News

The Yoakum Economic Development Corporation (YEDC), in collaboration with the Yoakum City Council, has secured the land necessary to establish Yoakum’s second business development park suitable for the location of industrial and manufacturing companies that are key to the community’s long-term growth. The new 60-acre industrial park is located at the major intersection of US Highway 77-A and Farm-to-Market 3475 (Carl Ramert Drive). The park will boast the availability of shovel-ready sites including all the requisite utility infrastructure in the near future. YEDC’s goal is for the location to bring millions of dollars of private investment with stable, well-paying jobs...

  The former president of an East Texas grocery chain once explained how his company chose new store locations. "We looked at the population sign, then we drove around until we found a nice site," he told me. Sometimes it worked out, sometimes not. Today there are economic development tools that help increase the chances of success for new business ventures. A retail gap analysis shows where opportunities exist for new retail business development. It compares what a resident population spends versus what local businesses sell. The difference is the gap.  READ MORE...

Chuck Dart has been tapped to be the new director for Yoakum's Economic Development Corporation, according to a news release from the city of Yoakum. Dart, who was from Ferris, south of Dallas on Interstate 45, had been the director of Ferris' Economic Development and Main Street Division until the end of 2015, according to the city's website. "Chuck is a certified economic developer, a designation shared by the top tier of economic development professionals," said Yoakum Mayor Annie Rodriguez. "His extensive experience in the private sector translates perfectly for our business recruitment plan."  READ MORE...