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Economic development director outlines rapid growth, major investments and a $500,000 brownfields assessment grant
Summary
Economic development staff highlighted rapid population and job growth, multiple private investments across industrial and retail sectors and a newly awarded roughly $500,000 brownfields assessment grant to inventory and evaluate contaminated or underused sites.
Caldwell’s economic development team briefed council on a heavy pipeline of private investment and on a new federal brownfields assessment award.
Director Steve (last name not specified) and staff said the city has recorded fast population and job growth; staff cited a 2025 population estimate of about 77,610 and a multi‑year jobs growth figure used in local analysis. The presentation listed a series of large private projects either under construction or recently completed—warehousing and distribution, food processing, industrial expansions and new hospitality and retail projects—and noted a pipeline of industrial and commercial projects totaling hundreds of millions in private investment across the city.
The department announced it had secured a competitive brownfields assessment grant of approximately $500,000 to fund environmental assessments of potentially contaminated industrial or commercial parcels; staff said the grant will be used to inventory sites and support redevelopment planning. The director also described department priorities including recruitment of employers, downtown revitalization and a feasibility study completed for a future innovation center focused on ag‑food processing entrepreneurship.
Financial overview: the economic development department budget presented in the workshop was roughly $497,000. Staff said roughly 85% of that budget is supported by urban renewal / TIF resources, with the remaining funding coming from the general fund and other sources.
Next steps: staff will pursue brownfields assessments with partners, continue retail and industrial outreach, and return to council with details of any programmatic or capital requests.
