www.dallas-ecodev.org

One Metro, Three Vastly Different Approaches to Public Transit

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 23:07:08 GMT

If the city of Dallas was its own metro area then both its coverage and access stats would rank first among all 100 metropolitan areas

Jan 30, 2012
The Atlantic - by Adie Tomer

The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan area is home to nearly 6.4 million residents, the fourth largest metro area in the country. But what makes the Metroplex especially interesting is the disparate ways its three principal cities handle transit.

Dallas, the nation’s ninth largest city, operates the Dallas Area Rapid Transit Authority (DART). DART levies a 1 percent sales tax in 13 member cities across four counties to operate five rail lines and around 140 bus lines. Those communities approved the tax via referendum - an example of metros practicing transportation self-help - and created the country’s largest light rail network.

Fort Worth, the country’s 16th largest city, supports the Fort Worth Transportation Authority (The T). The T also uses a regional model, albeit limited to a single county, financed through a referendum-based half-cent sales tax. The T operates one rail route and over 40 bus routes.

Arlington is the 50th largest city in America, home to the Texas Rangers and the Dallas Cowboys. It also has the honor of being the largest city in America to not support transit service. Outside of some commuter rail stops in the northern portion of the city, fixed route transit service is nonexistent.

What we have are three distinct approaches and attitudes towards public transportation. We've got big spending, regional service; locally-funded, county-based service; and absence. How do these approaches shape their city’s ability to connect residents and jobs?

Using Brookings’ transit performance database, we analyzed how many working-age people live within three-quarters mile of a transit stop (coverage). Of those people who can reach transit, we calculated the share that can reach their jobs within 90 minutes (access). In addition to the three cities, I added the Dallas suburbs for a bit of comparison, although the access rate reflects access to all Dallas metropolitan jobs, not just those in the suburbs. For more information about these statistical methods, go here.

Place	Working Age Population	Coverage	Access*
Dallas	830,709	97.7 percent	73.6 percent
Fort Worth	413,538	78.9 percent	42.9 percent
Arlington	254,6711	4.3 percent	2.8 percent
Suburbs	2,609,715	29.2 percent	16.1 percent

* Access statistics for the cities reflect jobs reachable within the same city, while suburban access is jobs reachable throughout the entire metropolitan area.

These divergent approaches to transit certainly lead to different results:

    Almost all Dallas city residents can board a fixed transit route, and once they board a bus or train they can reach nearly three-quarters of jobs in the city. If the city of Dallas was its own metro area then both its coverage and access stats would rank first among all 100 metropolitan areas. Clearly, Dallas’ financial commitment to DART created a system that truly connects the city.
    Fort Worth trails Dallas, but The T’s routes still cover nearly four in five working-age residents. And while the access rate is over 30 percentage points below Dallas, it’s still higher than 87 other metropolitan areas.
    Arlington barely registers at all. This is an achievement in itself since it relies on the Dallas and Forth Worth-funded TRE commuter rail line.

These performances show that a coordinated investment in transit can pay dividends for a local labor market. Dallas' performance is especially notable since DART’s transit vote is less than three decades old and stands to improve as new investments come online in the coming years. Conversely, Arlington’s transportation choices may save money on the public ledger, but they also force most residents to access a car, and nearly 4,000 Arlington households that don’t have access to a vehicle.

So what do these three cities’ performances tell us about metro-wide connectivity? Even with excellent city statistics out of Dallas and Fort Worth, the Metroplex still performed near the bottom of our 100-metro rankings. Including all three cities and the 2.6 million working-age residents in the suburbs, the Metroplex ranked 77th in coverage and 88th in job access.

The chief culprits are Arlington and suburban inaction. Omitting transit service for well over half of the population and jobs creates too many holes in the metropolitan transit network.

And this situation isn’t unique to the Metroplex. When it comes to judging metro transit performance, we need to move beyond agency-specific thinking. It’s why great core transit systems in Chicago and Philadelphia or far-reaching commuter rail in Boston and San Francisco are not enough to achieve high performance for the entire metro area. In many cases, our metro areas have grown so far geographically that many communities simply don’t participate in transit programs, or if they do the regional connections are inadequate.

