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Dubbed the South Texas Regional Center for Economic Development, the facility will play home to several area agencies concerned with regional growth.
Those agencies include the Golden Crescent Regional Planning Commission and Area Agency on Aging, Texas Workforce Solutions of the Golden Crescent, the UHV School of Business Administration’s proposed Center for Entrepreneurship and Economic Development, the UHV Small Business Development Center and the Victoria Chamber of Commerce, according to the news release.
The two-story, 45,000-square-foot building is slated to open in fall of 2010, according to the release.
The project, recently approved by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, will be funded through state bonds, a U.S. Department of Commerce grant, funds from the Texas Higher Education Assistance Fund and other entities.
Housing the various agencies under one roof is an interesting concept, UHV president Tim Hudson said.
“It’s like the Olympic rings,” he said. “They overlap, but none do exactly the same thing and that will create synergy.”
Shared resources are another benefit, Hudson said, noting the several entities can combine to purchase computer systems or databases that an individual entity could not afford.
Workforce Solutions of the Golden Crescent will not relocate its entire operation during the move, but will have employers available on-site as needed, Executive Director Laura Sanders said.
The workforce center provides services beyond what the economic development facility will offer, she said, and a move wouldn’t make sense. But, she noted, it will remain involved in the project.
“Any time there are employers and job seekers being served, Workforce Solutions will always be a part of that in some way,” she said.
The UHV center coincides with the economic development world’s trend toward regionalism, said David Summers, an associate professor in the university’s school of business administration.
There’s strength in numbers, he said, and more amenities.
The main goal is to form a sort of laboratory where students and faculty can observe the various entities and to work together to provide a unified, regional front.
Once the project is off the ground, other regions can use Victoria as a template for new centers.
“They’ll have an idea of what regionalism is all about,” Summers said. “What works and what doesn’t.”
The growth means educational opportunities to students learning about the world of economic development, Hudson said.
You can learn a lot in class, he said, but first-hand experience is essential.
“When you start to do it,” he said, “you learn a heck of a lot.”
Allison Miles is a reporter for the Advocate. Contact her at 361-580-6511 or amiles@vicad.com.