Community Engagement, Building Relationships and Redevelopment in Small Town Texas

Incorporated in 1952, Saginaw, Texas is a well-planned community in North Texas with a population of 24,150. Strategically nestled within the Alliance Corridor, northwest Tarrant County, and the Eagle Mountain Lake region of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, Saginaw is recognized for its small-town feel with big city amenities and its top-rated public-school system. Saginaw and the surrounding area are one of the fastest growing areas in North Texas.

About six years ago, the City of Saginaw changed their development philosophy from a “let’s do nothing and see what happens” to a renewed focus on proactive economic development. The purpose and goal of this concentration was to improve their citizens’ quality of life, drive new sales tax dollars to the community, and to keep Saginaw residents dining/shopping in the community, as well as bring new consumers to Saginaw from surrounding areas.

Before embarking on this new economic development endeavor, the City of Saginaw wanted to make sure they had support from Saginaw residents and a good understanding of what our residents wanted to see in the community from an economic development standpoint. To help gather this insight, the City of Saginaw initially hosted a “Citizen’s Summit” in 2018 where residents shared what changes they wanted to see in their community. The next year, the City of Saginaw published an on-line Economic Development "Eat and Play Survey" seeking feedback from residents and community stakeholders’ on their specific consumer patterns, requested retailers, and additional comments that could be helpful to the recruitment operations. The City of Saginaw felt it was more inclusive and a better development practice if residents were engaged and asked exactly what it is that they wanted. It worked! A total of 1,089 individuals responded providing information emphasizing that they wanted more sit-down restaurants, fast-casual restaurants, retail and entertainment options. In addition, the Economic Development Staff receives emails, phone calls and has personal conversations on a daily basis with our residents who suggest what type of businesses they would like in Saginaw. Community engagement and building relationships 101.

In January 2020, Keith Rinehart, Director of Community & Economic Development, led the City of Saginaw to partner with The Retail Coach (a national retail consulting/market research firm) to begin taking an active and aggressive approach to retail recruitment with a focus on targeting retailers and restaurants that fit the Saginaw consumer base. In March 2020, a world-wide pandemic stopped any progress made with developers and site selectors for almost a year and a half. Businesses took a familiar “let’s do nothing and see what happens” approach in dealing with the Covid-19 Pandemic. While this approach was not necessarily what the City of Saginaw wanted to hear, it was a smart philosophy on the businesses’ part. Undeterred, the partnership team of the City of Saginaw and The Retail Coach continued to march forward building valued business relationships and presenting information to potential prospects on why Saginaw, Texas was the right place, right now for new retail economic development. Utilizing real world cell phone data, The Retail Coach was able to determine that Saginaw’s Retail Trade Area (or Consumer Draw Area) consisted of 96,474 consumers, proving that Saginaw is indeed a destination retail market.

During the spring of 2021, the Saginaw Mayor and City Council recognized that our Fire Station #1 was in need of replacement. Since the mid-1960’s, the building has faithfully served as the home to the Saginaw Fire Station #1, City Hall, as well as various other municipal operations. Construction began in mid-2021 on a new fire station and the City of Saginaw was left with a soon to be former fire station and a senior citizen's center that was in need of major infrastructure repairs after the February 2021 Texas Ice Storm. The City of Saginaw began to consider at the idea of marketing the combined sites as a potential destination restaurant area that would fit the citizen’s survey requests.

Fast forward to early 2022, Economic Development Director Keith Rinehart and The Retail Coach staff attended and represented Saginaw at the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) Red River Conference in Dallas, Texas where contact was made with a number of retailers, restaurants, and brokers looking for sites in the Greater D/FW Area. One encounter in particular that stood out from the rest at the conference was a meeting with the Local Favorite Restaurant Development Group. That 20-minute meeting later proved to be the catalyst for bringing to fruition the vision of the Saginaw residents.

At the March 15, 2022 Saginaw City Council Meeting, the Mayor and City Council approved Resolution No. 2022-07 that adopted the Work Plan for Fiscal Year 2022. This Work Plan set priorities and gave direction for the City Manager to lead staff toward progress on identified projects. “Redevelopment Planning for the Current Central Fire Station Site – Restaurant or Entertainment” was one of those identified projects. The Saginaw City Council gave the Economic Development Staff direction to re-develop this property for a “Destination Restaurant or Entertainment Venue”. A few months later in June 2022, the City of Saginaw sought and accepted bids for the possible sale of real property located at 400 S. Saginaw Blvd. and 405 S. Belmont Street with the intent of securing a destination/sit-down restaurant for the former Fire Station/Senior Center site.

In October 2022, the Saginaw Mayor and City Council unanimously approved the Local Favorite Restaurant Development Project that will now be known as “The Station @ Saginaw”. “The Station” will feature three-branded restaurants, outdoor seating, and a venue for live entertainment. Guests at “The Station” will have the option to dine at “Twisted Root Burger Co.”, serving delicious gourmet-style burgers, or “Taqueria La Ventana”, a funky, taqueria offering authentic Mexico City Street food. The people of Saginaw can also enjoy “Del Toro BBQ”, a concept created by Chef Nico Sanchez known for its traditional Texas barbeque with a Mexican flair, unofficially dubbed Mexi-Que. Additionally, the Local Favorite Restaurant Group plans to re-purpose as much of the existing Fire Station and Senior Center buildings as possible thus preserving some of the history of our community. This project is exactly the type of thing our residents have been asking for…and then some. After over two years of hard work, “The Station @ Saginaw” will forever change the vibe, atmosphere and landscape of Saginaw, Texas.

“We are honored to be a part of the historic community of Saginaw and are looking forward to being the best food destination in the city for years to come,” said Mike Karns, founder and CEO of Local Favorite Restaurants. “At Local Favorite Restaurants, we are passionate about providing genuine hospitality, where we aim to grow our people, restaurants and communities, and we believe this partnership embodies just that.”

This type of development is a first for the City of Saginaw, Texas and is a result of cherished relationships between citizens, a municipal government, retail recruiters and commercial developers. The work of redevelopment is taxing and time-consuming, but it is worth the price of admission because you are respecting your history and what got you to this point.