Spotlight On: Alex Getty, Executive Director, La Marque Economic Development Corporation
April 2025 — In an interview with Invest: Alex Getty, executive director of La Marque Economic Development, highlighted the city’s remarkable growth and recognition. “2024 was a banner year for La Marque and the Economic Development Corporation. The city of La Marque won many awards,” Getty stated, underscoring the community’s recent achievements.
What significant achievements has your organization accomplished over the past year?
2024 was a banner year for La Marque and the Economic Development Corporation. We won many awards.We were the 2024 ICMA Public Health Award winner, for example. It highlights extraordinary accomplishments and dedicated services. The 2024 TML Municipal Excellence Award recognizes Texas cities meeting municipal government challenges. Our government has changed, becoming more engaging through social media. We won the 2024 HGAC Wise Award for improving water quality. Our quarterly newsletter for residents and businesses won the 2024 TAMIO Award. La Marque’s community-oriented policing won awards. Crime has dropped for four straight years. Most importantly, we were named a 2024 All-America City. Since 1949, the National Civic League awards 10 cities yearly. Last year was about recognition for La Marque’s progress.
What makes this region a great place for businesses to grow and for people to live?
La Marque is bifurcated by I-45, which is now in an expansion phase, with completion expected in about three years. The city has more I-45 frontage than any other city in Galveston County, and it is right in the middle of the county. People like our climate, which is similar to many Southern places, with some humidity, but many good weather days for outdoor time. Assets here include access to three deep-water ports, Houston’s airports and medical offerings, and tourism as we are just four miles from Galveston’s 23 miles of beaches. La Marque specifically benefits from a hurricane protection levee system. During 2008’s Hurricane Ike, the levee worked perfectly, keeping surge water out with minimal rain impact. La Marque fared well. Hurricane Harvey brought 52 inches of rain in three days to Galveston County. Galveston County pumped all that rainwater bayside, with few flooded structures. This levee system lets us live on the Gulf Coast while mitigating bay-area challenges.
Where do you see the greatest opportunities for the area’s economic development?
Texas City, our sister city, has petrochemicals. We’ve never had heavy industry in our 70-plus year history, but we support the industry with supporting businesses. Centered in Galveston County, we’re prime for distribution, warehousing, and industrial support, such as fabrication or metal work. Our largest business includes A&A Machine.
Opportunity grows with the community, and La Marque has grown for 10 straight years. Retail follows rooftops. After a decade of steady growth, retail arrives, with new national retailers – recently McDonald’s, Marble Slab creamery, and Great American Cookie Company arriving – and local spots too, such as JLB Eatery, with locations in Friendswood and La Marque. We’re seeing the fruits of our growth in rooftops.
What have been some of the biggest challenges your organization has faced and how are you working to address them?
This is where I will look outside the city. We’re flat. We’re on the Texas Gulf Coast. You have to think about drainage and how you drain your city and county. We have good drainage districts in Galveston County, and La Marque is in Galveston County Drainage District No. 2. They work to deepen and widen ditches and make sure that as there’s more development, all the development is thought about and protected. I mentioned how blessed we are to have the levee system. But drainage is important. We’re going to continue to grow. We’re going to continue to have more concrete on the ground. We’re talking to the county about broader visions in terms of addressing long-term regional needs, such as regional detention and deeper, wider ditches. That way we can continue to grow and create the density that will help us as a region continue to be strong.
What role do partnerships and collaborations play in your strategy to support the greater business community as well in greater Houston?
We collaborate with multiple partners, including the county’s economic developer who has worked with local EDCs on regional projects and is now transitioning to new approaches. Our key partnerships feature the Texas City-La Marque Chamber (one of Houston’s largest with 900 members), along with Galveston County, and BAHEP. For workforce development, we partner with Workforce Solutions and can partner with College of the Mainland to create training programs for industrial projects, recognizing workforce development is as critical as infrastructure. Our region benefits from strong educational foundations and responsive programs, with the current focus on expanding soft skills training opportunities for existing businesses.
What is the outlook for La Marque over the next two to three years, and what are your top priorities during that time?
The outlook is strong. We have a lot of momentum. We’re about to announce several more national retailers and some other things. We have single-family development still happening in La Marque. With the completion of I-45, it’s just going to be stronger.
One thing I haven’t mentioned yet is that we’ve had record sales tax collection in La Marque for eight years in a row. And that’s despite a global pandemic. That’s despite five or six years of disruption of shopping patterns because of the I-45 construction. That tells you that people are coming to La Marque. People want to be here. People want to be in Galveston County. And I anticipate that eight turning into a nine this year. I think we’re going to have another record sales tax year in 2025. I think our year over year right now is sitting at 14% over last year’s record year. So I don’t see anything but positivity.
I think our best days are yet to come in La Marque. We really are in a great location, and we have great leadership. We continue to grow and prosper in Galveston County.
Is there anything that you’d like to add?
La Marque made HAR’s hottest communities near Houston list twice in 18 months – our first appearances. HoustonArearealtors.com’s recognition shows growing awareness of La Marque’s opportunities.
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