GrowHays highlights new facilities, housing and a manufacturer expansion that preserves local jobs
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Summary
GrowHays director Doug Williams told the Ellis County Commission the community saw numerous 2025 projects — a new community center and high school, downtown renovations, multiple housing developments — and that local outreach helped keep a medical manufacturer in Hays with plans for further hiring and investment.
Doug Williams, executive director of GrowHays, told the Ellis County Commission on Jan. 20 that 2025 brought a string of completed and ongoing projects that he said are strengthening Hays and Ellis County.
Williams highlighted the Bob and Pachemint Community Center, which opened last summer and is seeing heavy use by seniors and childcare programs, and the new high school, which he said has become a recruitment showpiece for the community. He detailed downtown renovations, multiple commercial projects along North Vine and several campus projects, including a library that opened the same day as the meeting.
On housing, Williams described a mix of multifamily and single-family activity: he cited projects including Michael Graham’s 48-unit development on West 10th Street, Ellis Estates wrapping up its final 42 units, and the Tallgrass addition where the developer has sold the final six homes and plans a 101-lot phase north of that. He said homebuilding remains below local demand and inventories are tight.
Williams also reported a major retention win: after outreach earlier in the year, a medical-equipment manufacturer that had considered moving out of town decided to stay. “We kept 91 jobs in Hays, about 70 over in Ellis,” Williams said, and he said the company committed to add roughly 140 more positions over the next four years and to invest about $6.5 million in capital.
Why it matters: Williams framed the projects as evidence of investor confidence and a means to expand the local tax and employment base, which county officials said helps stabilize property taxes and support services. The update provided the commission context for economic-development priorities heading into budget discussions.
Next steps: The commission thanked Williams for the report and raised follow-up questions on housing mechanics and developer commitments; no formal action was required.