Ron Jensen, Mayor, City of Grand Prairie
Ron Jensen, mayor of the City of Grand Prairie, spoke to Invest: about the benefits of being a city in the North Texas region, and how the city’s location and availability of land make Grand Prairie an attractive place to continue to do business.
What have been some of the city’s key highlights and achievements over the past year?
We haven’t seen a big downturn in our revenues for the city, and our sales tax revenues stayed fairly steady. In fact, coming out of the pandemic, we are seeing double-digit growth in our sales tax. Part of that is because of the increased spending of shoppers after the pandemic. The other part is due to the new retail establishments and restaurants that continue to open. Things are looking really good all over the North Texas region. We’re not the outlier. We’re just finally getting our share because we have more opportunities for people in our city and outside of our city to come shop.
What makes Grand Prairie an ideal location for expansion?
Location is our main selling point. We also have availability of land and great transportation options. We’re right in the middle of almost 8 million people. We’re very fortunate that the George Bush Turnpike (SH161) opened up thousands of acres of undeveloped land. The same is true for the SH360 extension south of I-20 all the way down to SH287. We share the availability of land down SH360 with our neighbors, Mansfield and Arlington. In regard to transportation, we have I-20 and I-30 running east and west, Loop 12, SH161, and SH360 running north and south. We have it all.
What industries are you seeing more activity from in terms of relocating into the city?
We have always been a strong manufacturing and warehouse hub. We share the Great Southwest Industrial District with Arlington. We are drawing a lot of companies in those industries, but what I’m most excited about is the growth on the retail side. We have been underserved in the retail and restaurant side, and people were used to driving elsewhere to buy goods and eat. We now have enough options for people to shop and eat in Grand Prairie. And now others are driving here, too. We’re becoming a go to, rather than a pass through. That’s what allowed us to get Bass Pro Shop. Right next to Bass Pro is Andretti Indoor Karting & Games, which is the second one in the Metroplex. Right next to that is going to be a Big Shots Golf Entertainment Venue, which is a competitor to Topgolf. This is all because of our location.
How are you capitalizing on the city’s current momentum?
This city has always been focused on several factors. Past city managers have realized we want to empower every department to become a world leader. We want our libraries to be world-class, top-of-the-line. The same goes for our initiatives like ‘Keep Grand Prairie Beautiful’. I want them to stand on their own and be very successful in their own realm. Our parks department has won two gold medals. There are less than five cities in the nation that have won two gold medals. We want every one of our departments to try and achieve world-class status. There’s implied competition. Part of leadership is learning how to get out of the way. If your organization is running the correct way and you have the proper leadership, then you need to move over and watch them go by and cheer them on. We do that here in the city of Grand Prairie.
What is the city doing to mirror the efforts for sustainability of the state?
We are not the leader in renewable energy or transitioning over to electric and other means of transportation, but we do what we can. Our staff is aware of it, so we want it to be our future. We’re watching and listening to what our competitors are doing. We’re staying abreast with them. We’re all going to be moving together, but that takes money so we are looking for grants which is a big topic of discussion down in Austin. We all need direction and help from the federal government.
What is your outlook for the city for the next few years?
Cities must decide whether they want to grow or not. We’ve got some cities in our Metroplex that are just fine where they are. We have a lot of available land. The landowners have a right to develop that land. It’s our responsibility to do it in a wise way. We must be very careful about how land is developed and how often we change zoning. We will continue to work with developers to attract and build high quality retail, restaurant, residential and commercial as best fits location and land.
Major League Cricket is coming to Grand Prairie. It has big money behind it, and they’re long-term players. They’re spending millions to convert our former minor league baseball stadium to a cricket stadium. We had our first games this July. I’ve had mayors from north of us show interest in this. The cricket site is right next to Lone Star Park and the Texas Trust Credit Union Theatre.
