Big Award & New Successes for Public-Private Partnership Between DeSoto Economic Development Corporation, City of DeSoto, Options Real Estate, and The Industry Hub Boost Shuttered Hardware Store Turned Market & Small Business Incubator.

At one time the future of the large shopping center on Belt Line Road in DeSoto, Texas looked bleak. Their anchor tenant, a 26,000 square foot Ace Hardware Store shut down, and the only option to some was to bring in a dollar store. But City Leaders, their Economic Development Corporation, and forward thinking civic allies teamed up to oppose the dollar store option and, instead, proposed the idea of a market place for merchants with unique items and services and that could also act a small business incubator to “grow” the next generation of DeSoto’s businesses.

Back on June 14, 2019, The North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG), an association of North Texas governments that assists with regional planning efforts, awarded their Celebrating Leadership in Development Excellence (CLIDE) Award for New Development to the DeSoto Market Place for exemplifying one or more of their Principles of Development Excellence. They also declared that the DeSoto Market Place serves as an example of Development Excellence in the North Central Texas Region. And since then the Market Place has welcomed a Vietnamese Restaurant the has elevated DeSoto’s culinary landscape and seen one incubator tenant build on their success and venture out into DeSoto’s business community.

The CLIDE Awards Program, created in 2003, recognizes public and private entities including cities, developers, architects, planners and engineers, to encourage innovative development projects and practices that will help accommodate expected growth and ensure a sustainable North Texas for generations to come.

The DeSoto Market Place houses the Grow DeSoto Market Place (Grow DeSoto) which came to fruition from a first of its kind public-private partnership between the DeSoto Economic Development Corporation (DeSoto EDC), the City of DeSoto, Options Real Estate, and The Industry Hub to repurpose a building once occupied by ACE Hardware in a manner that would benefit small business owners, as well as the community of DeSoto.

The vision of this unique partnership is to provide a lower barrier to entry on the path to entrepreneurship for small business owners. Businesses that lease space within the Grow DeSoto Market Place receive reduced rental rates with all utilities included, a high traffic area that is easily accessible from I-35 and I-20, flexible lease terms, ongoing business training, mentorship, and the resource assistance of the DeSoto EDC, the DeSoto Chamber of Commerce, the City of DeSoto, Options Real Estate, and The Industry HUB. The space also includes private office suites that are available for lease.

Grow DeSoto, which celebrated its grand opening in October 2018, provides shoppers in DeSoto and the region with a wide variety of unique retail shops, services, restaurants, and a full service fitness and rehabilitation center. “The Grow DeSoto Market Place symbolizes the creative rebirth of our small business community and serves as an example to many other cities that the closure of old businesses in a community can present bold new opportunities that can ultimately make a positive difference within a city!” stated DeSoto Mayor Curtistene McCowan. Monte Anderson, CEO of Options Real Estate, added “As I had expected, we have found highly skilled and creative entrepreneurs from the local community. And, at the same time, we recognize that there is still a lot of work to do in developing local entrepreneurs.”

ABOUT DESOTO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

The DeSoto Economic Development Corporation (DeSoto EDC) is a non-profit organization funded by sales tax revenue to foster local prosperity while maintaining an excellent quality of life and minimizing local ad valorem taxation. The DeSoto EDC aims to assist businesses with a seamless relocation assistance process to DeSoto by providing site selection searches, competitive incentives, a skilled workforce and a prime location in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. Whether your company needs a new commercial office building on Interstate 35, a manufacturing facility on a hill overlooking downtown Dallas, a fulfillment warehouse, or a service-oriented facility, DeSoto is the place to build your business, raise your kids, enjoy life and retire in style. For more information, visit our website at http://www.dedc.org.

For more information about the Grow DeSoto Market Place visit http://www.growdesoto.org
For more information about the CLIDE Award for New Development visit http://www.developmentexcellence.com