Dallas Economic Development Corporation outlines strategy, fundraising and hiring timeline

Linda McMahon, CEO of the Dallas Economic Development Corporation, told the Dallas City Council Economic Development Committee on June 11 that the nonprofit organization’s work will focus on business retention, industry-cluster marketing, real estate site readiness and international recruitment.

McMahon said the EDC was created in 2022 and its board approved a strategic plan in December that was reviewed by city staff. She outlined three strategic goals: increase global awareness of Dallas as a business destination; attract and grow businesses, jobs and investment; and redevelop city-owned real estate to maximize citywide economic benefits.

The EDC plans to concentrate industry outreach on advanced manufacturing, life sciences, healthcare, corporate operations, transportation and logistics, energy, technology (including AI and semiconductors), aviation and sports. McMahon said the first commissioned study will assess Dallas’s technology and innovation strengths, with a four-task project scheduled to deliver components from September through the end of the year. She said the work will identify target companies and locations for recruitment.

McMahon emphasized business retention as a priority, saying roughly 80% of new jobs and capital investment come from existing companies. She said the EDC and City Manager Tolbert have been meeting monthly with the city’s top corporate taxpayers and other local businesses, and that meetings so far have included Texas Instruments, Comerica and AT&T. The EDC has implemented Salesforce as a contacts database and purchased a Dallas Business Journal business list to support planned retention surveys.

On real estate, McMahon said the EDC will maintain a city-wide properties database to provide site selectors and brokers with detailed availability and site-specific information and will rely on Downtown Dallas Inc. for downtown building-level data. She described work to consolidate information about southern Dallas sites and said Impact Dallas Capital will fund an eight-month study of Southern Dallas opportunities and lessons from the former GroSouth Fund.

On fundraising and budget, McMahon said the EDC received $7 million from the city, with a pro-rated pre-July 1 spend of about $812,000 and a disbursement of $3.5 million on Oct. 1. She said the organization had about $2.4 million in equity as of April 30 and that hiring delays — tied to finalizing the interlocal roles with the city — and lower-than-expected facilities and database costs have reduced near-term spending. The EDC expects to hire a data analyst in mid‑June and additional business-development, investor-relations and communications staff in the coming months. McMahon said the EDC proposed requesting $4 million from the city in 2027 as part of its five‑year projection but plans to launch a three‑year capital fundraising campaign this fall aimed at raising up to $5 million per year to seed operations.

Council members asked about the EDC’s message to top taxpayers and incentives. McMahon said initial meetings were introductory and intended to convey that the city and the EDC are “here to support you,” asking companies what they need; she said responses were “very enthusiastic.” On incentives, McMahon said the EDC does not control incentive decisions and typically connects companies to city staff and state incentive resources. She said incentives can matter for some deals but that the EDC will emphasize Dallas’s business attributes rather than “leading with incentives.”

Members of the committee, including Mayor Pro Tem Atkins and others, pressed McMahon on southern Dallas engagement, workforce development partnerships with Dallas College and coordination with city departments. McMahon said she welcomes follow-up meetings and is pursuing partnerships with Dallas College, Visit Dallas and others to link workforce training to target industry needs. She also said the EDC will form industry cluster councils and hire an investor relations lead to coordinate fundraising and cluster engagement.

McMahon introduced several board members in attendance and said the EDC would rely on business ambassadors and investor relationships to amplify recruitment efforts. She closed by thanking committee leaders for support and said the EDC would continue monthly outreach with identified top taxpayers and expand business retention contacts.

Ending: The presentation concluded with committee members expressing support for the EDC’s priorities and urging closer coordination with neighborhood-focused employment and real estate efforts; McMahon said she will return with hires, data products and fundraising updates as those items advance.