Austin, TX

Economic Development Strategy (2003, 2006, 2007)

The capital of the State of Texas and its five-county region experienced remarkable growth and economic prosperity in the 1990s, fueled primarily by the expansion of the Dell Computer Corporation and the semiconductor-manufacturing sector. However, the 2001 collapse of the technology sector, and ongoing global outsourcing of high-tech manufacturing, left the region reeling from job and income losses. In response, the area’s leadership retained Market Street in 2003 to develop a holistic strategy for long-term, sustainable development in the region.

With Greater Austin’s powerful local assets, Market Street’s challenge was to leverage the area’s many economic and demographic strengths to determine the most logical and compelling economic sectors for Austin to pursue, the most effective way to utilize the area’s economic development organizations, and also how to maintain the area’s competitive advantages in workforce and quality of life. The four-month process began with detailed economic and demographic research, a competitiveness analysis and extensive public input, and eventually led to the creation of the five-year, $14 million Opportunity Austin strategy.

Opportunity Austin provided the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce with the capacity to build its economic development staff from one person to 14 and to develop regional and national marketing initiatives. Opportunity Austin was hugely successful, surpassing its four-year job and wage projections in only three years.

During the summer of 2006, Market Street was brought back to Austin to conduct a mid-term review of implementation efforts. The review found that the regional economy has continued to diversify and grow in different ways. Significant employment increases in high-wage job sectors reinforced Greater Austin’s ongoing economic recovery and diversification. Ultimately, the review identified adjustments and enhancements in the Opportunity Austin program necessary to keep the region on course for further enhancing its diverse, sustainable economy.

Market Street’s work with Greater Austin continued into 2007, as we were retained to develop the next phase of the Opportunity Austin effort. Launched in 2008, Opportunity Austin 2.0 is a $21 million five-year plan designed to take the region to the “next level” of success. New strategies focus on pursuing greater international development for the Austin region, a more comprehensive emphasis on talent retention and attraction, pursuit of new target sector opportunities, a major effort to address the region’s transportation and traffic congestion issues, and other high-profile activities. In early 2010, the Austin City Council voted to extend its involvement in the Opportunity Austin effort for up to 10 years and $3.5 million.

Austin continues to attract and retain firms in high-wage job sectors. In 2009, VMware Inc. announced plans to add roughly 100 jobs at its Austin location, almost all of which will be professional jobs paying upwards of $50,000 a year. Another technology firm, HostGator.com, announced plans to open an Austin location in July 2010. HostGator.com announced that it will be creating more than 200 professional jobs in the Austin area, which will start at $40,000 and extend to well over $100,000.