The 240 jobs are a fraction of the 1,168 jobs created since 2011, Violette said.
“Tomball is an interesting case study with regard to economic development because of our size [and] because of the ability of our community to attract some of these users; it’s not the norm, we’re in a very special situation,” Violette said.
Some of those jobs came from Tomball’s Business and Technology Park, according to the presentation. The park has created 362 jobs since its inception in 2016. Violette said the park was voted No. 10 in the top 10 industrial parks in the country in 2021.
“There was a void. We didn’t have an industrial park like that in this area, and it was really a challenge in trying to respond to some of these leads and attract some of these businesses, because one of the first boxes on there is ‘in a business park.’ ... There was nothing like this in this area,” Violette said.
She said the TEDC sold three lots in FY 2021-22 totaling $1.7 million. There is one lot left for sale that is 18 acres, and the TEDC is waiting for a larger user despite interest to subdivide it.
In addition, Violette said the TEDC had $1.1 million in total project capital investment. This included assisting 36 businesses with property, landscape, facade and signage improvement projects. Some of the businesses that benefited were the opening of Aloha Beauty Lounge, a salon and training facility relocating in Tomball, and the renovation of The Book Attic.
“This [The Book Attic] is a really neat example of them utilizing our facade improvement program to not only improve the existing building but then add on new additional space,” Violette said.
