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Business Retention
& Expansion |
As
the calendar year comes to an end, the Business
Retention & Expansion team is celebrating met
goals while planning continued success for 2010. The
team has already visited 185 businesses to
assist with any barriers they may face,
putting them on track to meet the goal
of 500 business visits. They have
also placed 47 businesses in contact with
partner organizations to aid in everything
from day-to-day business operations to workforce
training. Because of the success of
2009, there is a strong focus to expand
on these efforts for this coming year. The team will
continue to have quality meetings with local businesses
and will not slow efforts after the goal has been
met. For more information or to schedule a visit
with a member of the Business Retention &
Expansion team, please call (915)
541-4670. |
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Business
Attraction
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REDCo
continues to communicate the benefits of operating
business in the El Paso/Juárez/Southern New Mexico region.
As the organization's fifth year comes to a close,
economic gains in the greater El
Paso region continue to rise. A
recent study conducted by the UTEP
Institute for Policy and Economic Development
reviewed REDCo's five-year
track record. According to the study, REDCo's efforts in El
Paso alone have generated 9,836
new jobs, $11.3 million in new state and local taxes,
$1.3 billion in new labor income and $4.4 billion in
total
output. |
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Hundreds
of people from across the state will get a first-hand
look at the rebirth going on in Downtown El Paso during
the statewide 2010 Downtown Revitalization Conference on
Nov 2-5. The conference will be held at the Camino Real
Hotel and is co-sponsored by the City of El Paso, the Texas Downtown Association and the
Texas Main Street Program. Several
local groups will be involved in organizing the
conference, including the El
Paso Central Business Association/Downtown Management District and the
El
Paso Community Foundation. There will also be
workshops on topics such as historic preservation and
transportation issues, along with field sessions to
showcase the redevelopment efforts currently underway in
Downtown El Paso.
click here for the latest el centro newsletter |
Small
Business
Development |
recently
partnered with the Department of Homeland Security to
provide a series of free seminars to teach businesses
about how to fill out the required paperwork to comply
with new laws. The initial seminar took place
Dec. 8. Guest speaker Agent Jesus
Carrillo from U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement instructed business owners on how to
"E-Verify" employees' immigration status and to properly
fill out the I-9 Form. For more information, contact Sara Navarro at (915)
566-4066. |
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Entrepreneurship |
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 The
RCIC is excited to announce the
launch of The
Innovators Survey for the El Paso Region,
created to help the RCIC identify and profile inventors
and potential innovators in El
Paso, Las
Cruces, Juarez and surrounding areas. The
data collected will be used to identify the needs,
resources and successes of area inventors, as well as
provide the RCIC with a demographic profile of the
group. The survey will also lead to
commercialization and economic development opportunities
of this untapped resource. To participate in this
survey, click here (English) or here
(Spanish).
 The entrepreneurship activities at UTEP have been focused in its Center for Research Entrepreneurship and
Innovative Enterprises (CREIE) to stimulate
innovation, entrepreneurship and commercialization of
business ideas. There are currently three different UTEP
faculty or staff business ideas that are actively being
developed. New companies should be formed sometime in
the first quarter of 2010. Another initiative includes
working with the City's Economic Development department
to identify small businesses in El
Paso that would benefit from
collaborating with UTEP. There are four companies
where collaborations are being developed including the
prospect of obtaining federal grant money to fund growth
opportunities.
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Workforce
Development
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 The 18th Project ARRIBA graduating class
convened on Dec. 18 with Jim Valenti, CEO of University Medical
Center as the keynote speaker. This year's graduation
highlighted the special partnerships with local
supporters that make Project ARRIBA's work possible. Those
honored included Valenti,
Lorenzo Reyes, Jr., CEO of Workforce Solutions Upper Rio
Grande, and Stephen Wolslager
of the Wolslager Foundation.
The organizations these three represent believe in
investing in human capital and the future of El
Paso. If you want to learn
more about Project ARRIBA, call (915)
843-4055.
Eighteen
students were awarded their GED Certificate of
Completion at the 2nd Upper Rio Grande Workforce Solutions
Tech Prep program cohort graduation on Dec. 19.
The Tech Prep Program is funded through the
Workforce Investment Act (WIA) and offers a unique blend
of individual specific teaching methods like traditional
classroom instruction and computer-based lessons to
eligible youth or adults in need of obtaining a GED.
Since the program's inception last year, 56 students
have received one. This year's graduates vary in age
from 17 to 30 and spent a variety of time completing
coursework from one week to one year. As part of
the program's requirements, each student must spend at
least 10 hours a week in the Tech Prep lab located at
1359 Lomaland. |
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From the
Director
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1,042 Acre
Shovel-Ready Mega-Site Certified in El
Paso
More
than 1,000 acres in Northeast
El Paso were recently certified for
light-heavy industrial development. The site has been
cleared for shovel-ready projects after going through a
thorough certification process conducted by
McCallum/Sweeney Consulting, one of the premier
consulting firms in the nation. The Regional Economic
Development Corporation (REDCo) contracted the company to
develop an evaluation criteria and application process
for determining sites in the region ready for industrial
development. The Northeast site, located at the
intersection of Stan Roberts and U.S. 54, met guidelines
established to promote a good business location. These
included environmental assessments, an evaluation of
utility infrastructure and proper zoning for industrial
use.
The
Public Service Board (PSB), REDCo and the Economic Development
Department have been working to establish a highly
visible, developable site to an area with high potential
for growth. The Northeast site provides easy access to
U.S. 54 with minimal congestion, as well as the ability
to be serviced with the electricity, gas, water and
wastewater a large industrial plant demands.
With the expansion at Fort Bliss and the ongoing
improvements to the highways and infrastructure,
Northeast El Paso is
continuing to grow into an area that will play a pivotal
role in the economic development of the city. This site
certification is step in the right direction for
potential industrial growth as well. For more
information on the site, contact REDCo at (915)
534-0523.
Economic
Development Director
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