The Richardson Economic Development Partnership (REDP), in
partnership with the Richardson Chamber of Commerce and Richardson Rotary
Clubs, will honor 12
extraordinary success or made a significant investment in
recognized at the Richardson EDGE awards luncheon Thursday, Nov. 12, at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Dallas Richardson. Anyone may attend the event by purchasing tickets online.
“EDGE is an acronym for Economic Development, Growth & Expansion,”
said Chamber President and CEO Bill Sproull. “The Richardson Chamber of
Commerce and the City of Richardson have been recognizing companies with EDGE
awards for 30 years as a way of thanking them for their contributions to the
local economy. When companies make an investment in our community, and they are
successful, we all benefit. We want these businesses to know how much we
appreciate the impact they have on our city.”
The 2015 EDGE awards will honor 12 businesses in nine different
categories: commercial real estate project,
community involvement, entrepreneurship, environmental, international business,
newcomer, public/non-profit/education, loyalty and, new for this year,
redevelopment. This year’s recipients will be:
Commercial Real
Estate Project: UT Dallas Northside, Balfour
Beatty Campus Solutions and Wynne/Jackson
Northside at UT Dallas is a $54 million mixed-use development on 13
acres at the northwest corner of Synergy Boulevard and Floyd Road, adjacent to
a future DART station. The development will include a 600-bed midrise apartment
and townhome project operated by Balfour Beatty Communities, as well as a
variety of shops, restaurants and entertainment venues operated by Dallas-based
SRS Real Estate Partners. Project completion is slated for August, 2016, and is
expected to serve 30,000 students, faculty, staff and community members.
Community
Involvement Award: Richardson Tom Thumb Stores
Tom Thumb stores have been an integral part of our community since
1961. Tom Thumb has three Richardson locations: Arapaho Village, Custer
Crossing and Lennox Shopping Center, and their employees remain dedicated to
supporting the community. More than 130 Richardson organizations, schools and
churches receive quarterly funding through Tom Thumb’s Good Neighbor program.
Tom Thumb is a long-time sponsor of the Wildflower! Art & Music Festival
and also supports Race for the Cure, March of Dimes and Santa’s Helpers. In recent years, the Lennox Center Tom Thumb expanded its kosher offerings when the Albertson’s on Campbell closed and a significant remodel and lease extension was done at the Arapaho Village store.
Entrepreneurship
Award: Mitel (formerly Mavenir)
Mitel is a software-based networking solutions company enabling mobile
service providers to deliver next generation services over 4G LTE networks.
In March 2015, Canadian telecom services provider Mitel Networks
Corp. announced it would purchase Richardson-based Mavenir Systems, Inc. for
$560 million, in a bid to expand its telephone services to the high-speed 4G
LTE mobile market. With this announcement, Mavenir’s stock jumped nearly 23% to
$17.80, making it the 3rd-largest percentage gainer on the New York Stock
Exchange. Mitel customers include T-Mobile and Verizon Communications. Mavenir was a
Tech Titan and Fast Tech Award finalist in 2014 and 2015.
Environmental
Award: Metropak, the Bag Source
Founded in 1980, Metropak manufactures paper, plastic and resuseable
bags. They are the bag manufacturer for distributors who want to buy from the
easiest and most reliable bag source. Metropak is the highest rated bag
manufacturer in the industry (5-star rating with ASI), with eight accolades
including the Golden Achievement Award from Promotional Products Association
International. Richardson is proud to be the home of this environmentally conscious
company.
International
Business Award: Amdocs
Amdocs is the market-leader in (CES) customer experience software
solutions and services for the world’s largest communications, entertainment
and media service providers. Amdocs delivers a wide array of innovative and
personalized services to end users, regardless of device or network. For more
than 30 years, Amdocs solutions, which include BSS, OSS, network control and
optimization, coupled with professional and managed services, have accelerated
business value for customers by streamlining complex operating environments,
reducing costs and speeding time to market for new products and services.
Amdocs’ 24,000 employees serve customers in more than 90 countries and had
revenue of $3.6 billion in fiscal 2014. Amdocs’ offices in Richardson were
established in 2000, and they currently have more than 900 employees. Amdocs
was founded in Israel.
Newcomer
Business Award: Richardson Mercantile/the Weitzman Group
When Whole Foods vacated its Richardson location at Dal-Rich Shopping
Center, The Weitzman Group went to work to bring a new and exciting tenant to
this longtime Richardson/North Dallas center.
The result was the Richardson Mercantile, the second mercantile facility
in the Dallas area. Open since November 2014, the Richardson Mercantile
features an eclectic array of art, antiques, home decor, gifts, apparel,
jewelry, furniture and more. This
exciting new venue features almost 300 booths displaying new inventory and
fresh finds every day. In addition to occupying the former Whole Foods
space, the Richardson Mercantile took the vacant Drug Emporium space for a
total of 50,000 square feet. Its popularity has resulted in new neighboring
restaurants. To embrace the new energy of this shopping Center, The Weitzman
Group changed the center’s name to Dal-Rich Towne Square.
Public/Non-Profit/Educational
Award: Richland College
For more than 40 years, Richland College has focused on teaching,
learning and building community. Richland helps students build their futures
through courses that can be applied to the first two years of a baccalaureate
degree. The school also offers one- and two-year certificates in a number of
career fields, as well as training in the latest technology for students who
want to advance in their current careers. In 2014, Richland College received a
$450,000 Texas Skills Development Fund grant to train more than 200 employees
of Associa, which had established an office in Richardson at that time (now
with 400+ employees). Among its achievements, Richland has been recognized by
the White House and the Department of Commerce as the only community college to
ever receive the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.
Redevelopment
Award (New Award for 2015): TNT Dental
TNT Dental was the first company to focus exclusively on websites for
dentists. Founded in 2000, TNT was making custom websites for dentists before
it was cool. In fact, this is the reason TNT even exists. At the time, the
founders of TNT, Tim and Tim, were working at the same dental laboratory and
were tasked with finding a company that could develop a website for their
business. They soon realized that nobody understood dentistry and technology
the way they did. TNT was launched in 2000 and remains the only company focused
exclusively on helping dentists grow their practices via the Internet. In 2014,
TNT renovated the Richardson Post Office building at Lockwood and Custer Roads
to use as it new headquarters. The 10,000-square-foot building was converted
into a highly efficient and modern office building to house its current staff
of 45 employees.
Richardson
Loyalty Award: Service King, Inc.
Service King is an industry-leading operator of high quality
automotive collision repair services. With 260 locations in 23 states, Service
King is one of the largest multi-location collision repair operators in the
U.S. and has been named by the Dallas and San Antonio Business Journals as the
No. 1 “Best Place to Work.” Service King has been headquartered in Richardson
since 2001 and recently moved to its new home at 2600 N Central Expressway.