The Economic Development Partnership Board on Feb. 2 received an update on the city’s 2020 economic development strategic plan and heard staff describe the status of the city’s Catalyst Fund and related incentive programs.

Board members and staff said the strategic plan—developed with TIP Strategies and guided by five principles including resiliency and inclusive growth—remains the organizing framework for recruitment, business retention and expansion, and affordable-housing coordination. Matilda Wheaton, economic development specialist, told the board, “We are 72% complete with our economic development strategic plan.”

The presentation summarized the plan’s three goals—accelerate recovery, foster growth and strengthen community inclusion—and the SWOT analysis performed during the 2020 process. Staff noted local strengths such as downtown assets, power generation and universities and weaknesses including a shortage of high-end and affordable housing. TIP Strategies’ benchmarking showed neighboring cities using a mix of cash grants, tax abatements, sales-tax rebates, fee waivers and infrastructure grants; staff recommended aligning city policies with the strategic plan and the city’s core values.

Staff said the plan recommended creating a city Catalyst Fund sized in scenarios at about $7 million to $9 million to underwrite incentive and implementation tools. City documents presented to the board show a current Catalyst Fund balance of $4,300,000 and an authorization level of $7,300,000. Staff said the fund has been used to support job-based and expansion grants, and that earlier investment-fund awards were carried forward into the reconstituted Catalyst Fund in 2022. Staff identified Ingentec (presented in materials as the first Catalyst Fund award under the 2022 structure) among funded projects.

Board members debated office-space strategy and whether building Class A office product is feasible in Denton without an anchor tenant. Several members said Class A construction requires rents and underwriting that currently are difficult to achieve locally; one member suggested pursuing a strategy in which a headquarters tenant would make the capital investment while the city supports site readiness and infrastructure.

During other-business discussion, members and outside participants raised implementation constraints that could limit the city’s ability to attract the projects envisioned in the strategic plan. Multiple speakers reported recurring feedback from developers and property owners that water and wastewater capacity in parts of the city—cited areas included West Park, northwest of U.S. 35 and corridors near Loop 288/Mayhill Road—was insufficient or subject to unclear tap approvals. Committee members asked staff to coordinate with city utilities and development services to provide a clear accounting of where there is minimal excess capacity, timelines to address capacity gaps, and funding options to extend service. Board members requested the city departments present the capacity, timeline and funding information at a future board meeting once the departments can prepare detailed responses.

There was no formal action on the strategic-plan update; staff said the presentation was for information and follow-up.

Votes at a glance: At the start of the meeting the board approved the minutes from January on a voice vote; the motion was seconded by Rick and carried with all seven members present saying “aye.”

What’s next: Staff will follow up to schedule a utilities- and development-services presentation when departments can provide prepared engineering, capacity and funding details; staff also noted the strategic-plan dashboard and quarterly reporting are available on the city’s economic development web page.