So, before complaining about transit agency performance, it might be more accurate to look at communities around the region that fail to pull their weight.

Street Artist Shepard Fairey Brings His Art To Dallas

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 23:03:01 GMT

Tuesday, January 31, 2012
CBS DFW - Robbie Owens

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – For decades, the story of West Dallas has been one of poverty, neglect, and hard times. It’s hardly the place one would go looking for great art.

Until now.

“Art’s good for any neighborhood, but especially up and coming neighborhoods,” says celebrated graphic artist, Shepard Fairey, “I think it peaks the interest of younger people who will come and try and do something cool and positive, so I think it’s especially good for up and coming neighborhoods.”

Shepard Fairey has been called the most accomplished graphic artist of our time… skyrocketing to fame after creating the “Hope” poster for President Barack Obama. The original now hangs in the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery.

“The Obama poster became a viral phenomenon that I never would have imaged and that was really amazing for me,” says Fairey. “A lot of people feel they can’t become involved beyond voting… I made a poster that demonstrated that any person with a desire to participate in addition to voting can do something , with the potential for it to become bigger.”

Dallas Contemporary, which revels in the edginess of Fairey’s art, commissioned the project. Its director, Peter Doroshenko, loves Fairey’s ability to provoke reaction, no matter where his eerily bold images leave their imprint.

“This is a way to engage many, many thousands of people in their communities and give something back… and hopefully lighten up their day, bring art to a trip to the bank, or to the post office,” says Doroshenko.

Fairey, 42, grew up in South Carolina, where in 1984 he launched his career drawing on skateboards and T-shirts. In 1992, he graduated from the elite Rhode Island School of Design, which is also the alma mater of L.A. sculptor Elliott Hundley, whose new show opened Saturday at the Nasher Sculpture Center.

In 1989, Fairey created his famous “André the Giant Has a Posse” sticker, which evolved into the Obey Giant campaign. Time magazine sharply heightened his profile by having him design its 2008 Person of the Year cover (Obama). He got an encore by doing its 2011 Person of the Year cover (“The Protester,” in deference to Occupy Wall Street, Arab Spring and other international movements).

Fairey’s work “reaches out to individuals who don’t have a background in art or art history. But when you see his work on the streets, it stops you. You don’t expect to see artwork going to the bank. It’s hard not to see his work anywhere in the world and not have an emotional response”, says Doroshenko.

Always the artist, Fairey says, “I think it’ll be great for people to come and check out the art in person when it’s finished.” An opening celebration for the city-wide mural project is on Saturday, February 4 from 9 PM until midnight at Dallas Contemporary, 161 Glass Street. Shepard Fairey will DJ the music. Tickets are $50. Visit www.dallascontemporary.org for more information.

Developer ready to start Far North Dallas project

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 23:00:17 GMT

Developers are kicking off a Far North Dallas mixed-use project with 310 apartment units.

Dallas Morning News - By Steve Brown
Monday January 30, 2012

Developers working with Texas A&M University to build on 73 acres in Far North Dallas are ready to kick off their project.

Arlington-based Realty Appreciation Ltd. is seeking city approval to build the first 310 apartments in its development called Urban Living Laboratory on Coit Road in Collin County.

The mixed-use project is planned for land that is part of A&M's decades old extension services facility on Coit south of Frankford Road.

Texas A&M is a partner in the development which was originally announced in late 2010.

The first phase of construction is planned to include 10 apartment buildings and a clubhouse on a vacant tract just east of Coit, according to designs filed with the City of Dallas.

Developer Stewart Hoffman heads Realty Appreciation.

The entire Urban Living Laboratory project is envisioned to include apartments, offices, retail and hotel space.

The complex will also be used to research, demonstrate and teach concepts of sustainability, energy efficiency and urban planning.

The original design called for eventual construction of 600 apartments, 200 student housing units, more than 100,000 square feet of retail space and two hotels.

Omni Hotels’ parent moving to Dallas

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 22:56:58 GMT

The parent company of Omni Hotels is moving its headquarters to Dallas.

