Represents City at World’s Largest Retail Conference

The Colony Economic Development Corporation maintained its high profile and busy pace this spring as the organization won state honors as well as represented the City at the most important and largest retail real estate gathering in the world.

The Colony EDC received the 2015 Economic Excellence Award from the Texas Economic Development Council for the eighth consecutive year during the TEDC Spring Conference held June 8-9 in Irving, Texas. The Colony is one of only 22 cities statewide to earn this honor this year.

The award is presented to organizations that demonstrate a high level of achievement in their economic development efforts and a commitment to professional development. Factors cited include The Colony’s involvement with real estate and industry professional organizations; the expertise and training of staff; and well organized and coordinated economic development strategies.

“Receipt of this award is testament to the professionalism and expertise of our staff and volunteers serving on the Economic Development Board,” said The Colony Mayor Joe McCourry. “Working with our City Manager and Council, this team has been extremely successful in bringing new businesses to The Colony.”

This work involves representing The Colony at regional and national events, including International Council of Shopping Centers RECon, the world’s largest gathering of retail real estate professionals.

This year’s RECon was the biggest since 2007 with over 37,000 attendees and close to 1,200 exhibitors. The industry event was covered by 60 reporters from outlets like The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg Radio, Investor’s Business Daily, Forbes and GlobeSt.com.

“RECon is a must-attend event if you are trying to create any type of retail real estate development in your community,” said Keri Samford, Director of The Colony’s Economic Development Corporation.  “In just three days, we were able to meet with numerous shopping center developers, owners, and retailers to ensure that they are aware of the incredible opportunities in our community.”

Participating in TEDC and RECon through the years has proven to be a very viable component of The Colony’s economic development and retail recruitment strategies, notes Samford. “Many of the retail projects now complete or underway in The Colony were sparked through our networking and one-on-one meetings at past RECon conferences, and interest in our community this year was extremely high,” she said.

The brands opening and expanding in The Colony reflect what today’s consumer wants, an experience! Shopping for the home takes on a whole new meaning at the 1.86 million-square-foot Nebraska Furniture Mart, which opened in the 400-acre Grandscape Development in 2015. Owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, Inc., this retail Mecca kicked an already strong market into high gear with additional powerhouse retailers, unique restaurants and entertainment venues like Topgolf; Rock and Brews, owned by KISS front man Gene Simmons; Hard 8 Barbecue; and Lava Cantina, a 28,000-square-foot restaurant and live music depot now underway.

The world’s largest sports store, SCHEELS, will also soon be calling The Colony home. These accomplishments are one reason why The Colony has received a significant level of local and national accolades and media attention.

“These are definitely busy, but exciting times,” said Samford.