Can a 2,700-Person City Out-Operate You? | Schulenburg, Texas
See how Schulenburg, Texas uses municipal utilities and I-10 access to out-execute bigger cities, with site-ready land, fast permits, and steady small-box wins.
“Own your utilities, stock site-ready land, and let on-time openings do the selling.”
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Last week’s EDO clips…
Confirmed. Here’s the exact list reordered by date (earliest first), with no changes to text or format:
Dallas North Tollway extension brings Sept 22–27 lane closures in Prosper, Celina & Frisco (Sept 22)
Part of the ~$460M northward DNT build-out; plan detours if you’ve got prospects touring sites this week.
Eli Lilly picks Houston for a $6.5B API plant (Sept 23)
Big swing for Generation Park: ~615 permanent jobs plus ~4,000 construction roles to make small-molecule APIs (including the obesity pill program). Houston’s talent base was a key draw.
Alamo Colleges buys Westover Hills complex for a School of Emerging Technologies (Sept 23)
~$38M for ~210k sq ft to train for cloud, cyber, and IT; aiming to open by Fall 2027. Right in the SA tech corridor.
Yerico Manufacturing wins a $1.3M TSIF grant in Elgin (Sept 24)
Chip equipment materials/services project: ~$13M capex and ~30 jobs. Nice win for the Austin metro’s supply chain.
Gattefossé cuts the ribbon on its first North American manufacturing site in Lufkin (Sept 25)
New plant for lipid-based excipients; company calls it its biggest investment, boosting pharma/beauty ingredients capacity in East Texas.
Texas Energy Fund okays a $562M loan for NRG’s 721MW plant near Baytown (Sept 26)
20-year, 3% state loan covers ~60% of costs; target online by summer 2028 to bolster ERCOT capacity.
H-E-B breaks ground on a $30M, 118,945-sq-ft store in San Marcos (Sept 27) Third H-E-B for the city, with ~450 jobs and an opening target in late 2026. Adds BBQ, sushi, curbside, and a fuel station.
San Antonio’s West Side is turning into a data-center row (Sept 28)
Vantage filed a $276.9M, 432,800-sq-ft, up to 96MW build starting Oct ’25, and Microsoft just bought ~90 acres for two more ~195k-sq-ft buildings. The cluster is getting real.
IKEA McAllen-Pharr opens Oct 1 (Sept 28)
Small-format ~44k sq ft at Pharr Town Center; doors at 10 a.m. Expect giveaways and, yes, meatballs.
S&R Vapor Recovery opens North American Field Service HQ in Midland (Sept 28)
New 15,000-sq-ft facility with space for ~50 service trucks and on-site training using a live VRU. Hiring continues.
Can a 2,700-Person City Out-Operate You?
Issue: 11
B.L.U.F.: Schulenburg is a small city using location and municipal utilities to stay competitive. Sitting on I-10 between Houston and San Antonio, it attracts freight traffic and supports a steady base of manufacturing and ag-serving firms.
City hall kept investing in pipes, power, and streets in 2024–25, helped by a $3.29M state grant for drainage and wastewater. Local momentum shows at least four new openings in 2024, including El Vaquero #2 and Piper Jo & Co. The mix is practical, not flashy, and it fits a 2,600-to-2,800-person market.
This issue looks at Schulenburg as a case study in “utilities plus interstate.” The lens is simple, what the budget allows, what the corridor demands, and where small wins compound.
City Financial Profile
Schulenburg funds core services with a mix of taxes, fees, and utility revenues, and it owns its electric, water, and wastewater systems.
Budget size: Council approved a 2024-25 budget of $19.85M, balancing with $2.08M from reserves.
Property tax rate: The city’s 2024 Notice of Public Hearing on Tax Increase showed a proposed rate of $0.18793 per $100 valuation. Confirm the final adopted FY2024-25 rate against the ordinance.
Utilities: Schulenburg is a municipal provider for electric, water, and wastewater, with published rate schedules and online billing.
Capital funding: In Sept. 2024, the city secured $3.29M from the Texas GLO for system-wide drainage and wastewater work.
Takeaway: Schulenburg runs as a classic Texas small city, where city-owned utilities and conservative tax rates underwrite steady capital work. The structure is sound, but the budget’s use of reserves means leaders should watch operating trends and utility margins closely.
Economic Drivers
The real economy blends manufacturing, agriculture services, and highway trade.
Manufacturing anchors:
Dairy Farmers of America operates a long-running plant in town, known for shelf-stable cheese dips and related products. Address: 801 James Ave.
Perdue Foods runs a pet food facility at 1315 Russek St., tied to a county tax abatement that required 28 new jobs by 12/31/2022.
Prime Industries / Prime Products manufacture HDPE bottles and injection-molded goods, giving the city two plastics producers on I-10.
Ag wholesale: Bunch Wholesale Co. distributes seed, fertilizer, and farm supplies into the rural trade area.
Freight corridor: I-10 in Texas moves ~355M tons of freight worth ~$737B annually, positioning Schulenburg for logistics and travel-oriented services. Pilot Flying J taps that flow.
Takeaway: A handful of durable plants, highway traffic, and the surrounding farm economy produce stable, right-sized demand. The base is not flashy, but it is sticky.
Business Climate and Growth Indicators
Permitting, zoning, and small incentives lean practical and predictable.
Permitting: Schulenburg uses Bureau Veritas for plan review and inspections and follows the 2018 International Building Code family plus 2020 NEC.
Zoning & fees: The city codifies rates and fees in eCode360, including utility and permit schedules that business owners can view up front.
New openings in 2024: At least four new businesses came online, including El Vaquero #2 and Piper Jo & Co., signaling modest retail/service lift.
Infrastructure momentum: The $3.29M drainage/wastewater grant adds to the city’s ongoing utility and street work in FY2025.
Takeaway: The city’s process is straightforward, and small wins are showing up. With code clarity and basic incentives, Schulenburg is set up for incremental growth rather than spikes.
Opportunity Gaps
Three focused plays that fit the corridor and the population:
Interstate-oriented retail and services
Market Opportunity: Add travel-driven food, fuel, EV-ready amenities, and auto services tuned to I-10 volumes.
The Need / Gap: Leakage of spend to larger stops along the corridor and limited variety at the interchange today.
Agritourism and heritage weekends
Market Opportunity: Package German/Czech heritage, events, and small-venue rentals with overnight stays and group dining.
The Need / Gap: Few turnkey, family-friendly weekend itineraries between Houston and San Antonio, despite heavy pass-through traffic.
Logistics and light manufacturing infill
Market Opportunity: Recruit small DCs, packaging, and food/pet-food adjacencies that value quick on/off I-10 and municipal utilities.
The Need / Gap: Limited modern, move-in-ready space sized for 10–50 employees; prospects need serviced land and clear timelines.
Takeaway: These plays convert Schulenburg’s advantages, the interstate, utilities, and a steady base of making and moving things, into near-term deals sized for a 2–3k city.
Closing Insight
Schulenburg’s advantage is operational, not promotional.
Treat the city like a service platform that turns corridor traffic and city utilities into steady, right-sized deals. Stock a few serviced sites, keep permit times short, and package small spaces that open on schedule. Publish the score, cycle time, occupancy, and retail capture, and the next wins will come faster.
Want more Schulenburg…
Source: The Daytripper
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Social highlights…
Next Town: La Grange, Texas
Excited to share that I’ll be a panel guest at the Greater Mason Co. Venture Fest this upcoming Thursday, October 2nd at 5:00 pm - let’s connect if you’re nearby and don’t forget to register.
Have a great week! See you next Monday.
Grateful,
Omegadson
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