Tuesday January 24, 2012
Dallas Morning News - by Steve Brown and Karen Robinson-Jacobs

The company that owns Omni Hotels & Resorts and Gold’s Gym International said Tuesday that it’s moving its headquarters from Irving to Dallas next year.

TRT Holdings is expected to announce Wednesday that it will build new offices with at least 170,000 square feet of space in the Old Parkland Hospital business campus on Maple Avenue in Oak Lawn.

That project is being developed by Crow Holdings. Its chairman and chief executive, Harlan Crow, is scheduled to speak at a news conference Wednesday morning.

The matter also is on the agenda for the Dallas City Council, which will be asked to approve more than $2 million in tax abatements.

The move addresses concerns that were raised when Omni was awarded the long-term contract to operate the $500 million city-owned convention center hotel in downtown Dallas, now the flagship of the brand. It was pointedly noted at the time that Omni was not headquartered in Dallas.

The project is designed to house all employees of Omni, Gold’s Gym and TRT Holdings, more than 200 workers who are now spread out in three Irving office buildings. It’s also expected to accommodate staffing growth.

“We’re out of space,” said Caryn Kboudi, a spokeswoman for Omni. “This will fit our needs into the future.”

She also said the move will bring new efficiency: “We will go from being a few miles apart to being steps apart.”

At the annual meeting of Downtown Dallas Inc. on Tuesday, president John Crawford said he sees the move as part of the “changing face of Dallas.”

“Now people are collecting in the central city,” he said, contrasting current patterns with the dispersion he saw in the past. “The whole inner city is taking on a fresh and different look.”

Crawford said he was disappointed the new building will not be downtown but is “thrilled that they selected Dallas.”

TRT Holdings is moving from 320 Decker Drive in Las Colinas. The company said it expects to make the move in summer 2013.

Site work for the building is under way near Maple Avenue and Reagan Street near the Dallas North Tollway.

CitySquare celebrates construction launch

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 22:54:59 GMT

Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Dallas Business Journal by Bill Hethcock

Construction is under way on the $12.5 million CitySquare Opportunity Center at the southeast corner of Interstate 30 and Malcolm X Blvd. in Dallas.

Public officials including Mayor Mike Rawlings and other project supporters will get a bus tour of the site at a breakfast Thursday to celebrate the start of construction.

The 52,000-square-foot campus will include a food distribution center; a teaching and production kitchen; a wellness center; and a large employment training center that will house new offices for Workforce Solutions of Greater Dallas and CitySquare’s WorkPaths employment training department. The center also will house the AmeriCorps headquarters/offices and a staging area for a summer and after-school lunch program funded by the Texas Department of Agriculture .

The services are all under one roof with easy access by Dallas Area Rapid Transit rail and bus.

The opportunity center, scheduled to open in 2013, will serve low-income residents of East and South Dallas. The center has been a dream of CitySquare’s President and CEO Larry James, a longtime leader in efforts to end poverty in the heart of Dallas.

"The opportunity center will create both enhanced synergy among a vital group of nonprofit partners and convenience of access for the neighbors who come to us seeking to take positive, proactive steps toward a better, more stable life for themselves and their families," James said.

About half of the $12.5 million in development funds for the facility has already been raised, and a public fund-raising campaign is under way.

Omniplan provided the architectural design and Con-Real serves as general contractor for the Opportunity Center.

TRT Holdings Moving HQ To New Dallas Location

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 22:53:36 GMT

Parent Company of Omni Hotels & Resorts To Relocate from Irving After City Officials Approve 10-Year Tax Abatement Package

Wednesday January 25, 2012
CoStar Research

The parent company of Omni Hotels & Resorts and Gold's Gym International agreed to relocate its headquarters from Irving to a new building that Crow Holdings will build at 4001 Maple Avenue on the Old Parkland campus. The firm, TRT Holdings, plans to move to its new Dallas location in 2013.

Crow Holdings recently acquired additional property to expand the original 8.3-acre site to 9.5 acres, which is bound by the Dallas North Tollway, Maple and Oak Lawn Avenues. The master planned business campus will include new buildings designed to complement the historic landmark structures.

