he’s now a free agent.

Biggest event showing greatest Metroplex Heart…Harvey relocation to North Texas…southeast Texas coast experienced a disaster when Hurricane Harvey, the first major hurricane to make landfall in the United States in more than a decade, made landfall as a Category 4 storm, destroying 6,000-plus homes, overturning vehicles and sinking boats, severing power lines, and forcing tens of thousands of residents to flee. Thousands came to North Texas. So much so that coalition of mass care partners had to be pieced together in days. United Way, American Red Cross, Salvation Army, North Texas Food Bank and others.

Biggest new evolving story first half 2018 not counting Amazon…same Arlington leaders (Kelly Canon et al) who killed red light cameras in Arlington launching petition campaign in Fort Worth to force election there. FW issued about 280,000 red light violations this year, fewer than half of which were paid…city still took in $2.8 million��ticket is $75

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