Hutto economic development staff and board members are putting the finishing touches on their upcoming trip to the annual International Council of Shopping Centers conference in Las Vegas, one of the largest gatherings of retail professionals in the world.
Nearly 20,000 attendees from around the globe, representing everything from high-end restaurants to destination entertainment sites, will converge in Las Vegas in late May at the annual conference of the International Council of Shopping Centers.
Hutto Economic Development Director Bob Farley, Assistant Director Cheney Gamboa and Board Members Erin Clancy, Marcus Coleman, Shawn Lucas, as well as Hutto City Council Member Dan Thornton, are heading to ICSC with a keen focus on connecting with retailers, aiming to bring the right projects to Hutto at the right time.
“The retail landscape in Hutto is constantly expanding,” Farley said. “We are excited to network with retail professionals and show them all that Hutto has to offer. Our mission is to foster responsible growth that improves quality of life and diversifies our tax base. ICSC is a great place to engage with the businesses that could do just that.”
Two of Hutto’s crown jewels that will be on display for the world to see at ICSC are the Cottonwood Properties and Hutto Megasite. In March, the Hutto Economic Development Corporation (EDC) officially took ownership of the coveted 250-acre Cottonwood Properties in eastern Hutto. The EDC also recently designated roughly 50 acres of the red-hot Hutto Megasite as retail/mixed-use, creating another attractive piece of land for developers.
Over the last several months, the EDC has been engaged with a site planner to craft potential development options for the sites. These concepts will be showcased at Hutto’s booth at ICSC with the goal of connecting with prospects.
“With the current and future population and transportation growth in eastern Hutto, the Cottonwood Properties and Megasite are prime locations for retail development,” Gamboa said. “Retailers look closely at cities with 50,000 people, and we are quickly approaching that number. We can’t wait to share some of our concepts with national and international retailers and begin the discussions to bring even more shopping and dining options to Hutto.”
In addition to providing the booth space to network, ICSC also allows for several opportunities for professional development. The members of Hutto’s delegation at ICSC will get to learn about hot and relevant topics in the industry, straight from retail leaders and experts.
ICSC Las Vegas is set for May 21-23, 2023 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. For more information about the Hutto EDC, please visit HuttoTXEDC.gov.