The headquarters will be built by Brasfield & Gorrie. HKS has been hired to design the six-story headquarters, which will measure approximately 170,000 square feet. The new building is expected to house approximately 275 employees of TRT Holdings, Omni Hotels & Resorts and Gold's Gym International.

Earlier this week, the Dallas City Council confirmed a 10-year tax abatement on 90% of the value of the new headquarters facility and a $200,000 grant as an incentive for the project. Dallas will forgo some property tax but will gain an estimated $7 million in ancillary revenue from the project over the same time period. TRT Holdings said it expects to make a $40 million investment in the project.

TRT Holdings' Omni Hotels & Resorts was recently selected to manage the new Dallas Convention Center Hotel.

Dallas-Fort Worth warehouse leasing is on a roll

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 23:07:05 GMT

Thursday January 19, 2012
Dallas Morning News - by Steve Brown

Don’t look now, but the North Texas warehouse market has bounced back.

After two years of net declines, warehouse and industrial leasing surged in Dallas-Fort Worth in 2011.

Expanding and relocating tenants rented about 6.5 million square feet of industrial space in the area last year. That’s the best net leasing North Texas has seen in four years.

And all signs point to a better year for the local warehouse market in 2012.

“I’m hearing about a lot of activity,” said Jeff Turner, who heads the Dallas regional office for Duke Realty. “The market is sure looking a lot better.”

Of course, that’s not tough to do, given the last few years.

In 2009 and 2010, industrial building occupancies in D-FW fell by more than 2 million square feet total because of business moves and consolidations, according to the latest statistics from Cushman & Wakefield.

But 2011’s leasing totals have more than made up for those declines during the recession. And overall industrial vacancy dropped by more than a percentage point.

Net leasing for D-FW warehouses was higher than for office and retail buildings combined last year.

Developers and brokers say the market is poised to return to a period of strong leasing and construction.

“We are getting national attention from how the D-FW area has recovered,” said Jack Fraker, vice chairman and managing director in CBRE Group’s Dallas office. “Southern California and southern Florida are probably ahead of us” when it comes to the warehouse rebound.

“But a lot of national and regional distribution is being driven to Dallas, and we have good generic growth from our economy,” Fraker said.

The D-FW area had the second-fastest-growing economy in the nation last year, behind only energy capital Houston. And the region is one of the fastest-growing population centers.

That means more people with jobs buying more stuff that has to be kept in warehouses at some point.

During 2011, the biggest increase in net warehouse leasing in North Texas was in industrial parks near Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, with 3.2 million square feet.

The Inland Port district along Interstates 45 and 20 in southern Dallas County was second, with about 1.5 million square feet of net leasing.

Little warehouse space was under construction in North Texas at year’s end — fewer than 2 million square feet.

But that will soon change, industry leaders say.

“There is so much pent-up demand in some submarkets that is more than the available supply,” Fraker said. “I would expect you will see some speculative development soon.”

First, lenders have to loosen their purse strings.

And something has to give when it comes to warehouse rents .They’ve been basically flat for years; meanwhile, prices for land and construction are moving up again.

Texas among top 10 states for LEED-certified space

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 23:05:36 GMT

Dallas Business Journal - by Washington Business Journal
Friday, January 20, 2012

Texas is among the top 10 states in the U.S. for its square footage of commercial and institutional green buildings per capita.

The U.S. Green Building Council is out with its annual list of Top 10 states for LEED-certified Commercial Property Per Capita, and Texas ranks No. 8 with 1.99 square feet of LEED-certified space per resident in 2011.

In all, Texas boasts 50 million square feet of LEED-certified development.

Washington, D.C., ranked first with 31.50 square feet of LEED-certifed space for each resident.

The USGBC counts nearly 19 million square feet of LEED-certified construction in D.C., compared to 71.5 million green square feet in California, ranking California ninth on the per capita list, as 1.92 square feet per resident.

This year could be a big one for business starts

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 23:04:18 GMT

Elisabeth Dillon/Special Contributor
Marcellus Rainey (back) and trainer Thomas Allen put an athlete through running drills at a session in Frisco. Rainey plans to open a health and fitness center called The Cell in March.

Saturday January 14, 2012
Dallas Morning News - By Sheryl Jean

Marcellus Rainey spent 16 years moving up the ranks of corporate America.

