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EDP annual report: website traffic, 51 BRE visits and 29 RFIs; board accepts presentation with one abstention
Summary
The Denton Economic Development Partnership board received the EDP annual report covering marketing metrics, business retention and expansion (BRE) activity, industrial and office market stats, and a rise in RFIs for potential relocations. The board accepted the presentation; one member abstained.
Jamie Adams, representing the Economic Development Partnership, presented the EDP annual report at the board's April meeting, highlighting marketing growth, business retention activity and a surge in state and regional business leads.
Adams said the partnership's website users rose from roughly 3,200 monthly users in 2023 to about 58,600 users per month in 2024, with average monthly pageviews near 12,000 (an 83% year‑over‑year increase). Email engagement was strong, Adams said, with a 54% open rate and a 16% click‑through rate, both well above industry averages.
Business retention and expansion (BRE): The EDP exceeded its BRE visit target, conducting 51 visits against a 40‑visit goal. Adams said 8 businesses indicated plans to expand, 12 expressed concerns about employee transportation (frequently cited in West Park), and 26 raised workforce development needs. Staff reported they connected 43 companies to university and training partners including UNT, NCTC and TWU and facilitated job‑fair and workforce connections.
Real estate and market numbers: Adams reported office vacancy fell from about 9.3% in Q1 2024 to 7.8% in Q4 2024; asking rents rose modestly (examples cited: market rents in a range reported around $24'$28 per square foot). Industrial inventory reported roughly 24 million square feet with about 4 million square feet available; 2.1 million square feet was built in 2024.
Small business support and downtown priorities: The EDP's funding to the Small Business Development Center supported 67 business starts in 2024, roughly 254 jobs, and 642 unique clients served. Staff summarized downtown work including vacancy management, downtown reinvestment grant activity (four completed reimbursed grants to date), work on a possible downtown public improvement district and coordination on film and music permits and promotion.
Lead generation: Staff reported 29 active RFIs (requests for information) for February and March, 26 from the governor's office and three from the Dallas Regional Chamber; Adams said submitted RFIs had an average capital investment of about $272 million and average job counts of about 313, and Christina Davis converted two RFIs into site‑tour leads during that period.
Board action: The board moved to accept the annual report/presentation. The motion passed; one board member recorded an abstention. The board also approved the minutes from the previous meeting earlier in the session.
Why it matters: EDP staff described higher lead volume and improving market indicators as evidence of increased recruitment activity and community marketing reach. Board members asked staff to add fiscal impact estimates for large leads and to continue developing a CRM and reporting tools that will track prospective tax revenue and job outcomes tied to active projects.
Ending: Staff said the department will return with a water infrastructure update and RFI response guidance at a future meeting and will bring more detailed fiscal modeling on tax base impacts for large recruitment wins.
