News and Resources

The Bastrop Economic Development Corporation on May 4 hired Genora Young as its interim director after the corporation’s board two months earlier fired its chief executive officer without cause. The board on Monday ratified Young’s employment contract at its regular meeting. “We are incredibly fortunate to have Genora stepping in to lead th...Continue Reading

Bastrop enjoyed a 45.5% boost to its sales tax revenue this month, collecting $302,586 in additional revenue compared to May 2020, state comptroller data show. The city received $967,408 in sales tax revenue this month. Last May, Bastrop received $664,822 in revenue.  So far this year Bastrop has collected $3.88 million i...Continue Reading

The Texas General Land Office last week approved more than $28 million to improve flood mitigation infrastructure throughout Bastrop County.   The GLO announced the grant awards Friday morning to fund street and drainage improvements in the cities of Bastrop, Elgin and Smithville. These flood mitigation projects are designed to “directly benefit thousands of resident...Continue Reading

These new Central Texas neighborhoods will feature modular homes that can start as low as $150,000 — and be added on to over time to become a million-dollar residence. See the designs and read about the developer behind the plan, as well as other companies cashing in on the trend...Continue Reading

Build it and they will come? More like they are coming, and it can’t be built fast enough. Homebuilders are hard-pressed to keep up with demand for new houses, resulting in skyrocketing prices across the state. The median home price in metro Austin, for example, hit $425,000 in March, an all-tim...Continue Reading

Governor Greg Abbott today invited all Texans to celebrate the unique role small businesses play in the economic resurgence in communities throughout the state of Texas as he issued a proclamation officially designating May 9–15 as Small Business Week in Texas. “An amazing 99.8% of businesses in the Lone Star State are smal...Continue Reading

The Texas economy continues to recover from the impacts of the global pandemic and remains one of the strongest and most diverse economies in the nation. Below is a snapshot of the state's economic status. Click here to view the snapshot.Continue Reading

The sixth annual National Economic Development Week is May 9-15, 2021. National Economic Development Week was created in 2016 by the International Economic Development Council — the largest professional membership organization for economic developers — to recognize the unique role that economic development has in creating flourishing communities with stron...Continue Reading

Bastrop is one of the fastest-growing communities in Central Texas. The city’s growth has been on the radar of Austin Regional Clinic (ARC) for several years, as patients and staff alike have voiced their desire for a location closer to home. After careful study, ARC’s leadership chose a convenient location of...Continue Reading

The challenges faced in 2020 were unlike any other confronted in our lifetime. The global pandemic wreaked havoc on our personal and professional lives and the U.S. and global economies. The Commerce Department reports that U.S. GDP declined 3.5 percent in 2020, with the economy falling into recession in February 202...Continue Reading

While the $2.9 million Downtown Bastrop building set to house the Art Institute of Austin at 921 Main St. has been completed, the Art Institute is still in the process of moving in, according to Bastrop Economic Development Corporation officials. In-person classes at the building, which were previously estimated to begi...Continue Reading

Judging by the number of e-commerce and health-related facility investments all around us in this pandemic year, you’d expect those categories to vault to the top of any global ranking by industry sector. They didn’t quite reach the summit, but logistics (+19.3%) and life sciences (+12%) show the biggest — an...Continue Reading

Jonathan Webb’s quixotic dream is coming true. AppHarvest, the ag-tech venture he founded four years ago in Kentucky coal country, went public in February after shipping its first consignment of beefsteak tomatoes weeks earlier from what is North America’s biggest greenhouse. AppHarvest tomatoes now are available in chains such a...Continue Reading

AUSTIN —Texas is addressing power, water, broadband and transportation infrastructure to ensure it can support rapid growth in the future, Gov. Greg Abbott assured global business decision-makers Wednesday at a fireside chat sponsored by the Texas Economic Development Corp. The primary infrastructure issue facing Texas today is the electrical grid, sai...Continue Reading

After nearly a decade, Bastrop has reinstated its Heritage Bench Program which allows residents to purchase a plaque to adorn benches in the city's Main Street District with their names or messages.  After first selling plaques in 2012 under former Bastrop Main Street Manager Nancy Wood, the program has returned after the Main Street Rehabilitatio...Continue Reading

The city of Bastrop broke ground on its $32.6 million wastewater treatment plant on March 26, paving the way for a new facility that can process up to 2 million gallons of wastewater per day. “The need for wastewater expansion has been known for a very, very long time,” Mayor Conni...Continue Reading

If Texas were a country, it would be the 9th largest in the world. We achieved that incredible statistic through a diverse economy, teamwork among our economic developers — and the second largest workforce in the nation. At 14 million strong, our skilled workforce is a key factor in Texas’ rapid growth an...Continue Reading

Governor Greg Abbott held a press conference at Hamshire-Fannett Elementary School in Beaumont on expanding broadband access across Texas. The Governor was joined by Speaker Dade Phelan, Representative Trent Ashby, and Hamshire-Fannett ISD Superintendent Dwaine Augustine to discuss the importance of reliable broadband for education, business, and health care. Representative Ashb...Continue Reading

You want to dip into the remote workforce honey pot, so here's what you need to start doing to attract remote workers today! Remote workers balance out the economic climate for communities, bring in new skillsets to the local workforce, grow the tax base, and reduce the carbon footprint by eliminatin...Continue Reading

All over the world, entrepreneurs are turning to a powerful tool to improve their efficiency and raw output: automation.   Often hailed as the ultimate weapon for increasing productivity, automation certainly has a lot of advantages. But it’s not guaranteed to be effective. In fact, when used incorrectly, automation can end up workin...Continue Reading

This year, many eager new entrepreneurs are ready to hit the ground running with their startups and hopefully experience a year less challenging than the previous one. When launching a new business, it’s important to consider what business tools and core essentials small businesses need in order to thrive in today’s "new normal." ...Continue Reading

It’s been one year since the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a pandemic, forcing companies across the country to close their office doors. Today, nearly half (47%) of American employees are currently working from home at least part of the time, according to a study by Glassdoor. As vaccine production and distributio...Continue Reading

These 7 brilliant ways to grow your remote workforce will help you reap the benefits of the work from home movement! The advantages of a remote workforce for workers, employers, and the towns and states they reside in are many. TAP INTO THE WORK FROM HOME MOVEMENT 70% of the American workforce i...Continue Reading

Here are five things in technology that has happened and how they affect your business. Did you miss them? 1—Google Workspace is adding new features to help remote workers.    Google recently added some new features to Google Workspace in order to help those working remotely collaborate and improve their workflows. Some o...Continue Reading