Dallas home starts topped the nation last year and helped put Texas in the top spot for added grocery store space, according to JLL’s 2017 Grocery Tracker.
Nearly 19 million square feet of grocery space was added across the U.S. with the opening of more than 440 stores. Of that space, more than 16 percent was in Texas.
Texas and California showed the most added grocery square footage, with 3.04 and 2.03 million square feet of new grocery space leased, respectively.
GROCERY RETAILERS WILL FOCUS ON CONVENIENCE
Kroger opened about 35 percent of its new stores in Texas, with a focus in the suburbs of Dallas and Houston. Austin-based Whole Foods opened a handful of stores between Dallas and Fort Worth. And San Antonio-based H-E-B also continued opening stores across the state.
This year, expect grocery retailers to focus on providing convenience to people who live in the urban core. Many retailers will continue testing new store concepts with smaller footprints and vertical layouts for mixed-use projects, according to the report.
Meal kits companies such as Plated and Blue Apron will continue to be popular with their fresh, healthy concepts, environmentally-friendly products, according to the report. Amazon recently partnered with Martha & Marley Spoon as a way for people to purchase meal kits without the commitment of a membership and faster delivery.
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R E A D N E X T
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The inaugural October 8th Texas Blockchain Summit could be a watershed event for making Texas "the jurisdiction of choice" for Bitcoin and other digital currencies. Lee Bratcher, president of the Texas Blockchain Council, will host a wide array of speakers including Texas Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz and Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis.
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Nonprofit BUiLT is hosting the event to highlight the success and possibilities of Black tech talent in the region. “There is no talent pipeline problem,” says Peter Beasley, co-founder of the Blacks United in Leading Technology International. “Black tech talent is widely available, especially in North Texas.”
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The DFW Alliance of Technology and Women held its 19th annual Executive Forum last week, urging attendees to "crack the courage code" and empower women in business. Afterward, DFW*ATW's president, Shanthi Rajaram, spoke with Dallas Innovates about her takeaways from the event—and how being "comfortable with the unknown" helped her start her own entrepreneurship journey.
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The NTXIA is a founding member of the new National Smart Coalitions Partnership, now one of the largest smart cities networks in the country. The organization unites more than 100 governments across seven regional smart cities consortiums. The goal? To accelerate sustainability and resilience in communities.
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