Since its inception 2\u00bd years ago, along with a change in practice and philosophy, the Fort Worth Economic Development Partnership has rolled out an offense better than most professional football teams.<\/p>\n
Certainly, the data are stronger than anything the Titans can put together. They play in Nashville, right?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Stakeholders gathered on Wednesday at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art \u2014 named for, ahem, The Unexpected City\u2019s original economic development nonprofit \u2014 for the annual update on the progress of strengthening and diversifying the city\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n
Fort Worth, we\u2019re winning. The FWEDP is working. The data and U-Haul receipts all align.<\/p>\n
Since the EDP\u2019s creation \u2014 formed out of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce \u2014\u00a0the city has attracted almost $10 billion in capital investment and 11,000 new jobs.<\/p>\n
\u201cNearly $10 billion flowing into our community, into our economy, building new facilities and laying the foundation for decades of prosperity,\u201d FWEDP CEO Robert Allen said. \u201cThis is a positive change that will impact our economy for the better for decades to come.\u201d<\/p>\n
The progress signals, Allen said, that Fort Worth is firmly on the map for companies worldwide, thanks to its prime location, talented and growing workforce, and business-friendly climate that drives success.<\/p>\n
Siemens choosing south Fort Worth<\/a> for a $190 million tech-manufacturing hub, Bell investing $630 million to build a facility for the MV-75<\/a>, and Wistron wiring $761 million<\/a> and hundreds of new jobs to the area are indicative of the momentum.<\/p>\n And as it concerns peer cities, Fort Worth is leading.<\/p>\n Over the same two-year time period, Nashville, home to the Titans,\u00a0has attracted $5.6 billion in capital investment and almost 10,000 jobs. Jacksonville, on the other hand, has attracted only $3.6 billion and almost 7,000 jobs.<\/p>\n More victories, Allen said, are on the horizon. More likely, imminent. Yet, there\u2019s a lot of game left to play.<\/p>\n Allen laid out an ambitious game plan that would make Amon Carter proud, no doubt. The EDP, he said, has a list of 500 companies that might at some point be ready for a \u201cWhy Fort Worth\u201d pitch. Those companies, of course, are those in the city’s and region’s wheelhouse, including advanced manufacturing, aerospace and defense, mobility and logistics, corporate and financial services, energy, life sciences and biotech, and \u2014\u00a0a more recent development \u2014film and production.<\/p>\n \u201cWe’re going to be proactive, we’re going to be strategic, and we’re going to be relentless in making Fort Worth’s business case,\u201d said Allen, with the same grit and conviction Mick once used to push Rocky Balboa through his trials.<\/p>\n