FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AllianceTexas shines bright during global economic recession
Economic Report Illustrates More than $2 Billion in Annual Economic Impact; Cumulative Economic Impact to North Texas Region Climbs to $38.5 Billion
FORT WORTH, Texas (February 15, 2011) – Despite national declines in commercial real estate growth during the past four years, the AllianceTexas master-planned development continues to be one of the nation’s leading models for successful public-private partnerships, providing $2.03 billion in economic impact to the Fort Worth region during the recession’s darkest days in 2009. Anchored by the world’s first industrial airport, and serving as a key economic driver for the North Texas region, AllianceTexas’ cumulative economic impact has now reached $38.5 billion.
In a report presented today to the City of Fort Worth, conducted by Insight Research Corporation, AllianceTexas showed remarkable growth in retail and Class A office market segments. Bucking a national trend in declining retail site selection, Alliance Town Center, in north Fort Worth, became home to some of the country’s leading retail brands, including Rooms to Go, Olive Garden, JoS. A. Bank, Kroger Marketplace and Chick-fil-A during the past year. This is in addition to an already impressive list that includes anchor stores like JCPenney, Best Buy, Belk and Sam Moon, among others, which count their Alliance Town Center locations as top national performers.
Alliance Town Center has grown from a taxable base of approximately $1.28 million in 2003 to a value of more than $162 million in 2010. The mixed-use growth center also has generated an estimated annual $2.9 million in sales tax revenues for the City of Fort Worth and has funded regional transportation improvements through TIF 7, including North Tarrant Parkway and North Riverside Drive.
Much of the success at Alliance Town Center can be attributed to the exponential population growth of the surrounding residential area – a direct result of AllianceTexas maturing into a world-class community. According to the Gadberry Group, an Arkansas-based intelligence service and data collection firm, the Haslet and north Fort Worth area is now the second-fastest growing area in the nation, experiencing a 735-percent growth from 2000 to 2010. Keller, another city located in the AllianceTexas corridor, placed third in the study – growing by more than 226 percent during the same period. Together, both areas brought more than 35,000 households to the AllianceTexas region between 2000 and 2010.
In addition to the success at Alliance Town Center, Hillwood completed nearly three million square feet in lease transactions during 2010, including a significant expansion by General Mills, renewals from anchor industrial tenants Texas Instruments/Exel Logistics and LG Electronics, and new leases from companies like Motorola.
A significant Class A office project currently underway is Deloitte University, a 750,000-square-foot training center that will employ nearly 500 workers at Circle T Ranch and provide guest accommodations for 800 (to be completed in 2011). Also under construction is the 262,000-square-foot Texas Health Resources Harris Methodist Hospital Alliance and a 10,500-square-foot HCA Emergency Care Center.
“In the midst of a historic recession, the momentum that we have built during the past two decades has made AllianceTexas’ success an anomaly among the nation’s leading master-planned real estate developments,” said Mike Berry, president of Hillwood Properties. “There are many reasons why we’ve been successful during the worst economic times in a generation, but the single biggest factor is being located in the most business-friendly sector in the nation. Substantial credit goes to our public partners for creating this environment.”
Indicators of this success, cited in the report, include exponential gains in commercial property tax revenues for both Tarrant County and the City of Fort Worth. In 2009, more than $20 million was contributed to Tarrant County, while the City of Fort Worth received more than $21 million. Moreover, total investment during the life of the project reached $7.2 billion, with more than 95 percent ($6.8 billion) coming from the private sector, and only $388 million coming from the public sector – a nearly 20-to-1 return on investment for area taxpayers.
“North Texas has weathered the economic storm fairly well over the past four years, and AllianceTexas has been an important part of that good fortune,” said Berry. “We’ve continued to grow the regional tax base and add jobs, while other communities across the nation have encountered severe budget deficits and near bankruptcies. As the economy begins to recover, Hillwood is poised to capitalize on this continued momentum and take AllianceTexas to an entirely new level. We can’t wait to see what the future brings.”
ABOUT ALLIANCETEXAS
AllianceTexas (www.alliancetexas.com) is a 17,000-acre master-planned community, anchored by the world’s first industrial airport. It consists of the Alliance Global Logistics Hub, Circle T Ranch, Heritage, Alliance Town Center, Saratoga and Monterra Village. AllianceTexas is now home to 257 companies, including 50 from either the Fortune 500, Global 500 or Forbes list of Top Private Firms. These companies have built 31.2 million square feet and created 28,000 jobs.
ABOUT HILLWOOD
Hillwood, (www.hillwood.com) a Perot company, is ranked as one of the top commercial real estate developers in the country and the top residential developer in Dallas-Fort Worth. In addition to AllianceTexas, Hillwood is best known for its development of AllianceCalifornia near Los Angeles and the $420-million American Airlines Center near downtown Dallas.
ABOUT INSIGHT RESEARCH CORPORATION
Insight Research performed the original economic impact report in 2000 and reviews it annually based on new data. Since its founding in 1981, Insight Research has become nationally known for its pacesetting analytical approaches in providing economic, employment, tax revenue impact and cost/benefits analysis. The company’s client list includes the FDIC, the U.S. Department of Energy, the Texas Department of Transportation, Fort Worth, New York and Chicago, as well as Fortune 500 companies, such as 3-M, American Express, AT&T and Dell.
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