Victoria Mayor Duane Crocker and city Economic Development Director Danielle Williams aren’t under any delusions. They both realize that the fledgling initiative of “Growing Victoria” will be a lengthy process that will test the patience of city government officials and citizens alike.
But both also know that the potential for “Growing Victoria” can be limitless, and the future of the city—both economically and populationally—can very well be a bright one for both current and potential residents and business owners.
“Growing Victoria is not going to be an overnight thing,” Crocker said in a recent exclusive interview with the Victoria Advocate. “It’s a process and you have to pay attention to each aspect of it.”
“But when you do and you work together as a team, like we just saw with the new Amazon facility coming in, you end up with good things. That was a cooperative effort between VEDC [Victoria Economic Development Corporation], the city and many other people. If you can give people the information they need, provide them with the resources and work with them about developing and growing your community, yes, good things are going to happen.”
The Victoria Economic Development Corporation (VEDC) announced recently that its Regional Partnership’s “Project Husky” revealed it will bring an Amazon delivery station to Victoria. Amazon announced its plans to expand its presence in Texas by building the delivery station off U.S. Highway 59 North.
Construction has begun on the facility and the site is projected to open by Fall 2025, which will bring new job opportunities to Victoria and the Crossroads.
The “Growing Victoria” initiative became public in November at the monthly Chamber of Commerce luncheon at the Victoria Community Center. At that meeting, Williams told the Advocate that the city’s population stagnation has become a major hurdle and is limiting its capacity for economic development, as has the arduous housing market in Victoria.
Victoria’s population growth rate is behind that of Texas cities like Corpus Christi, New Braunfels, San Marcos and Sugar Land, Williams revealed in November. She reiterated her thoughts in a recent interview.
“For the last few years, population growth has been pretty small every year,” Williams said. “But the situation with the housing market has also been a challenge. So, those two things right off the bat are formidable things to face.”
“But that’s why we want to try to push this initiative, if you will, of growing Victoria because we believe we are growing. We have some new development and commercial redevelopment projects in the works coming to Victoria. But we also need people to stay here and also to move here.”
Victoria’s most recent spike in population of any significance came between 2010 and 2012, when it grew 2.9%.
Employed with the city since moving here 16 years ago, Williams has been Victoria’s economic development director for three years. In that time, she said she has seen many positives in Victoria, including what she calls the “fun part” of her job—retail recruitment.
“Until recently, that’s been my main responsibility,” Williams said. “We’ve seen Murdoch’s [Ranch and Home Supply], HTeaO, The Toasted Yolk Cafe and what we called the “Fab Five” or quick service restaurants on Navarro—Arby’s, Dunkin Donuts, McAllister’s, Burger King and Taco Bueno—come to fruition. So, recruitment is a lot of fun, but it does take a long time to get developments, but it’s definitely worth it and is exciting when they actually open their doors.”
Taco Bueno on Navarro permanently closed in December 2023, but Applebee’s will return to Victoria soon at the 8507 N. Navarro location as a to-go order store only.
The city executed a soft launch last week of its website called Growing Victoria and Williams said the target audience is remote workers and also people who could potentially relocate to Victoria.
“Some people might just want to live somewhere different, or they might want to move out of the big city,” Williams said. “But there are businesses that might also want to move out of the big city, but not too far from Corpus, Austin, Houston or San Antonio. But [the website] is also geared for existing small businesses that we have in town and to give them a one-stop shop for all of the resources they need for keeping their businesses thriving or maybe expanding later down the road. We certainly are trying to keep them here in Victoria.”
Editor’s Note: Over the coming weeks and months, the Victoria Advocate invites its readers to stay tuned for stories that will keep them informed about the burgeoning “Growing Victoria” initiative, including new entertainment and restaurant possibilities as well as potential new retail businesses within the city.
