The Temple Economic Development Corporation (Temple EDC) and Workforce Solutions of Central Texas received the Workforce Excellence Award from the Texas Economic Development Council for their partnership on the Santa Fe Business Center: a $9 million, 34,000-square-foot office development that serves as a one-stop shop for all things business development in Temple.
The Santa Fe Business Center houses Temple EDC, the Temple Chamber of Commerce and Workforce Solutions of Central Texas and is part of the $30 million redevelopment of the Santa Fe Plaza, a multi-functional plaza anchored by the Santa Fe Depot. The financing for the Santa Fe Business Center was a public-private partnership. The project leveraged the resources of the combined entities of the Temple Economic Development Corporation, Reinvestment Zone, City of Temple and the Temple Chamber of Commerce with a consortium of 6 local banks financing the project. The regional headquarters of the Workforce Solutions of Central Texas offices as a tenant in the Business Center and pays rent back to the Temple Economic Development Corporation.
“The one-stop shop creates an efficient and easily navigable structure for prospects to maneuver when considering Temple for an expansion or relocation,” stated Adrian Cannady, President & CEO of Temple EDC. “Prospects see the synergy between the partner organizations to serve existing and potential Temple employers and their employees. The Center also communicates a message to the community that these organizations see business recruitment and growth as a team effort.”
The Santa Fe Business Center, combined with the new Temple ISD administrative building, brought almost 300 jobs to downtown Temple. The new jobs moved to the city center increased traffic to downtown retailers and restaurants – creating a lively, dynamic city center. With over $10 million of private investment announced since the completion of the Santa Fe Business Center, private investors are clearly taking notice of the community’s commitment to downtown.
The Workforce Excellence Award recognizes exceptional contributions by Texas communities that implement successful workforce initiatives and are judged on five criteria: innovativeness, transferability, community commitment and leverage, measured objectives, and secondary benefits. “Our Texas Economic Development Council’s Workforce Excellence Award is one of the ways in which our organization honors the outstanding work done by our communities and regions, their leaders, and their economic development professionals in the area of workforce development,” noted Carlton Schwab, President/CEO of the Texas Economic Development Council.
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About Temple EDC
The Temple Economic Development Corporation (Temple EDC) is a nonprofit organization that serves as the designated economic development entity for the City of Temple, Texas. Temple EDC strengthens relationships, builds partnerships, and provides solutions that cause entities to choose Temple. For more information about Temple EDC, visit www.TempleEDC.com.
About Texas Economic Development Council
The Texas Economic Development Council was organized in 1961 and provides information, education and legislative services to its members to foster the expansion of existing businesses, the location of new firms and the development of strategies that promote a positive business climate in Texas. With over 850 members, the TEDC is now the largest state economic development association in the nation.
