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<br />.-,.. ,C 0 ,I:: 'U f'1.,'N - . <br /> <br />Bay Area Business In Brief <br />Cities Update Regional Economic <br />Development Plan <br /> <br />p.v TINA LANINGHAM <br /> <br />Elected officials and eco: d 'p- <br />ment professionals from nine ClUes ahu tWO <br />counties within Bay Area Houston gathered <br />for RED CAP day to review the year within the <br />realm of the Bay Area Houston Economic <br />Partnership's strategic plan, The red caps <br />signified Regional Economic Development: <br />Communication, Alignment and Partnership. <br />The five-year plan was developed by munici- <br />pality and business leaders in 2002 and has . <br />been updated annually. <br />Participants of the August workshop at <br />Marker 1 .Marina included representatives <br />from Friendswood, Houston, Kemah, La <br />Porte, League City, Nassau Bay, Pasadena, <br />seabrook, Webster, Galveston County and <br />Harris County. <br /> <br />strategic Priorities <br />Group facilitator Dr. Glenn Freedman <br />reminded municipality leaders that the strate- <br />gic pIan identified economic development <br />priorities as business expansion, fetenuou, <br />recruitment and creation. However, he said, <br />the recent series of focus groups within target <br />industries concluded that less focus should <br />be spent on recruitment and a greater focus <br />on leadership and advocacy. <br /> <br />Economic Drivers <br />Bay Area Houston Economic <br />Partnership President Jim Reinhartsen said <br />the purpose of the event was to identify how <br />to grow regionally. He told the group that if <br />one city struggled, all the cities would strug- <br />gle. Likewise, if one city became successful, <br />all cities would benefit. <br />Jim Reinhartsen identified three eco- <br />nomic drivers that could have significant <br />impacts on the region over the next ten years. <br />First, America's Vision for Space Exploration, <br />which would generate new hum space <br />flight programs at NASA Johnson Space <br />Center. The second would be the emergence <br />of Ellington Ficld as a loint Reserve Base. <br />The third would be the bio corridor develop- <br />ing in Bay Area Houston as a result of the <br />Galveston National Laboratory currently <br />llilder construction at the University of Texas <br />Medical Branch (UTMB). <br />Jim Reillhartsen said the UTMB <br />Galveston National LaboratOlY could have an <br />economic impact on Bay Area Houston equal <br />to that of NASAJohnson Space Center and that <br />each city within the region would have oppor- <br />tunities to recruit business to the bio corri- <br />dor. <br /> <br />The Bio Corridor <br />Friendswood City Manager Ron Cox <br />told the group that cities in the region need- <br />ed an umbrella organization like the Bay Area <br />Houston Economic Partnership to provide <br />advocacy and attract bio companies to the <br />region. The smaller cities, he said, could <br />then gain access to businesses they otherwise <br />would not have had. <br /> <br />{){-!---, 2011 ( <br /> <br />Friendswood Economic Development <br />Coordinator Karen Capps agreed. She com- <br />mented that Bay Area Houston Economic <br />Partnership has excelled at keeping all the <br />cities informed of the status of UTMB, <br />Johnson Space Center and Ellington Field. <br />Nassau Bay City Manager John Kennedy <br />said an urban planning team was in the <br />process of developing "redevelopment" <br />plans. He said even though Nassau Bay was <br />"built out," it had the infrastructure in place <br />to attract the emerging biotechnology indus- <br />try. Kennedy reported that the City of Nassau <br />Bay was trying to position itself to be the per- <br />fect location for what's to come with UTMB. <br />He said the city had installed fiber optics and <br />soon would have freeway access witl! !.~e new <br />NASA Bypass. <br /> <br />Regional Approach <br />Harris County Commissioner Sylvia R. <br />Garcia and Galveston County Commissioner <br />Ken Clark di.'im:;:;eu overall trends in their <br />respective counties. Garcia said that Precinct <br />1\vo was "leading the pack" among other <br />precincts in HarriS County for the provision <br />of tax abatements. <br />Commissioner Clark said North <br />Galveston County was experiencing tremen- <br />dous residential growth and that the trend <br />could continue for the next five to eight years. <br />He said that in League City alone, 1,500 to <br />1,800 homes were being built per year, which <br />created critical infrastructure needs, like <br />transportation, for Galveston Collilty. <br />Clark added that the regionalism creat- <br />ed by Bay Area Houston Economic <br />Partnership had improved Galveston County's <br />bond ratings. <br />The elected officials and economic <br />development professionals who attended <br />agreed that regionalism was necessary to <br />achieve the unique economic development <br />goals of the individual cities. <br />For more irJormztion about t.~c Bay <br />Area Houston Economic Partnership, visit <br />www.bayareallOuston.com. <br />Bay Area Houston is an economi- <br />cally and internationally diversi.fied, high- <br />tech region that is home to NA&4 Johnson <br />Space Center and numemus industries <br />including aerospace, information technol- <br />ogy, biotechnology, maritime and specialty . <br />chemical. <br />Bay Area Houston Economic <br />Partnership is a nonprofit organization <br />that promotes the growth of the Bay Area <br />Houston region through the retention, <br />expansion and recruitment of target <br />industries. <br /> <br />~" <br /> <br />"B 1\'1 7\ -R' 'E' 1\ <br />( f \ ' t/.;;\i l-'\,..' . 1-\ <br />( '\ \,HOi1 1ST,,' ) 1\ f <br />\i-:\\ 'u '., I" <br />~ Dist:over)fulrSpace <br />Explore '\bur Opportunities <br />