Jeff Jewell, Director of Economic and Community Development, City of New Braunfels

In an interview with Invest:, Jeff Jewell, economic and community development director for the City of New Braunfels, discussed the city’s growth, workforce needs, infrastructure, and economic development priorities. “Our competitive advantage isn’t that we’re just between Austin and San Antonio. Our real advantage is that New Braunfels is a place that people actually want to be,” Jewell said.

How is New Braunfels’ approach to economic growth changing?

For a long time, New Braunfels and its economic story were about how fast we were growing. Increasingly, the question is what kind of economy we’re building with that growth. We’re moving from managing a significant pace of growth to managing the quality and consequences of growth.

We’re up about 35% since the 2020 census, and we’re still seeing significant private investment in manufacturing, retail, and entertainment. A lot of our residential development has shifted outside the city limits, and the broader San Antonio region has cooled a little bit.

We started a citywide strategic plan in 2024 that connects land use, infrastructure, transportation, housing, quality of life, and economic mobility. We’re also updating our comprehensive plan, which is a high-level planning document that gathers community feedback about what New Braunfels should become. The last time we did it, there were 30,000 fewer people, so many new residents now have an opportunity to help shape how we continue to grow.

Developable land inside the city limits has shrunk significantly. As land becomes scarcer, we’re thinking about what a development contributes and whether it has a long-term impact on value creation, job creation, and sustainable tax revenue.

Which industries are driving investment, and where do you see growth opportunities?

Historically, New Braunfels has been known as a fun place to visit. Most people who have been in Texas for a long time probably have some kind of story about coming here with family or friends. The rivers and Schlitterbahn have been significant economic assets.

We’re shifting toward building an economic environment that is more focused on higher-wage employment. Our economic development strategic plan, Confluence, emphasizes six areas: quality of life, competitive employment space, entrepreneurship, workforce alignment, mobility, and proactive land use planning.

We’re continuing to see investment from advanced manufacturing and automotive technology. Aumovio, formerly part of Continental Automotive, is expanding its existing facility, which opened around 2022.

Logistics, aviation, healthcare, professional services, and technology also fit naturally with our location between Austin and San Antonio and the workforce available along the corridor. Aviation is an opportunity because we have a general aviation airport that has a significant economic impact on the community.

We’re also focused on retention. Our Chamber of Commerce economic development team is constantly meeting with companies and identifying what issues they’re facing, from technical hurdles associated with expansion to finding a trained workforce.

How are you addressing workforce needs as the economy grows?

Workforce is probably the biggest bottleneck to future economic growth in this region. It’s no longer necessarily about attracting companies. It’s about creating a pipeline of trained and capable people and ensuring companies have the workforce they need.

We have natural assets, including our central location, position relative to the Mexico border, Central Time Zone, and access to major population centers within a day’s drive. Those things have benefited the San Antonio-Austin region, and New Braunfels has benefited as well.

A lot of places have land, enough electricity, and the physical assets. What is going to differentiate regions is talent and workforce, so we have to continue investing in that pipeline.

Texas State Technical College opened a facility in New Braunfels, and it has announced that it will build a new campus in Seguin, a stone’s throw from our city limits. We think that’s a significant win for the region and a way to strengthen the workforce pipeline needed to support continued growth. 

Northeast Lakeview College is also establishing a 58,000-square-foot facility here with our help. It has operated in New Braunfels for about 20 years out of the Central Texas Technology Center, and now it is building a new campus.

We’re also focusing on entrepreneurship. We’re potentially partnering with an entrepreneurship development group that would take New Braunfels-based companies through a rigorous acceleration program and connect them with capital. We’re taking more of an economic gardening approach rather than just putting up buildings and business parks.

What are local businesses asking for most today?

Businesses want a stable and predictable environment in which to operate. There are things we can control at the City of New Braunfels, such as having a predictable development and permitting process and timeline.

We’ve taken significant strides in working with people making investments in our community and providing high-touch service to make sure they can get their projects going on time. A lot of these projects are complicated from a development perspective, so regular communication is important.

Businesses also want predictable and affordable utility costs. New Braunfels Utilities, our city-owned utility company, does a great job ensuring the power delivered to customers is reliable and affordable, and that the water resources it has secured continue to be available.

We’ve also moved into some less traditional areas based on feedback from businesses and employers. We’ve heard a lot about workforce participation, childcare, and early childhood education.

From the economic development and city sides, we’re taking a more active role in supporting early childhood education and adequate childcare. We’ve helped launch Early Matters New Braunfels, which is focused on expanding quality childcare opportunities so people have access to childcare and can seek employment.

What infrastructure investments are supporting New Braunfels’ growth?

We had major bond issuances in 2019 and again in 2023 that are focused on community connectivity and quality-of-life investments.

We’re making transportation investments, including Kohlenberg Road and the Common Street expansion. We’re also kicking off a major project downtown that is part of a multiphase approach to addressing drainage and mobility. We’re advancing transportation, sidewalk, and drainage improvements throughout the city and focusing on the West End following a small-area planning effort.

These aren’t isolated projects. We look at utilities, roads, airport investment, and redevelopment as pieces of the same economic development strategy. We have a local community focus, but we’re also taking a regional approach and ensuring New Braunfels is making the investments it needs to connect people to the larger region.

What are your priorities for the next three to five years?

There’s broad consensus around the investments we need to make in our community to improve the quality of life for residents. Quality of place is one of the most important differentiators driving economic development.

New Braunfels is competing for people and talent as much as it’s competing for companies and investment. That’s why we have economic development dollars invested in parks, trail systems, workforce development programs, and other community amenities to make New Braunfels a better place to live. If you have a great place to live, that naturally attracts talent, and companies will want to locate there.

Our Economic Development Corporation has made significant investments in quality of life. The 150-acre Zipp Family Sports Park is a good example of a partnership between our bond program and the Economic Development Corporation. It serves local families and fills a need in youth sports and recreation space, while also supporting regional tournaments and visitor activity.

We’ve also bought about 130 acres of land on the northwest side of town and undertaken a master planning process. We’re continuing to deliver amenities to residents. We’re also looking at preservation projects downtown and working with people seeking to redevelop and repurpose historic sites that have contributed to the New Braunfels economy over the last 100 years.

What gives New Braunfels its long-term competitive advantage?

Our competitive advantage isn’t that we’re just between Austin and San Antonio. Our real advantage is that New Braunfels is a place that people actually want to be.

We need to continue leaning into that and stay true to what New Braunfels has been and what it’s going to be in the future. We’re going to continue investing in the assets that make New Braunfels unique and building the workforce pipeline.

We’re also trying to convert the growth we’ve had into higher-value jobs, unlock strategic development in key areas of town, and keep people at the center of our economic development strategy. We want to serve the needs of people in our community because if they’re able to pursue their goals, that lifts the community.