More than 140 developers, brokers, investors, city leaders, and service providers packed Buda City Hall on Tuesday morning for the Hays (Caldwell) Commercial Real Estate Meetup, marking the largest gathering in its four-year history. The event, hosted by the Buda Economic Development Corporation, featured a rare joint appearance by six economic development leaders from Hays and Caldwell Counties, signaling a new era of regional cooperation.
The panel included Jennifer L. Storm of the Buda EDC; Victoria Vargas of the City of Kyle; Helen Ramirez, AICP, of the City of San Marcos; Holly Malish, CEcD, of the Lockhart EDC; Ari Arias of the Luling EDC; and Mike Kamerlander, CEcD, of the Hays Caldwell Economic Development Partnership. Organizer Tim Dowling of The Roundabout in Buda noted the unprecedented response: “We’ve run this meetup for four years, and we’ve never seen a response like this. Getting six regional economic development leaders in the same room, all sharing their real priorities for where their communities are headed, is a rare opportunity.”
The gathering underscored a deliberate shift from competition to collaboration. Leaders presented a unified front under the theme “one region, two counties, five communities,” highlighting how Hays and Caldwell Counties offer complementary assets that together form a compelling proposition for businesses. Jennifer Storm emphasized Buda’s role as “Austin access without Austin friction,” pointing to roughly three million square feet of Class A industrial space available or under construction, a highly educated talent base, and the revitalized The Depot on Main, a historic train depot reimagined as a launchpad for makers and retail startups with a planned grand opening in early 2027.
Each community showcased its unique strengths. Kyle highlighted healthcare expansion with St. David’s new emergency center and ACC’s growing health sciences presence, plus new Class A industrial inventory at Kyle Commerce Center. San Marcos positioned itself as the region’s education and innovation powerhouse, anchored by Texas State University, STAR Park, the regional airport, and an advancing aerospace and defense ecosystem. Lockhart celebrated Hill Country Foodworks’ leap from 10,000 to 62,000 square feet and new downtown redevelopment frameworks. Luling, the gateway to I-10, spotlighted X-Bow’s production campus and a widening aerospace and retail footprint.
Workforce readiness emerged as a shared priority, with leaders discussing regional job fairs, career and technical education, and business retention. Small business support, including microloan partnerships, was celebrated as essential to the quality of place that draws and keeps talent. Kamerlander framed the Austin-San Antonio Innovation Corridor as Central Texas’ next defining opportunity, with aerospace and dual-use defense technology accelerating alongside advanced manufacturing, retail, and hospitality.
The implications of this united front are significant. By presenting a coordinated regional approach, the corridor can offer companies a broader choice of sites, shared infrastructure, permitting support, and access to a labor market of more than 2.7 million workers within a 60-minute drive. This collaboration could accelerate economic development, attract high-value industries, and strengthen the region’s competitiveness on a national scale. As Kamerlander and colleagues emphasized, economic development is about job creation, honest deal-making, and “dot connecting”—not blank checks. The meeting underscored that regional partnership, rather than rivalry, will be the cornerstone of sustainable growth into 2027 and beyond.
