Rick Stopfer, Mayor, City of Irving
Irving Mayor Rick Stopfer sat down with Invest: to discuss the city’s continued success amid regional growth, Irving’s differentiators and plans for success, strategies surrounding infrastructural updates and more. “We will continue to grow, attract businesses and build homes,” he said. “Irving will be even better and more exciting.”
What milestones and highlights have defined the past year for Irving?
We have seen a lot of activity in the city lately, including a successful charter election. There were several issues that we needed to clean up around term limits that were passed unanimously. Our sales tax came in very strong, and we continued to have the AAA bond rating that we have had for many years. We also completed our program, Road to the Future. Over five years we invested: $100 Million, with $20 million to $25 million per year, into infrastructure repair. We also invested about $20 million to $25 million in water and sewer replacement. We sold about $90 million in bonds and a good share of that went toward our infrastructure needs.
As far as the business community goes, we had a great year. Coming out of COVID, Irving is a leading player. We had 45 successful recruitments and 24 corporate relocations, including the fantastic news that Caterpillar made the decision to move here. There are great opportunities for business expansion and retention in Irving. Wells Fargo broke ground on its new regional campus, and companies such as Kelly-Moore Paint and Cacique Foods relocated their headquarters here from California. CHRISTUS Health’s new build-to-suit headquarters expansion is also nearly completed, making it among one of the most recent high-rises built in our urban core in Las Colinas. Additionally, the State Bank of Texas is developing a new headquarters building adjacent to CHRISTUS. Working alongside Hillwood Urban and other partners, Williams Square, our landmark commercial building in the heart of our urban core, was remodeled and ties our Urban Center together. In South Irving, we have great restorative projects that complement development in the area. We had great results with the Heritage Park we redeveloped as well. In the Downtown area in South Irving, we see more retail activity and existing businesses expanding. We are looking at multifamily construction to take advantage of our transit-oriented development.
As a city, we offer a 360, 10-week ambassador program where residents learn about each department within the city. We view our homeless situation differently because it is worsening and working to achieve a different outcome than in the past. We put together a program with the Irving Police Department that acts as a positive outreach program for those in need to help get them back on their feet. To date, it has had great success.
What makes Irving an attractive location for business expansion and relocation?
We are blessed with a great location, as 40% of the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW Airport) is in our city. DFW Airport has been a tremendous asset in attracting and retaining businesses to Irving. We are also located in a business-friendly state that offers opportunities for companies considering Irving. We work within our city and state’s means to best serve our residents’ and business community’s needs. Our relationship with the local and state governments allow us to do what other cities may not be able to do. For example, we are able to offer a variety of incentives to attract businesses. Quality of life is a priority and residents have a diversity of housing stock to choose from. Together with the Irving Economic Development Partnership, we have successfully retained and expanded businesses. In addition, we especially welcome small businesses; we have so many that have less than 25 employees that are crucial to our community and local economy. We recognize and support them in many ways, including through specific programming with our partners at the Greater Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce.
How is your office addressing existing challenges?
Day-to-day operations of the city can be challenging, as we have aging infrastructure that we are committed to addressing. Our city used to be in a floodplain, so there are many flood districts and canals that run through the city. We have taken over 1,000 homes out of the floodplain, so they are no longer at direct risk of flooding. We were recently awarded a $45 million loan to take another 200 to 300 homes out of the plain. While it’s challenging, making sure we have the right infrastructure in place is a priority. Transportation is always a key element in our city with over 270,874 jobs in the city and thousands coming in to work those jobs every day. We recently opened our rail stop at the Verizon Hidden Ridge Development site because of a new headquarters building going in for Pioneer Natural Resources, and that area will continue to grow and attract other corporate headquarters and corporate campuses. Infrastructure is a key component that will determine our success down the line.
Why is it so important for government officials to be active in the community?
It’s important for people to understand what the government does. That was the biggest challenge I faced when I came into office six years ago. We have over 50 languages spoken, 200 houses of worship and every type of food you can imagine available. When I was elected, I asked how I could bring people together and make them feel like they are a part of one community. I spent time with organizations, houses of worship and local international groups to discuss how to do business in our community. We brought our police chief and fire chief to these meetings to help business owners understand why they need occupancy certificates and food inspections. We also have a Shop Talk program where police visit barbers and hair salons to talk to clientele in a comfortable environment and build rapport. We also focus on starting with our youth so they understand that police are there to help them and they feel safe and secure in Irving.
What is your outlook for Irving’s growth in the next three years?
These are challenging economic times with higher interest rates and inflation and labor shortages. The good news is that we have the ability through our outreach and educational systems to help residents achieve what they need to be successful. Our ability in partnership with the Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce to attract corporate offices and local businesses is proven, and the more businesses we attract, the more jobs we can provide. The more jobs we can provide, the better individuals can contribute to their families. This has generational effects, which I am hoping will be the future of Irving. We will continue to grow, attract businesses and build homes. Irving will be even better and more exciting. We also believe Texas is the next big place for biotech and our community continues to grow the industry with a strong stable of companies located, growing and relocating in Irving.
