The city is providing around $60,000 in assistance by waiving building and permitting fees in addition to a $50,000 tenant improvement grant, per the news release, as long as the company invests at least $775,000 in building improvements. The company plans to invest over $1.3 million in building improvements and sign a 10-year lease for its new office, City Manager Don Magner said.
“By helping with the cost of the tenant improvements, we're making more of these deals viable for property owners from an economic standpoint,” Magner said.
The overview
The move is expected to retain 105 jobs in the city along with adding up to 15 new positions over the next five years, Magner said. The average salary for the new positions will be around $85,000, he added.
“We have been in the city for over 20 years, and it is so exciting to see how the city offers a dynamic business environment, and a community that shares our values and principles,” Childress President and owner Tony Childress said in the release.
The company provides professional engineering services, which is one of the five target sectors of the city’s economic development strategy. Magner said retention of Richardson companies is an important goal for building out the city’s economy.
“We often spend a lot of time recruiting companies here in Richardson,” Magner said. “We like to spend an equal amount of time and energy retaining and helping companies grow.”
Digging deeper
Because of a poor market for commercial office spaces, city officials have developed a three-pronged strategy to address the challenges:
- Strategically examine and redevelop office campuses by bringing amenities to areas
- Work with office property owners to upgrade amenities for existing spaces to turn them into Class A office properties
- Finance tenant improvement grants to help make office deals more economically viable
Looking ahead
Childress plans to use investments in the new office to pay for necessary improvements and specialized equipment, according to the news release.
