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We were thinking as economic developers that companies would put things on hold during an election year. We thought they would take a wait-and-see attitude. But the pandemic started accelerating companies’ decisions.
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— Adriana Cruz, Executive Director, Economic Development & Tourism Office of Gov. Greg Abbott
place to do business. As a result, we are a population magnet.
still going to play a significant role in the Texas economy.
What are you hearing about the office sector in Texas? Will large CBD office buildings in your state return to something close to full occupancy anytime soon?
What’s been happening on the FDI front since the advent of the pandemic?
CRUZ: We believe we will see office buildings in our CBDs fill back up. Commercial real estate contributed $65 billion in GDP last year. Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth are some of the top markets in the country for commercial real estate, along with Houston and San Antonio. We are home to the corporate headquarters of CBRE. HP is building its corporate Headquarters in Spring, Texas. There will be telecommuting for the foreseeable future, but the office is
CRUZ: Texas is very successful in FDI. Site Selection magazine has ranked us No. 1. Houston and Austin are very attractive. Small communities are also seeing their share of FDI — places like Plano and others. Companies from Brazil and Mexico are investing here. We have not been traveling abroad, so we are doing everything remotely now. That gives us a broader reach. We are able to do these Invest in Texas seminars more often now. We are doing them with Turkey, Peru, Panama, etc. We are getting the Texas word out there.
TEX AS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE
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