He even went back to school to get an MBA, but it didn’t save him from being laid off by his employer a year ago. After consulting for a while, he decided to follow his passion.

“If I’m going to run my own business, I thought what do I really want to do?” Rainey said. A football player in high school and a weightlifter for 20 years, he plans to open a health and fitness center called The Cell in Frisco in March.

Rainey is one of the many new faces who could make 2012 the “year of the entrepreneur” in North Texas and statewide — especially at the beginning of the year.

History is on their side. Business starts in Dallas County and across Texas appear to be strongest in the first quarter of a year based on data for the last five years. The numbers, however, do not reflect all new businesses in the county or state because certain types of businesses are exempt or register in another state.

Over the last five years, an average of 27 percent of yearly new businesses filed certificates of formation with the Texas secretary of state’s office in the first quarter. The same percentage of companies filed a “doing business as” name with the Dallas County clerk’s office in each year’s first quarter.

Last year, 26,150 businesses filed a DBA with Dallas County with 6,933 of those in the first quarter. Nearly 126,000 certificates of formation were filed in Texas in fiscal year 2011, ending Aug. 31.

Marta Frey, director of the Collin Small Business Development Center in Plano, said she gets more wannabe entrepreneurs seeking help in the first half of a year than at other time of the year. The reasons, she said, may be practical.

“People use this as a New Year’s resolution and get really busy to try to make it happen,” said Frey, whose office helped 824 people start a business in 2011. “When summer rolls around and kids are out of school, they’re less active.”

Small business experts say other reasons to start a business early this year include:

A fresh start at the beginning of a year
Individual unemployment benefits expire
Continued difficulty finding a job
Easier record keeping and tax preparation
Tax incentives

In December, President Barack Obama signed a two-month extension of a 2 percentage-point payroll tax cut. Meagan Chaddick, an accountant with Dallas tax advisory firm Baker & Co., thinks the tax cut will be extended for the rest of this year.

The Dallas-Fort Worth area and Texas rank among the top five metropolitan areas and states for entrepreneurial activity, according to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

“There is a flurry of activity at the start of each year, but it’s hard to see in the government statistics because they’re often seasonally adjusted,” said William Dunkelberg, chief economist for the National Federation of Independent Business.

Texas’ population growth — second nationally after Washington, D.C., in 2011 — leads to more jobs and more businesses as people need haircuts, clothing and other products and services, he said.

High hopes are riding on business creation in 2012. The Obama administration has long looked to small business as a keystone of national economic recovery. Small companies create nearly two-thirds of all net new jobs nationally.

Small businesses helped the U.S. economy add 200,000 jobs in December, which dropped the unemployment rate to 8.5 percent. Texas will release December data on Friday. Texas’ jobless rate was 8.1 percent in November.

A fresh start

Dallas small business consultant Cynthia Nevels expects more people to start businesses this year.

“People make a resolution to do something different and try something new,” she said. “I’ve already had contact from people who were on the fence last year, and now they say they’re ready — whether it’s budget, personal or their unemployment is running out.”

Take Timothy and Carol Richardson of Frisco. They have dreamed of opening their own business since moving from Memphis, Tenn., in 2008.

That day will come next month when the husband-and-wife team open Off on Sundays Memphis Catfish restaurant in Frisco.

“Everyone said we were crazy about opening it now,” Timothy Richardson said. “Things just began to fall into place. We wanted a location on Preston Road. Just as we were about to give up, we found this space.”

The Richardsons are using their savings and incomes from their jobs — he works in customer service for a credit card company and she is a hairstylist — to finance the business. Some of the recipes come from their moms, both of whom worked in the catering and restaurant industries for decades.

Nevels thinks the difficult job market will spur some people to freelance until they either find a job or decide to stay self-employed. The easiest way to do that is to form a limited liability company or sole proprietorship, she said.

Elizabeth Moffitt just started Career Clique as a limited liability company to offer job consulting and placement services in Oak Cliff.

“It’s been something that I wanted to do for a long time,” Moffitt said. “I’m in HR, and with the industry the way it is now, we get a lot of people looking for work. It seemed to be the perfect time as I was setting goals for 2012.”

