Marble Falls' Growth Leads to Multiple Community Developments

Like most communities, Marble Falls has commercial and industrial land that is available for development. The town of just over 7,500 also has reasonably good transportation infrastructure and proximity to large urban centers like Austin (60 minutes away) and San Antonio (75 minutes away). The area can start claiming some advantages as a scenic lake town in the Texas Hill Country, popular for retirees and tourists alike, with recent growth creating new opportunities in the healthcare, light manufacturing, and professional office sectors. Being a regional shopping hub for more than 117,500 people has helped Marble Falls weather the current economic storm very well—in fact, monthly sales tax allocations have averaged more than 20% growth over the prior year.

What sets Marble Falls apart, however, now more than ever, is the community’s small-town values coupled with its welcoming attitude toward newcomers. Those who are buying land in the Business and Technology Park are coming from nearly everywhere. The community supports law enforcement and first responders, holding multiple events every year to honor their service. The Marble Falls Independent School District is the area’s largest employer, so teachers, administrators, and other support staff provide a strong foundation at all levels of the workforce.

Roughly 100 businesses open or expand annually in Marble Falls, with about 70% of those being locally-owned and operated. The Downtown area in particular has been a major contributor to that growth. Professional offices and small headquarter facilities are well-situated here with proximity to quaint shops, great restaurants, and amazing park space. People are realizing that, if they can work from anywhere, they want to work from Marble Falls.

New subdivisions like Gregg Ranch with 707 lots-currently in phase IIand Thunder Rock with 1,870 lots will support recent developments that include Baylor Scott & White’s $100 million regional medical center, a 110,000-square-foot H-E-B grocery store, and a $20 million operations center for Pedernales Electric Cooperative. There are also several medical office facilities and a new family entertainment center that just opened, and the development pipeline includes some exciting retail opportunities such as the 114--acre Legacy Crossing, 40-acre Flatrock Crossing, and the 10-acre Panther Hollow Village. Also in the development pipeline are several multi-family properties with 1,000+ combined units and a public/ private Downtown hotel and conference center project slated to break ground summer 2023.

While the emergence of Marble Falls as the retail and entertainment hub of the Highland Lakes area is a relatively recent development, the community’s draw for generations has been its connection to the outdoors. Beautiful Lake Marble Falls is ideal for skiing, kayaking, canoeing, and paddleboarding, and the Downtown parks along the waterfront are continually enhanced by a $25 million improvement plan that began in 2019.

Marble Falls is already a special place, and community leaders are focused on making incremental improvements to a few areas while maintaining momentum in others. When it comes to new businesses, size and fit are critical considerations. Small- to medium-sized companies will likely have an easier time with real estate and employment than very large firms— and the community likes it that way. If the prospects of a charming small town with steady, manageable growth and a surprising set of amenities sounds appealing, give Marble Falls a shot. Whether your interests lead to a greenfield development in the Business and Technology Park or the restoration of an historic downtown structure into a live/work/shop space, opportunities abound in Marble Falls. For more information about investing in Marble Falls, contact Christian Fletcher, Executive Director of the EDC, at 830/798-7079 or cfletcher@marblefallseconomy.com.

A small town with big potential. Beyond our booming economy, you’ll find landscapes filled with adventure, food flavored with goodness, and new Texans falling in love with life. Unlock your potential here.