Press
Release
For Release: January 27, 2016
CONTACT: Greg Sowell, 972-897-2762
To view the State of the City Intro video, Please click here.
STATE OF THE CITY EVENT HIGHLIGHTS MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN 2015
State Farm, Raytheon taking CityLine occupancy and other destination shops,
services coming soon; plus citizen approval of a $115 million bond program for
vital infrastructure enhancements(Richardson,
TX) –
Today the City of Richardson held its annual State of the City Address,
showcasing the community’s many game-changing successes of 2015 and future
priorities. Mayor Paul Voelker and members of the Richardson City Council
delivered the report as part of a free, open-to-the-public event at the
Eisemann Center for the Performing Arts and Corporate Presentations.The event
focused on key community issues, as well as priorities and goals previously
identified by the Richardson City Council. The presentation’s primary areas of
focus, and selected achievements in each area, included the following:Economic
Development
· State Farm took
occupancy of its new corporate campus within the massive, $1.5 billion CityLine
development, becoming the city’s largest employer with a workforce expected
to reach 10,000 over the next few years.
· Raytheon’s Intelligence, Information
& Services division began occupying its
new, three-building, 500,000-square-foot campus within CityLine.
· CityLine became the region’s newest
destination retail development with a new high-end Aloft Hotel and Whole
Foods grocery store announced as part of the development; Texas’ first
Tom+Chee location opened in 2015; and many other unique dining and
retail venues are also coming soon.
· Children’s Medical Center and Texas Health Resources also opened new
facilities within CityLine. Nearby, work began on the $500 million Alexan mixed-use
development on the west side of the DART Red Line.
· Construction began on Palisades,
a 58-acre development featuring an office tower, high-rise luxury condos and
single-family homes west of US 75.
· New businesses moving to Richardson
include RealPage (up to 1,600 employees), Frontier
Communications (800 employees) and GEICO (1,400 employees).
· Numerous new dining options came to
Richardson, including Tokyo Joe’s, Torchy’s Tacos, Pollo Tropical and
the under-construction Richardson Restaurant Park –
soon to be home to The Rock Wood-Fired Kitchen and the Dog Haus,
with more tenants coming soon.
Infrastructure
· Since 2012, the City has more than doubled funding for
infrastructure such as street maintenance, screening walls, street
signs, bridge railings and pavement markers.
· Richardson ramped down its 2010
Bond Program, providing residents with 4.8 miles of new alleys, Fire
Station #4, Richardson Gymnastics Center, and the Heights Recreation Center and
Aquatic Center.
· Citizens voted to approve the 2015
Bond Program, providing $115 million for infrastructure improvements including
a renovated public safety campus near Main Street, replacement of Fire Station
#3, new playground equipment, Spring Creek Nature Area trail expansions and
replacement of more than 10 miles of sidewalks and nearly 5 miles of street
repairs.
· The city earned designation as a
Bike-Friendly Community by the National League of American Bicyclists.
Public Health and Safety
· The City purchased 60 acres of land at the Spring Creek
Nature Area to create a 100-acre preserve near CityLine,
offering a natural recreation environment.
· An increase in funding provided for
the purchase of a new ambulance and for additional EMS staff.
· Five new positions were created in the Richardson Police Department.
· The City of Richardson continued to
invest in mosquito abatement, and in 2015 there were no reported human
cases of the West Nile virus in Richardson.
Community Experience
· Richardson was named one of the “Top 100 Cities for
Millennials to Relocate” by Forbes Magazine.
· The new Northrich Park opened,
which was made possible by the 2010 Bond Program and a partnership with RISD.
· The city completed renovations and reopened
Sherrill Park Course 1.
· Richardson Library now boasts a 3D
printer available to all library cardholders.
· A $250,000 private citizen donation
provided for a new surgical suite at the Richardson Animal Shelter.
Education
· Richardson and Plano Independent School Districts both
continued STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics)
educational partnerships with The University of Texas at Dallas, Richland
College and Collin County Community College.
· UT Dallas was recognized by
Bloomberg for having a better record for tech job placement than that of
Stanford or Harvard.
· Two RISD teachers and three PISD
teachers won Innovations in STEM Teaching Awards from the TI
Foundation.