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Economic development director reports Innovation Fund traction, Plug and Play partnerships and Town Square progress
Summary
Elizabeth Huff updated the council on business retention visits, roughly 20 Innovation Fund applications under review, Plug and Play activity including visitors from Tampere, Finland, and a University of Houston–Sugar Land corporate partnership; Town Square landscaping phase two is expected to be complete by June 8 ahead of FIFA activations.
Elizabeth Huff, director of economic development and tourism, told the council the department’s business retention visits continue and that staff is seeing traction on the Innovation Fund. “We have about 20 now that are in process and under review,” Huff said, adding that not all applicants will qualify but the program has generated interest and some recent media coverage.
Huff described recent publicity in Community Impact and the Chronicle and noted the Innovation Fund has produced combined media impressions and tracking on platforms such as Innovation Map. She said Sugar Land’s Plug and Play collaboration hosted visitors from the city of Tampere, Finland, and that Plug and Play’s local office is now fully staffed; she introduced Carolina Rios as the new full-time director on the Plug and Play team.
Huff also said the University of Houston–Sugar Land has signed a corporate partnership and that the Sugar Land Town Square redevelopment has advanced: major contracts are executed, demolition has begun and phase-two landscaping is expected to be completed by June 8 ahead of FIFA activations at local venues. Huff urged the council and staff to continue sharing marketing materials for the city’s “sweeter with you” campaign.
Her report described outreach and programming (business visits to Sizzling, James Reese Career Technical Center and Boise Cascade) and noted the office’s public-facing marketing and partnership work but did not propose any immediate council actions during the workshop.
