Round Rock Chamber’s Momentum Quarterly Investors Luncheon

The Round Rock Chamber’s Momentum investors closed out 2020 with an in-person, socially distanced investors luncheon last Tuesday, December 15, at Kalahari Resorts & Conventions. In addition to presenting our year-end results and providing a snapshot of the 2021 program priorities, Momentum investors were joined by guest speaker Dariel Curren, Executive Vice President of Development Counsellors International (DCI) who presented the highlights of DCI’s 2020 survey of corporate executives and site selection consultants on trends in economic development.

View from Corporate America: Trends in Economic Development

DCI is the “The Leader in Marketing Places,” with sixty years of experience in helping more than 500 cities, states, regions, and countries attract business investment, talent, and visitors. Headquartered in New York City with offices in Denver, Los Angeles, and Toronto, DCI specializes in economic development marketing and lead generation, increasing business inquiries for destinations around the globe.

Dariel presented the new “Winning Strategies in Economic Development Marketing” research that reveals how corporate decision makers form business location perceptions and provides insights on best practices in marketing communities during these unpredictable times.

Some of the key takeaways suggest that prevailing pandemic issues are impacting investment plans and the long-term impact remains to be seen; access to talent continues to steer the decision-making process; online and digital media resources continue to grow in importance; and relationship-building is still critical.

To download the full 2020 Winning Strategies report, please click here.

2020 Results and Looking Ahead to 2021

Despite 2020 being a year full of uncertainty, Round Rock continued to enjoy economic development successes that created new jobs and investment into the community. Momentum Chair, Ryan Therrell, reported a total of seven projects announced this year, which equates to 1,115 direct new jobs, and $46 million in capital investment for our community. In fact, the Momentum program contributed to the growth of Round Rock’s economy through an average of seven new projects a year, 6,244 new jobs, and $1.7 billion direct investment since 2012.

A few highlighted “wins” for the community include the grand opening of Kalahari Resorts & Conventions, as well as the relocation of East/West Manufacturing Enterprises, Investex II LLC, Special Products & Mfg., Hubbell Lighting, and a last-mile Amazon distribution center.

The event concluded with a few highlights of what Momentum investors can expect from the program in 2021 and beyond. In addition to outlining business attraction, retention and expansion metrics, the Momentum program will support two key initiatives in the first half of the year. First, the

Round Rock Chamber has engaged with Garner Economics to refresh and update the target industry study originally conducted in 2016-2017. Second, the Chamber will partner with DCI to develop and enhance Round Rock’s external branding, messaging, and marketing initiatives to continue to promote the community as the best place to live and work.

We would like to say thank you to those investors that were able to join us. While it has certainly been an unpredictable year, we would like to extend our gratitude to all of our Momentum investors that help to support the economic vitality and continued growth of Round Rock!

Learn more about the Momentum program.