Red River Army Depot is Now a Business Draw
Formerly part of a sprawling Army maintenance installation, the Red River Commerce Park has a precise strategy: “Recruit and retain companies of quality which are committed to the region for the creation of jobs and capital investment.”
These tactics help the Red River Redevelopment Authority succeed in promoting economic growth by supporting companies that create jobs.
Duane Lavery, a certified economic developer, regularly fields one question about his work as executive director of the RRRA.
“They ask me: ‘How many jobs have you created out there?’” Lavery says. “And my answer is ‘Zero. I don’t create jobs. The companies do.’ ”
“What the RRRA does is create an environment for companies to come in here and begin operations,” he says.
Evidence of success: in the last decade, 1,000-plus jobs have been created by the more than 15 companies lured to the commerce park.
The largest occupant is Lear Siegler Mobility Center, which employs about 400 workers.
Like the other employers drawn by the low-cost and easy-to-find development on a small swath of what was Red River Army Depot, Lear Siegler is a defense contractor, which helps build and maintain military vehicles and portable bridges.
“We support our tenants – the defense contractors – who support the depot. And the depot supports the soldier in the field,” Lavery says.
The Red River Redevelopment Authority’s mission is being carried out on 765 acres of land that was a part of the 17,000-acre Red River Army Depot.
Beginning as a “brownfield redevelopment project” – which basically means retrofitting buildings formerly used by the Army depot – Lavery has overseen the reuse and development of 1.1 million square feet of industrial space. He says there are less than 100,000 square feet still available for tenants.
The authority also has enticed tenants to the wide-open spaces, also known as “greenfield redevelopment,” where there are still 200-300 acres with utilities and infrastructure already in place for new businesses.
Other lures are accessibility on the NAFTA corridors of U.S. 82 and Interstate 30 and the regional airport 17 miles west of Texarkana.
