155: Building Cedar Park's Future with Arthur Jackson

In this episode of the Econ Dev Show, host Dane Carlson sits down with Arthur Jackson, Chief Economic Development Officer for Cedar Park, Texas. Arthur shares his unexpected path into economic development following a layoff from a sales director position, leading to his role with the Austin Chamber and eventual leadership in Cedar Park. Through their conversation, Arthur reveals how his sales background enhances his economic development approach, emphasizing the importance of listening and resilience. He also showcases Cedar Park's impressive achievements as the safest and most affluent city in the Austin area, while discussing the delicate balance of regional cooperation and local development in the greater Austin metroplex. Cedar Park is undergoing a remarkable transformation. Under Arthur’s leadership, this rapidly growing suburb of Austin is attracting innovative businesses that are transforming the tech, aerospace and clean energy industries including rocket tester Firefly, Hyliion, which provides clean, flexible and affordable electricity production., and Hanyang. Cedar Park offers space, affordability and access to talent while capitalizing on its proximity to Austin. The City is also attracting talent and providing enhanced livability to its residents by investing in itself. Cedar Park, which was incorporated about 50 years ago, has 80,000 residents and experienced 44.2% growth in the last population Census, but it never had a downtown or gathering place. The City’s approach to community development was to bet on big-box retail, a minor league sports and event arena (HEB Center), hotels, and 31 miles of trails and parks, along with housing. This presented an opportunity to build a modern-day downtown with resident buy-in. Cedar Park is currently building its first downtown with the Bell District—a $750 million development anchored by a $31 million state-of-the-art public library that opened this November. Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Special Guest: Arthur Jackson.