More than 140 developers, brokers, investors, and city leaders packed Buda City Hall on Tuesday for the Hays (Caldwell) Commercial Real Estate Meetup, where six economic development leaders from Hays and Caldwell Counties made a rare joint appearance. The sold-out event, hosted by the Buda Economic Development Corporation, underscored a deliberate shift toward regional collaboration under the theme “one region, two counties, five communities.”
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 turnout was unprecedented in the meetup’s four-year history. “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,” Dowling said.
The significance of this unified front lies in its potential to reshape how the region competes for business investment. Rather than viewing each other as rivals, the leaders presented a coordinated strategy to leverage their combined assets: Hays County’s skilled workforce and Texas State University’s innovation ecosystem, alongside Caldwell County’s cost-competitive land and connectivity via SH 130 and I-10. Companies can now choose among five distinct communities while accessing a regional labor market of more than 2.7 million workers within a 60-minute drive. Storm framed Buda’s appeal as “Austin access without Austin friction,” citing roughly three million square feet of Class A industrial space available or under construction.
Each community showcased recent wins that complement the corridor’s diversification. Kyle highlighted healthcare expansion, including St. David’s new emergency center and ACC’s growing health sciences presence. San Marcos positioned itself as the region’s education and innovation powerhouse, with Texas State University, STAR Park, and an advancing aerospace and defense ecosystem. Lockhart celebrated Hill Country Foodworks’ expansion from 10,000 to 62,000 square feet. Luling spotlighted X-Bow’s production campus as a anchor for its growing aerospace footprint. Buda pointed to the H-E-B redevelopment and The Depot on Main, a revitalized historic train depot set to open in early 2027 as a launchpad for makers and retail startups.
The implications extend beyond individual wins. By presenting a united front, the region aims to attract larger-scale investment that might otherwise bypass smaller communities. Kamerlander and colleagues framed the Austin-San Antonio Innovation Corridor as Central Texas’ next defining opportunity, with aerospace and dual-use defense technology accelerating alongside advanced manufacturing. Workforce readiness, regional job fairs, and business retention emerged as shared priorities, signaling that economic development here is as much about sustaining existing businesses as recruiting new ones.
The Hays (Caldwell) Commercial Real Estate Meetup meets the second Tuesday of each month, serving professionals shaping growth across the corridor. As competition for corporate relocations intensifies nationwide, this collaborative model may prove to be the region’s most valuable asset—offering companies not just a site, but a network of support that spans two counties and five cities.
