LATEST MEGA STORE ANOTHER SIGN OF PORTLAND ECONOMIC GROWTH — There's a new place to shop north of the Harbor Bridge. Academy Sports & Outdoors opened it's latest mega-sports store in Portland Dec. 13. The Texas-based company operates 170 stores in 13 states.
Portland is becoming known as a booming commercial corridor with a growing list of national-brand retailers moving in along U.S. Hwy 181. The boom in business goes beyond big box stores, however. New restaurants and entertainment venues are keeping up with the spurt. Which, in turn, keeps Portland residents' discretionary income closer to home — along with their sales tax revenues. Portland no longer has to look to Corpus Christi for its shopping, dining and entertainment pleasure.
Take a look at the numbers from the last year:
- 165 new Chamber of Commerce members
- 300 new city utility customers since 2009
- 80 percent increase in alcohol, hotel taxes
- 1/3 increase in building permits
Now take a look at the future:
- $700 million investment in building and jobs from steel company Voestalpine
- increased investments from Tianjin Pipe Corp., Cheniere and OxyChem
- infrastructure improvements expected from the city council
Could it be that Portland might be the next South Texas city listed in the top 25 Best Performing Cities? Can't wait to see the 2014 numbers. Meanwhile, let's go shopping in Portland!
