The Rockdale Municipal Development District (RMDD) recently approved an updated economic development strategic plan. The first version of this plan was adopted in 2012, right before the closure of the Luminant power plants. This new plan is meant to provide guidance for only the next five years and will be a component of Rockdale’s new Comprehensive Plan.
An economy gets set along a particular path because of population settlement, a dominant industry or an institution. This concept is referred to as “Path Dependency.” Rockdale’s economy was set on a particular path in the 1950s when Alcoa started operations. It takes a lot of effort to break out and forge a new ‘Path’. This plan recognizes current realities and identifies actions, both small and large, to change direction onto a new ‘Path’.
To best understand where we are going with our economic development plan, we must start with the concept of investment risk. Investment hates risk and will avoid it; investment loves security and will flock to it.
Within investment risk are matters of political risk (will the local political climate remain stable?), real estate risk (does a piece of land have any problems associated with it?), workforce risk (will there be enough workers to meet business needs?), time risk (can a project move fast enough to get to market?), operational risk (can a business operate smoothly without interruption?), and financial risk (will it cost more or less to operate in one community as compared to another?).
We need to address these issues of risk before Rockdale can move onto another economic path.
The situation we find ourselves in is that Rockdale presents negative investment risk. Rockdale’s appearance downtown and along East Cameron tells a narrative that Rockdale is a place where people have stopped investing in it. Not having shovel- ready industrial sites creates real estate risk. Not having a local college satellite or workforce training campus presents workforce risk. The old water pipes present operational risk. A few developers/investors have visited Rockdale and said that Rockdale is too risky a community to invest in. The first step in our effort is to reduce the realities or perceptions of investment risk.
This new plan outlines some of the steps your local governments can take to reduce Rockdale’s risk. Many efforts are already underway. The city creating the Downtown/ East Cameron TIRZ is a terrific first step to cleaning up that area to prepare it for private investment. Construction should soon begin replacing the old water pipes. Rockdale ISD is working hard to make the College and Career Academy at the old hospital a reality. Of course, there is the very large industrial park going in at Sandow Lakes Ranch. Further, the Rockdale MDD is working on activating a smaller tract of land for a new industrial park. These efforts will reduce real estate risk.
Ultimately, we are seeking to reduce Rockdale’s overall investment risk and stimulate new investment in town. We have already started this process and there is much more work to be done.
We are going to do great things in Rockdale, Texas!
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