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Matagorda's Growth Manifested By New Construction
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Although recent weather delayed many construction projects around the area, Matagorda County pushes forward with a continuous flow of retail expansion plans, groundbreaking and grand openings this year.
Residents in both Bay City and Van Vleck may have noticed the construction of the new Pizza Hut and WingStreet on Texas 35 and Old Van Vleck Road.
The current Pizza Hut Restaurant — as well as its neighbor Traffic Jam — will leave its location of decades to make room for several prospective retail clients interested in the mid-town location, said Bay City Chamber of Commerce President Mitch Thames.
“We’re still in negotiations but we have individuals looking at that piece of highway frontage,” said Thames.
Thames said the new Pizza Hut hopes to open its doors in late summer, but recent heavy rains have made the exact date hard to pinpoint.
“The opening date may change by a few weeks but the restaurant is still pushing forward and should show our citizens something similar to the restaurant in El Campo,” said Thames.
Thames said much of Texas 35 will look much different over the next couple of years as more and more businesses and investors flock to the rapidly expanding area.
“We are definitely a county that is in transition,” said Thames.
“You may not see any ‘For Sale’ signs driving down the road, but owners have indicated to prospective investors that the properties are available.”
New hotel and motel chains will fill several open spaces around the county, with La Quinta to begin construction next month, Hampton Inn currently in negotiations and Studio 6 open for business.
La Quinta Inn will be on Texas 35 across from Studio 6 and the Hampton Inn may compete with the Best Western on Bay City’s west side.
The newly formed Matagorda Conventions and Visitors Bureau hopes to find a motel or hotel chain for Palacios, another booming area with valuable waterfront property, said Thames.
Thames said city and county leaders’ are working together to find retail, residential and industrial partners in the county’s growth.
Bay City Mayor Richard Knapik and Community Development Coordinator D.C. Dunham recently joined more than 50,000 people at the International Conference of Shopping Centers in Las Vegas.
Knapik and Dunham worked to recruit businesses for the area such as Wendy’s, Burger King, Lowes and Home Depot.
“It’s a place to meet with developers and take your proposals to them. It’s where we were able to find Chili’s,” said Dunham.
Dunham has recruited several well-known businesses for the future shopping center to be located between Wal-Mart and Ricardo’s Mexican Restaurant.
Shoppers will see Cato’s Apparel, Sally’s Beauty Supply, Game Stop, Hibbett’s Sporting Goods and King Buffet among the line of businesses, said Dunham.
The area near the Wal-Mart Supercenter has been attractive to many prospective retailers, said Thames, due to its location along a major highway and a large shopping center.
Thames said Knapik also is working with drainage district officials to make it easier for businesses to set up shop in Bay City.
For now, any business that buys more than one acre of property for their establishment is required to build a retention pond,
A retention pond is a type of constructed wetland that is used to contain storm water or rain runoff.
The pond provides an area to hold water from a small surrounding drainage area that may flow into other areas and replaces natural processes that may be lost when an area is developed.
Thames said Knapik hopes to limit the number of business that are required to build the ponds in order to save money and make better use of the land.
“A downstream or offsite retention ponds could serve as a viable replacement for requiring businesses to have one beside their business,” said Thames.
The new Wal-Mart Supercenter and Executive Inn both have the ponds beside their buildings.
Thames said economic development leaders throughout the county hope to continue to target and attract new, diverse business to Matagorda County.
“We hope to continue finding businesses that do not compete with our current retailers and fill empty niches in Matagorda County,” said Thames.
“Our citizens are really great about shopping locally and supporting our local economy and we want to help slow down the leakage of sales dollars into other areas.”
By Sarah Wells
Bay City Tribune
Matagorda County prepared to meet population growth
Exelon Nuclear’s announcement Thursday that it is looking at Matagorda County as the primary site for a possible nuclear plant fits right in with plans for growth in the county, said Mitch Thames, Bay City Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture president.
A combined effort by the Matagorda County Economic Development Corporation, Bay City Community Development Corporation, City of Bay City, City of Palacios, Palacios Economic Development Corporation, Matagorda County, and area chambers of commerce is responsible for bringing industry and new business to the county, Thames said.
The plan is to keep bringing in new projects to sustain the growth of previous projects, he said.
If Exelon should decide to build a nuclear plant here, the construction workers who are already in the area working on STP’s expansion project would have another job available that will keep them as residents of the county, said Thames.
Industries targeted for the area are those that will bring good corporate citizens, help maintain the quality of life, create new jobs and pose no danger to the ecosystem, Thames said.
Exelon is a proven company that fits into those guidelines, he said.
“With Exelon, we are looking at the possibility for more thousands of jobs and more housing,” said Bay City Mayor Richard Knapik.
The group of entities began working with Exelon nine months ago when the company was looking at sites in 68 different counties, before they narrowed the decision down to Matagorda and Victoria counties.
“We already knew there was the possibility for Exelon when we started work on the ‘grow your own’ plan,” said Thames. “We knew there would be an even greater need for an educated workforce, especially in power technology.”
An educated workforce, amenities for residents and a good quality of life are the hardcore things we need to have for economic growth and development, Thames said.
As the population increases with the development of new jobs, so will the need for housing.
“I am 100 percent certain we will be able to meet those needs for specialized construction workers here for a short time to permanent employees,” said Thames.
Contractors already have shown interest in building new subdivisions, they are just waiting to know when people will start moving to the area before they begin, he said.
Many existing subdivisions in Bay City have already begun to see growth with new houses being built on vacant lots.
As to if the county will be able to support the increased water, sewer and natural gas needs of a growing population, Thames said that would not be a problem.
Bay City already has a capacity for growth built into its sewer and water system and the areas outside of the municipalities are working on plans for meeting their needs.
“We have a great team in place to handle the challenges — we are up to the task,” said Knapik.
The growth that seems to be coming to the county in a sudden rush is not a result of luck, but of a tremendous amount of hard work, said Thames.
“This has been a team effort with all of the city and county entities working together,” said Thames.
“This is an exciting time to be in Matagorda County,” Knapik said
By Shelly Gormey
Bay City Tribune |
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