KINGSVILLE, Texas — Perhaps it's the Texas ranching industry, the growing retail options, or its historic downtown. Whatever it is, more people are visiting and moving to Kingsville.
Back in October. the Kingsville Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Council combined to be one brand to help the community grow.
“The town is growing, there are a lot of great things going on. I think a good example of that is the $8.5 million investment into HEB the corporate headquarters did.
They wouldn’t do that if they didn’t see signs of growth and long-term growth in Kingsville.
That is a great indicator of where we are and where we are going,” said President and CEO of the Kingsville Chamber of Commerce Manny Salazar.
The key for Kleberg County to continue to grow is simple, keep bringing in new businesses and new jobs.
“We don’t have some of the assets like a port that can really help us with a $10 billion project.
But I think if we continue to hit singles, and doubles, and an occasional triple or home run, we can see some really long term and sustainable growth that this community really needs,” said Salazar.
With shoppers increasingly buying from local businesses in Kingsville, this means there are more opportunities for folks like Rebecca Sanchez and Stefanie Perryman who opened their own boutique.
“And I never imagined in a million years that we would start in our house and would be here.
And we are, and it is because of our customers who have been so loyal and amazing to us, and Kingsville, Kingsville built this business,” said Stef and Becs Boutique co-owner Rebecca Sanchez.
“Everybody should know that Kingsville has consumers, and they want to shop locally, they want to stay here, they want to support their community.
So businesses should not be afraid to take a chance on Kingsville, because it is growing. There are so many people here.
You got the Naval Air Station, you got the University, you got all these people that want to stay local and spend their money locally so take advantage of it, ” said Stef and Becs Boutique co-owner Stefanie Perryman.
The more money that they can keep in Kingsville, the better it is for everybody.
“Folks are taking advantage of it, and we are seeing the difference in sales tax revenue. We have gone from 4.7, 4.8, to 5.1 million dollars for the city of Kingsville over the last several years,” said Salazar.
While the county's population may not be taking off as fast as other counties, growth is still there.
