Jim Gibson was responsible for the entire economic development effort in Rockdale, Texas working within a mission to aid the City of Rockdale and interested private and public entities to make the community a better place to live, work, and do business. Rockdale’s proximity to the high paying technology jobs and several world-class institutions of higher education within the Texas Triangle of Austin, Houston, and Dallas-Fort Worth, has provided the community with major opportunities that most small communities would not have. Large developments and employers are relocating to northeast Austin, just along US Highway 79 because the cost of land in Texas has risen so significantly that opening centers in Austin is no longer feasible for many businesses.
More than 660 single-family residences were constructed, including the very needed “middle market” housing that young families are seeking.
Three major industrial projects neighboring the town includes a Samsung plant, and an industrial park.
A new 3,300-acre Advanced Manufacturing and Logistics Center is currently being built five miles west of Rockdale, which will be an industrial mega-site in Central Texas.
A comprehensive tourism plan was developed to feature Rockdale to visitors.