The Colony EDC received the 2016 Economic Excellence Award from the Texas Economic Development Council for the ninth consecutive year during the TEDC Mid-Year Conference held June 7-9 in Plano, Texas. The Colony is one of only 33 organizations statewide to earn this honor this year.

“This award recognizes a commitment to professional economic development by City administration, elected and appointed officials, and exemplary professional standards demonstrated by the Economic Development Staff,” said The Colony Mayor Joe McCourry.

“We are very proud that our team has once again earned this honor, as they have clearly 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 with over 37,000 attendees and close to 1,200 exhibitors.

“RECon is a must-attend event for attracting 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 is a large 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.

Award-winning projects the economic development team has brought to The Colony include Nebraska Furniture Mart, anchoring the 400-acre Grandscape Development; The Cascades, a mixed-use development on SH 121; and Austin Ranch, another beautiful mixed use development minutes from SH 121.

With a Retail Trade Area that has almost tripled in 15 years to 155,425, The Colony continues to attract popular brands like Topgolf, Scheels and Galaxy Theater, and unique concepts like KISS frontman Gene Simmon’s Rock & Brews restaurant, Hard 8 Barbecue, and Lava Cantina, a 28,000-square-foot restaurant and live music depot. One of the most recent additions to the retail landscape is The Shacks, a trendy dining and dog park in Austin Ranch that opened to rave reviews.

“The projects we are welcoming complement each other and build on a positive synergy and momentum that has been extremely exciting,” said Samford. “It’s an honor and very gratifying to be a part of The Colony’s Economic Development Team.”