The City of Live Oak's Economic Development Corporation (EDC) is a leading business and community catalyst focused on building economic prosperity in the City and throughout the region.

The EDC is developing and implementing programs that will facilitate the growth and development of existing companies, as well as provide the foundation from which to effectively recruit new companies to the area. The result of theseeconomic development initiatives will be an increased property and sales tax base for the City of Live Oak, a dynamic economic environment for our business community and an enhanced quality of life for Live Oak's residents and business community.

Site Selection

In support of the goals of the EDC, aweb tool has been launched to aid prospective companies that are looking for a place to expand or relocate. With coordination from the Texas Governor's Office,Live Oak offers services theTexasSiteSearch.com tool for its economic development initiatives.

About TexasSiteSearch.com

TexasSiteSearch.com was launched in late 2009 to aide economic development and location selection in the State of Texas. To date, 100 Texas cities have harnessed the power of this innovative web tool that is available to Texas cities that have an EDC. Real estate professionals, site selection specialists, and community officials can access the site either through the TexasWideOpenForBusiness.com website or directly at TexasSiteSearch.com at no cost. For your convenience, a tab has been placed at the bottom of the Main EDC page of this web site. The siteis designed to address the following questions:

1. What are the characteristics of Texas that make it so attractive to business?
2. What are some examples of available industrial and commercial properties around the state?
3. What business, demographic, and consumer data defines each specific location?

Now, through the City of Live Oak's website, available property within the boundaries of Live Oak is highlighted, and provides answers to questions that are specific to Live Oak.

(Access Texas Site Search)

How to use it?

It is simple to search for building space or developable land. Enter minimum and maximum size requirements by square feet or acres, and, if relevant, narrow the search by selecting properties that are for lease or sale only. If you want to further refine your search,simply click a property type (or CTRL-clicking multiple types). Once desired search criteria have been entered,click "Search Properties" and TexasSiteSearch.com will query the database for the information combination entered. A list of properties meeting these criteria will be listed below the map on the right portion of the screen.

Selecting any of these properties will take the user into adetailed description of a property. The user may select multiple properties and choose to "Save Sites" at the bottom of the list to store potential candidates. (Please note there may be multiple pages of sites in groups of 20). For your convenience there are a number of ways to use this information offline, by simplyexporting it to Word, Excel, or PDF format, emailed to an interested party. You can even link it through a social networking medium by utilizing the buttons found above the map space, on the right side of the page.

Create Demographic or Business Reports

Properties are linked to interactive maps that display geographic information such as the locations of major highways/thoroughfares, educational institutions; flood plain, airports, and more. These layers can be manipulated without running a property search, but all remain available to the user once a detailed site has been selected. Allmaps are completely interactive, can be manipulated, and the information displayed is determined by the website user.

For other questions pertaining directly to the use of TexasSiteSearch.com, please refer to the FAQ ("Frequently Asked Questions") page or contact Office of the Governor's Economic Development and Tourism Division.

(Information accessed through the Governor's Office and GIS Planning Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

Making Your Decision Easier

State and local governments know that economic development is critical to the success of our communities. For that reason, ordinances have been enacted to provide significant incentives to locate here-and make your decision to locate or expand here a lot easier!

Incentives

The City of Live Oak Economic Development Corporation was created in 1996 to expand and diversify the city's economic base. The EDC has used tax abatements and tax increment reinvestment zones to facilitate quality development. The EDC is open to using other facilitating mechanisms, but will consider each on a case-by-case basis. The EDC's incentive package is determined by five criteria:

• The number of jobs created
• The average wage and the gross annual payroll generated
• Capital investment
• The amount of new property taxes generated
• The amount of sales tax generated.

Depending upon these factors, the City will carefully examine, but consider:

• Tax Abatements
• Reinvestment Zones (Tax Increment Financing)
• Chapter 380
• Sales Tax Rebates/Other

The Economic Development Corporation is open to using other facilitating mechanisms, but will consider each on a case-by-case basis. If you have any questions on the incentives mentioned above, please contact Donna Lowder at 210-653-9140, extension 2219 or Michael Hornes at extention 2286.

2017-2018 CitySmart Program - City Public Services

CPS Energy commercial rebate program - City Public Services' CitySmart program & Small Business Program literature is now available on the CPS Energy website: https://commercial.savenow.cpsenergy.com/. Join CPS Energy's no-cost program and let them identify energy-saving opportunities in your facilty and provide services and incentives to assist large commercial, government, schools, and small businesses like yours. They can help identify incentive opportunities for new buildings or significant renovations which could lower energy bills by around 30 percent with a few simple no or low-cost upgrades. The program includes the following benefits for participating organizations:

• CASH incentives for A/C, Lighting, building envelope, and custom measures associated with renovation and/or new construction projects
• Technical assistance to review construction plans and assist in prioritizing energy-related opportunities and projects
• Public Relations to communicate project results to local communities
• Communications Support to publicize your energy efficiency
• Energy performance master planning workshops
• Energy performance benchmarking

Small Business Program can lower your facility's energy cost with:

• A no-cost assessment of your facility to idenify energy-saving opportunities
• Recommendations on energy efficiency measures
• Estimates on potential savings, project costs and payback periods
• Installation of energy-saving equipment
• Incentives toward energy-efficient equipment and measures

Information Flyers:

• 2016-2017 Commercial Energy Eff. Program Information
• Small Business Program Information
• 2016-2017 CitySmart Program

HOW TO GET STARTED:

Ready to save? CPS staff is dedicated to different market sectors whether it be large or small and will be ready to assign the correct person to assist with each project. For more information, contact CPS Energy Efficiency team at 210-353-2SAV (2728) or cpsenergycommercial@clearesult.com.

Small businesses may apply online, receive additional disaster assistance information and download applications at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela.

Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance. Individuals who are deaf or hard‑of‑hearing may call (800) 877-8339. Completed applications should be mailed to U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155. Contact the Lower Rio Grande Valley District Office at 956-427-8533 for questions.

Dear Friends,

We face a public health and economic crisis unlike anything we have ever experienced. In past few weeks, we have been instructed by federal, state, and local authorities to stay at home, wash our hands and practice social distancing. These measures ensure that we are not only protecting ourselves and our loved ones, but that we are protecting those who may be vulnerable in our community. I am inspired by your dutiful attention to these inconvenient restrictions and remind you that we will soon return our normal lives given your continued vigilance.

I understand that the impact of Coronavirus has not only affected our daily lives, but it has threatened paychecks, small businesses, and important community functions. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which I voted on last week, is a big step toward addressing those concerns. This wide-ranging economic rescue package provides rapid and meaningful assistance for individuals, businesses, and those responding to the pandemic on the ground.

This COVID-19 Handbook will help you better understand all the financial resources available for our community, such as critical federal funding sources to assist small businesses and local governments.

Download Handbook