Brittany Kelley
BUDA — The city of Buda hosted its annual State of the Community Sept. 10 in collaboration with the Greater Buda Chamber of Commerce.
“I am proud of what we’ve accomplished over the past 12 months,” began Mayor Lee Urbanovsky. “Our story is a story of growth; it’s a story of opportunity and a story of creation. We welcome new businesses, strengthen our partnerships and create a community spirit and prepare for a future that’s as bright as our history is rich.”
According to Urbanovsky, there has been growth in every sector of the city, as Buda is now home to more than 400 businesses, generating more than 12,000 local jobs, $12.8 million in tax revenue and $1.5 billion in commercial property sales tax.
These businesses include 88 that are either new or have expanded in the city over the last year, such as US Foods, which hosted a groundbreaking of its 170,000-square-foot expansion. Though, among the large corporations are the small businesses, which the mayor labeled as the “heartbeat” of Buda.
Buda Economic Development Corporation CEO Jennifer Storm stated that it has continued to focus on small businesses instead of chains, aiming to reach $1 million of incentives going back into small businesses by 2026.
“Downtown continues to thrive with new businesses filling in the gaps and historic spaces getting fresh life,” Urbanovsky said. “Many of you have seen the construction on what I call South Main Street. Soon, we’ll be celebrating the opening of a new, two-story mixed-use building and next door to that structure, a craft cocktail lounge.”
On the residential side, Urbanovsky shared that communities, such as Persimmon and The Colony, will not only bring new neighbors, but new public spaces for retail and recreation. Because of these developments, a bridge over Onion Creek, which will connect FM 2770 to Cole Springs Road, is being built by The Colony.
He continued by sharing that the 2021 bond projects have also made progress, with the completion of the East Main Street expansion, the Onion Creek Trail, the Garlic Creek Trail and the Tally Loop reconstruction projects. Furthermore, Garison Memorial Park will be breaking ground soon, along with the Old Black Colony Road reconstruction and the design of East Side Park.
“It used to be [that] I knew everybody and, now, there’s new people every single time we go anywhere and that means that [Buda] is on the map,” said the mayor.
This growth is also evident with events, like Railcar Revival, which “was an incredible night of music, food and neighbors and visitors all connecting together. The financial impact it had on our local economy was actually outstanding. The total non-spending that we tracked from people who are visiting Buda for attending that one event was over $370,000,” Urbanovsky said.
Another new event will be heading toward Buda, shared Urbanovsky, as he announced that the city plans on hosting the Pony Softball World Series July 2026. This comes after several upgrades are planned for Buda’s sportsplex, including four additional fields, upgrades to existing fields, a new concession stand and 26 new batting cages.
Finally, the mayor ended the presentation by noting that the train depot that started it all in the 1800s will be returning to Buda toward the end of the year. It will be located downtown on the Greenbelt and will host a community gathering space, as well as an entrepreneur space inside.
“We are growing and we are growing with intention. We are building and we are building a way that protects our industry. We are creating more opportunities for residents and more space for our communities to come together,” Urbanovsky said. “I can say with confidence, the best is still yet to come.”
