The International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) held RECon 2013 in Las Vegas May 18 through May 22. The City of Forney was represented at the conference for the seventh year, with a 10' x 20' booth and a team that consisted of Mayor Darren Rozell, City Manager Brian Brooks, City Councilman Darrell Hobbs, Forney EDC Director Kim Buttram, and EDC Board members David Connor and Joe Dan McBeth.
The purpose of the annual conference is to bring together retailers, restaurants, developers, and municipalities like the City of Forney. This year over 35,000 people attended the conference and there were over 1000 exhibitors, including Forney. RECon has been very productive for the City in past years, connecting Forney with Panda Express, Walgreens, Pizza Hut, Best Western, Starbucks, Taco Bell, and Chase Bank, just to name a few.
Mayor Rozell praised this years team of City representatives, “This was a good team, a very self-reliant team.” The one thing that impressed the Mayor the most about this years conference, was the the fact that people knew about Forney already. He said, “In years past we would have to answer questions about who is Forney and what was coming to Forney. Now however, these folks know who we are, they have heard about the Gateway Bridge, the Kroger Marketplace...and so now developers and retailers come and ask us to show them Gateway and Kroger, and they want to know where space is available for them to come too.”
Though the recession stalled some plans for major retailers in previous years, according to Rozell, “They are now looking for places to make an investment.” Many major retailers are scaling back the size of their stores, which makes it easier for them to get into the market. Rozell feels that larger sit down restaurants are still two to three years out for Forney because “we need more rooftops and a larger lunch time crowd.” However, a number of businesses have expressed interest in coming to Forney in the near future.
The City has ongoing talks with Target, which has expressed interest in Forney but has not made a commitment yet. Rozell said, “We would love to have Target and we've been told they are looking between here and Terrell.” The Gateway Bridge area may serve as a perfect location for Target and other major retail box stores. Forney has the distinction of having a low crime rate, a low poverty rate, and more spending capital per resident than any other city in Kaufman County. Rozell said, “Forney has three major economic drivers including FM 548/80, the historic downtown area, and Gateway. We've not lost sight of downtown at all, but we want to make all three areas successful.”
In-N-Out Burger has also been eyeing Forney and Terrell. Forney residents expressed to Rozell over Facebook and various other methods that they would love to see In-N-Out here. With the retail and restaurant space available near the Kroger Marketplace being built now, that could be a perfect spot for the California chain that invaded Texas last year.
Others that have shown strong interest in doing business in Forney are Steak 'n Shake, Kohl's, TJ Maxx, and Dollar Tree. Dollar Tree told Rozell that Forney is on “their short term horizon.” For some of these major retailers, the completion of the Gateway Bridge in the Fall of 2013, and the roads attaching the bridge to both sides of Forney are what they are waiting on. In the meantime, 7-11 will be opening at Highway 80 and Pinson in the middle of June.
Chiloso will still be coming to Forney but they are going to have a different name and different concept due to a conflict with the “no compete” contract Cristina's Fine Mexican Restaurant has with the same building owner. There was no conflict with Los Hermanos because the building has a different owner. Chiloso owners released this statement on Facebook about the restaurant coming to Forney, “We’re very excited to debut our version of a TEXAS KITCHEN. It will feature a blend of Chiloso flavors in our take of classic TEXAS comfort foods.”
In the meantime, Rozell says it is uplifting to see that so many restaurants, retailers, and developers know where Forney is and what the community has to offer. He left this teaser in the air, “I'm hoping for some exciting announcements before the end of the year.”