Jason Moore, Executive Director, Mansfield Economic Development Corporation

In an interview with Invest:, Jason Moore, executive director of the Mansfield Economic Development Corporation, highlighted Mansfield’s appeal for business expansion due to its growing commercial base and strong healthcare sector. He discussed the city’s initiatives for sustainable development and workforce enhancement, emphasizing partnerships with local educational institutions and plans for Class-A office spaces.

What makes Mansfield an ideal location for business expansion or relocation?

Mansfield is one of the premier communities where people want to live. This attracts companies, as they like having their employees here. With our growing population, we’re also growing our commercial base across all sectors, especially technology and healthcare. Healthcare is our most explosive sector. We have two major hospitals and an emergency hospital, which brings doctors, professional practices, and surgery centers, leading to a healthcare industry boom.

How do you ensure that population growth does not outpace infrastructure?

We focus on those essential services. We listen to residents through satisfaction surveys, and when they express a desire for entertainment and family-friendly places, we pivot resources to attract those businesses. With the support of the mayor and the city council, we’ve prudently managed our resources to meet residents’ goals and support business growth. We ensure we take care of existing businesses and help them expand. Some of our companies have made significant expansions, earning recognition in the Governor’s Cup, which measures expansions and job retention. Companies like Mouser now have over a million square feet of commercial space, providing higher-paying jobs and opportunities for our residents.

What are some recent developments in Mansfield and what’s on the pipeline?

Over the next six months, we’ve got 15 groundbreakings lined up. These projects include revitalizing our downtown with mixed-use developments on parcels ranging from one to four acres, up to the multipurpose stadium project. We’re calling it Staybolt Street, which will include a professional stadium, a family entertainment venue, with a rooftop concert space. We’re also working with a hotel group for a hotel and conference center, along with several partners for vertical mixed-use commercial, office, and residential developments in that 300-plus acre district. H-E-B just opened, which is significant for our grocery sector and will generate more restaurants and retail along our highway corridors. 

What is your assessment of the labor pool in Mansfield and what workforce development programs are in place?

Here’s an interesting fact: 93% of our residents in Mansfield leave the city to work elsewhere. This number might have changed slightly over the last year, but according to our Ernst & Young study, 93% of residents work outside Mansfield. Those who stay are generally in the healthcare industry. So, we import a lot of jobs. Our focus is on bringing in companies that allow residents to stay and work in Mansfield, attracting higher-paying jobs. We’ve partnered with developers to bring Class A office buildings to Mansfield. We don’t have any currently, and there are none south of I-20 in this region. This year, we’ll be starting on one of the first Class-A office buildings, which helps move the ball forward in bringing these types of jobs here.

We’re also working with existing companies to expand their offerings to include engineering and research and development jobs, thus retaining our residents. Our labor force is primarily in healthcare, so we’ve partnered with Texas Tech University Nursing School, which has a campus here in Mansfield, helping to build a pipeline of nursing and other healthcare professionals. We’re also working with our local school district to bring students from Mansfield ISD through the Texas Tech program, enabling them to graduate and stay to work in Mansfield. This cycle of recruitment and retention is a major focus for us.

How do you integrate community feedback and involvement into your projects?

In addition to a community survey conducted every two years, the council has a clear vision encapsulated in the acronym True North: Noteworthy essentials, organizational excellence, remarkable experiences, together as one, and a healthy economy. They have outlined priorities such as building strong neighborhoods and focusing on the future, which fit within these principles. When we receive community feedback, it filters down through this framework. As departments prepare budgets, we ensure each one aligns with these priorities before presenting them to the council. This unified vision allows us to move in the same direction.

How are you integrating sustainability and ESG initiatives into your strategies?

Sustainability is crucial in the development world, especially from an environmental perspective, considering energy costs and responsible development is essential for long-term viability. While we don’t mandate LEED certifications, our subdivision ordinances and comprehensive planning document emphasize sustainable development.

We focus on creating 15-minute cities where residents can live, work, play, stay, shop, and learn all in one place, reducing the need to drive across town. These developments are more financially sustainable for the city, generating more revenue per square foot and more sales tax, which helps reduce the property tax burden on residents. This approach ensures we can fund streets, public safety, and other essential services without compromising.

From an organizational standpoint, we also incorporate ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) and DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) models into our strategies, ensuring comprehensive and responsible growth.

How is the EDC leveraging technology to improve municipal services?

I’m always nervous that technology like ChatGPT might replace me, but in this job, relationships and face-to-face meetings are crucial for negotiations. However, we rely on data for everything. We use the latest technology and applications to back up our data, ensuring it’s reliable and accurate for our brokers and the development community. Training opportunities for our department are always prioritized to maintain the best practices.

What are the biggest opportunities and challenges for Mansfield’s economic development in the next two years?

The main challenge for Mansfield’s economic development in the next two years is the capital markets. With the upcoming election, there’s a lot of uncertainty, causing delays in decision-making. Waiting costs money, whether due to interest rates or construction cost escalations. Even though inflation has dropped a bit, it still affects costs. The good news is that we have enough in our pipeline from a planning perspective.

We’re focusing on due diligence and engineering work so that when the market stabilizes, we’ll be ready to move forward ahead of others. While we have 15 groundbreakings over the next six months, many more projects are in the planning stages. We expect by the end of this calendar year to have a clearer picture of interest rates and capital flow, enabling developers to proceed with confidence. What we won’t do is compromise or take the easy route. If someone proposes building a one-acre site on a ten-acre tract as a quick fix, we evaluate it from a sustainability perspective. If the development doesn’t best serve our residents, we won’t proceed, even if it offers instant gratification for the landowner, developer, or business. We require thoughtful, intentional designs. Not every city maintains such high standards, but we’re known for demanding the best and most sustainable developments.