Rick Stopfer, Mayor, City of Irving

Invest: spoke to Irving Mayor Rick Stopfer to discuss the city’s unique qualities, recent developments, and near-term plans. Stopfer highlighted Irving’s commitment to economic growth, community well-being, and embracing diversity, providing insights into the city’s strategies for maintaining a high quality of life amid rapid growth and change.

What makes Irving stand out as a unique city in Texas?

What really sets us apart from other cities is, first and foremost, our “can-do” attitude. We believe that speed to market is more important today than ever before. It’s always been crucial, but now decisions are made much faster.  Our success is also a combination of other factors: business, education, healthcare, and our collaboration with various schools and universities. We are committed to working together to provide the next job opportunities and to feed the talent pool. We’re also leveraging our resources and working closely with great companies, community leaders, our education system, economic development initiatives and city infrastructure to create jobs for the people who live and work here and ensure they have an outstanding quality life. This is just some of what Irving-Las Colinas brings to the table — an excellent quality of life built on those components.

What have been some of the significant initiatives implemented and the milestones or achievements you’re most proud of?

This year, we’ve had several great opportunities in economic development, such as the new built-to-suit CHRISTUS Health headquarters and Wells Fargo’s 22-acre campus that will feature two 10-story, 400,000-square-foot office towers and include numerous lifestyle amenities. We also focused on the city as a whole. For example, we identified the need for grocery stores in our southern sector and successfully brought in an Albertsons there and have also recently announced new H-E-B and Joe V’s Smart Shop locations, both of which will serve our residents and neighbors from nearby communities. Additionally, KDFW-TV, which most people know as FOX 4,  announced it is building a brand new studio and content creation facility at Highway 114 and Royal. 

We’re ensuring we have the right opportunities and addressing key initiatives like public safety. We’ve worked diligently to ensure our police officers, firefighters and ambulance drivers are among the best, moving their pay to the 80th percentile to attract top talent. 

Regarding the homeless community, we realized that addressing this issue requires a different approach than simply having police or authority figures tell people to move. We have expanded our mental health team, now comprising four individuals, who work on calming situations involving domestic violence, homelessness or other crises. Our homeless task force sees 500 to 600 people monthly, helping them improve their conditions. We’ve also addressed affordable housing by partnering with organizations like Operation Finally Home and Habitat for Humanity. Through our downtown redevelopment projects, we’ve ensured a certain level of affordable housing is available.

I’m proud of how we’ve tackled these day-to-day issues, many of which are often overlooked in cities, and our collaboration with the community and our corporate partnerships have also made a significant impact.

Finally, we’ve also made significant strides in infrastructure, continuing our road programs, adding sewer systems, and maintaining our 100-year-old city’s infrastructure for today and the future. 

When you ask what I’m most proud of, it’s a combination of everything I believed in when I became mayor. It’s about building from the ground up — our infrastructure, our education opportunities, and our people and business communities all working together. With the right infrastructure in place, our community has the opportunity to offer quality education and training experiences,  providing the skilled employees needed to keep Irving-Las Colinas  thriving well into the future.

How is redevelopment transforming the city, and what strategies are in place to balance growth while maintaining quality of life for residents?

The challenge for us in Irving is that we only have about 4,000 acres left to develop, which makes how we develop them crucial.  For example, at the former Texas Stadium site, we’re focused on creating a quality product for the future, including mixed-use development with housing, retail and a live-work-play environment.

The site is equipped with its own flood district, which oversees drainage, an essential component given that much of Irving was once underwater. We’ve collaborated with three major landowners to ensure the development meets high standards and best serves our residents, our community and our region. We’ve also aligned the DART light rail to include two stops in the area, and we’ve focused on road infrastructure, particularly around three major intersections, to open up the land for development. This year, we completed a major interchange, a significant milestone for the project.

Our goal is to ensure that the area is well-connected by road, rail and other forms of transportation. As the Texas Department of Transportation moves off the site, we’ll continue developing the necessary infrastructure — water, sewer, roads and a central road connecting key areas. The future development will be guided by a design team working closely with the three major landowners to create a sustainable and vibrant community, including 200-300 acres of green space along the river with recreational opportunities that maintain the natural environment.

How do you anticipate the Silver Line will impact the city?

While the Orange Line runs directly through our area, the Silver Line will be slightly north of us, but it offers another connection to the airport. One of our challenges is moving people across the area efficiently, especially since Texans are often reluctant to give up their cars. Anytime we can create a transportation system that reduces reliance on personal vehicles, it’s beneficial. 

In Irving, we have a population of about 250,000 but over 200,000 jobs, with about 150,000 of those being filled by people commuting into the city regularly. So, transportation that connects people to jobs is something our city recognized as crucial early on and something we’re still very much focused on today. 

How are you adapting to the changing demographics and new needs of residents as the city grows?

Irving is a fascinating city; I’ve seen it change a lot in the seven years I’ve been mayor. Our demographics have shifted significantly, with about 45% of the population now Hispanic, another 24-25% Indian or Asian, and 18% African American. This diversity brings a variety of traditions, beliefs, and religions, making it an exciting place to live and lead.

We have over 200 houses of worship in the city, reflecting our diverse religious landscape. For example, we have five mosques, each different from the other, and temples for our Hindu  and  Buddhist communities among others . This diversity extends to our festivals, foods and cultural events, where residents and visitors to our city can experience the richness of different traditions.

One of my greatest joys is participating in these cultural events, whether it’s the Colombian Festival, Hispanic Day of the Dead, Diwali Annakut, Ganesh Utsav or through wedding invitations. These experiences unite people despite our differences and help us understand each other better. Irving’s diversity is one of its greatest strengths, which we actively embrace and celebrate.

What’s your outlook for the city of Irving and the DFW region?

The diversity of people coming into our area brings together different cultures, creating something truly amazing. This diversity challenges us to look at things differently, which is essential for long-term growth and success.

The DFW metroplex has a bright future, though we will face challenges due to rapid growth. However, the opportunities for this generation and the next are tremendous, and I believe the innovations and advancements we see will position us at the forefront of many new developments.

As for my priorities, I have less than two years left in my term, and my focus will remain on infrastructure — water, sewers, streets, police, fire, education – and, as always, job creation. From day one, my goal has been to create as many jobs as possible because quality jobs offer unlimited opportunities for people and their families. For the remainder of my term, I’ll continue working to attract new businesses, expand small businesses, support education and ensure we have the resources that continue Irving-Las Colinas’s excellent quality of life and support future growth.