On July 13, Livingston gave a presentation on League City’s employment status, economy and development projects in the works.
According to Livingston’s presentation, League City’s unemployment rate as of May was 3.75%, nearing the 3% rate from February 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic began. Additionally, he said League City saw an increase of 602 jobs between March 2021 and March 2022.
“The difference between 3.75% and 3% is pretty negligible. An unemployment rate of [3% or 4%] is really tight, so we're not hurt,” Livingston said.
Livingston said over the 12-month period from July 2021-June 2022, League City added 172 new or expanding businesses, with 14 more in the approval process, as well as a growth in sales tax by 11.02%.
In terms of development, Livingston announced the 177-acre FlyWay at Clear Creek mixed-use development project in the neighboring city of Webster broke ground.
Hotel and indoor waterpark Great Wolf Lodge will be part of the FlyWay development, set to open in the first quarter of 2024, according to the official website. This and an American Furniture Warehouse leaves 120 acres of development space left for the project.
“All economic development is regional; all economic growth is regional. So sometimes we'll call it coopetition. We cooperate and we compete,” Livingston said in regard to the “both sides of the creek” rivalry between Webster and League City.
Livingston also discussed details on the downtown League City revitalization project focused on League Park. This includes new landscaping and decorative lighting in the park as well as connecting some of its trails. He indicated in the presentation that the park’s trees and gazebo would be protected.
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The City Council intends to wait for additional private commercial investment on the Main Street area before continuing to invest large sums of money into the Main Street corridor. The downtown revitalization project has been a focus for the city since 2016.
