Cleburne economic development director outlines retail strategy, trade-area data and recruitment wins

Joe Fackle, the City of Cleburne’s director of economic development, told the City Council that the department will prioritize recruiting large-scale, capital‑intensive projects that create primary jobs and use data to attract retail, dining and entertainment brands to the city.

Fackle said the department’s strategy begins with retail analytics: retail leakage/surplus studies, trade‑area maps and mobile-device visitation patterns. He said the city captures roughly 18% more retail sales than would be expected for its population and demographics and that one category — building materials and garden equipment — shows roughly $63,000,000 in surplus sales driven by national anchors such as Lowe’s and Home Depot.

“That story is what I’m telling retailers and developers about Cleburne,” Fackle said, describing mobile-device data for a Walmart Supercenter on West Henderson that shows visitors drawn from a wide trade area including Granbury, Burleson, Mansfield and parts of Dallas‑Fort Worth.

Nut graf: The presentation framed retail recruitment as a data problem to be solved, not only by chasing national brands but by matching sites to the trade‑area economics retailers require. Fackle said record 2025 sales‑tax collections and a visible trade area strengthen the city’s pitch.

Fackle walked council members through the common data points national chains require: trade‑area demographics, real‑estate availability and price, visibility and co‑tenancy, competition and cannibalization risks. He described how the city uses mobile-device “home location” mapping (overnight location algorithm) to demonstrate that some shopping trips originate well outside city limits, expanding Cleburne’s effective retail market.

He listed recent openings and developments that bolster recruitment: Olive Garden’s early strong sales; Chipotle under construction on West Henderson; Ollie’s and Big Lots additions; 7 Brew occupying a former Firestone site; Dollar General under construction on East Henderson; and a second local Taqueria Mexicano Grill location. He also said the airport (where he is coordinating with Airport Manager Clinton Tuggle) and civic assets such as La Moderna Field and the John Warren Sports Complex are part of the city’s value proposition.

Fackle said the city collects a 2% local option sales tax, with 1% staying in the city’s general fund and 1% split evenly between the city’s 4A and 4B economic development corporations, and that current sales‑tax momentum strengthens both general revenues and economic development funding options.

He described outreach channels the city will use, including industry conferences run by the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and RetailLive. He said attendance at regional events has already produced active recruitment leads and that he plans continued presence at trade shows. He also described near‑term programs: working with the Small Business Administration and the Chamber’s Hispanic Business Alliance on SBA outreach, exploring reengagement with Main Street programs through the Texas Historical Commission’s First Street initiative, and seeking designation as a film‑friendly Texas community through the Texas Film Commission.

Council reaction was positive. Mayor Cain said the presentation was the most detailed retail‑leakage briefing the council had seen in years and praised the department’s new staff capacity.

Ending: Fackle said he will return with additional implementation details as recruitment opportunities and programs develop, and he stood for questions following the presentation.