Harrison (staff) presented a Retail Strategies report summarizing leads and observations from Retail Live and ICSC attendance and said the firm will provide quarterly market updates and updated demographic data.

Board members praised the level of new information but said the firm’s typical approach—focusing on high‑traffic, second‑generation sites—does not match the district’s priority to recruit unique, boutique businesses for the interior Town Center. Members cited examples from the report: Crunch Fitness had a letter of intent on the Heritage tract but withdrew after H‑E‑B announced a move to Denton; Jersey Mike’s had paused activity pending an acquisition; and brokers or property owners had listed quick service concepts such as Lane’s Chicken Fingers or RaceTrac for the 377/407 Waterbrook corner, which the board said may conflict with the town’s desired uses.

Harrison said Retail Strategies provides useful data and will distribute demographic packages to interested retailers; he described the firm as “kind of like the third party on the outside looking at what's happening” and said staff will ask Retail Strategies to present the annual demographic report at the next meeting. Several board members urged staff to pursue a supplemental recruitment strategy that is far more targeted—calling corporate headquarters or boutique brokers directly—because they do not believe Retail Strategies has the bandwidth to source one‑off or regionally unique tenants.

Members asked staff to return with options: preserve the useful reporting from Retail Strategies while reallocating part of the budget to engage a broker or business recruiter with boutique experience and to schedule a joint workshop with planning and zoning to align small area plans for the 35 and 377/407 corridors. Harrison said small area plans for the corridors are expected by the end of the calendar year and could be the foundation for more precise recruitment.