She started her first company, a human resources management consultancy called the Christopher Quinn Group, in 2004. Last spring, Moffitt hired her first employee — her niece — so she could focus on Career Clique.

So far, Moffitt said she’s spent about $500 to hire a lawyer to file her LLC with the Texas secretary of state and for marketing materials.

Personal freedom

A study of 550 entrepreneurs by the Kauffman Foundation in 2009 found that the main motivations for launching a company included wanting to build wealth, capitalize on an idea and be one’s own boss. Three-quarters of entrepreneurs worked as an employee for others for more than six years before striking out on their own.

Most entrepreneurs were middle-aged (40 was the average age) and married with at least one child when they started their first company, according to the study. And most entrepreneurs came from middle-class or modest backgrounds and completed at least four years of college.

An earlier study of 5,000 firms by the National Federation of Independent Business found that 20 percent started because of negative influences, such as losing a job, Dunkelberg said.

Rainey, the man behind the Frisco health and fitness concept, wasn’t surprised when he was laid off from his executive job at an Irving steel manufacturer, which had been downsizing for three years. He had socked away some money and trimmed family expenses.

He came up with the idea for The Cell after Men’s Journal in April named Frisco the nation’s best place to raise an athlete. He wrote a business plan and incorporated as an LLC.

The Cell will provide workout equipment, group classes, personal training and educational speakers. Rainey has already lined up seven trainers and is talking with banks about financing.

He’s looking at two locations in Frisco and hopes to have several locations open in a few years.

Dallas agency to market Texas as “A Whole Other Country”

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 22:57:00 GMT

Tuesday January 17, 2012
Dallas Morning News - by Cheryl Hall

Owen Hannay’s offbeat advertising agency just landed a significant mainstream account.

The founder and chief executive of Dallas-based Slingshot LLC won the $20-million-a-year marketing and advertising account of the Texas governor’s Office of Economic Development and Tourism by promising to bring the state’s marketing and advertising message into the 21st century.

“We want to give consumers planning tools that they haven’t had and become more active in social media,” Hannay says. “We want to reach out to younger travelers who are forming their opinions about what is cool and become a preferred destination for this generation.”

Three out of four travelers use the Web to plan trips, and 92 percent seek information online, Hannay says.

Texas Tourism, which gets funding through state hotel tax revenue, expects to spend about $20 million on the campaign this year, says Julie Chase, its tourism director.

“We couldn’t be more excited about our new agency partner,” she says. “Slingshot’s proposal included quality strategic thinking and creative ideas, a thorough media plan and understanding of emerging platforms to reach our wide variety of target audiences.”

The campaign will promote Texas as “A Whole Other Country.” Which, of course, we know it is.

“We absolutely busted our butts to get this account,” says Hannay, whose agency has 65 employees in Dallas and annual revenue of about $10 million.

“I am, and many members of our team are, multigenerational Texans. We love this place. If you really believe that you can do a better job marketing something that you care about, and we do, then you have to go all in. We know about the hidden places people want to find as well as the core tourist destinations.”

No profit? No problem

Hannay expects the account to generate several million dollars in revenue during the two-year contract but says the profit margin will be slim.

“They’ve really got it down with rules to make sure the taxpayers are getting their money,” he says. “We may not even make any money on it. That would be OK.”

How so?

“It’s a marquee piece of business,” Hannay says. “If we do our job right, we should demonstrate that we can drive significant results using a model that will work for all kinds of other businesses.”

Slingshot will open an Austin office with at least three people to service the account. Between five and 20 employees in Dallas will be assigned to Texas Tourism, depending on the workload.

Hannay says Texas has a window of opportunity created by slashed tourism budgets in competing states. But the Lone Star State narrowly missed a similar whacking. At the last minute of the Texas legislative session in July, lawmakers reinstated Texas Tourism’s budget at $30 million for 2012 and $31.5 million for 2013 — having previously pared it to a paltry $5 million.

Hannay assembled “Team Texas” to woo the account away from TM Advertising LP in Dallas, which had handled Texas Tourism for a dozen years. The team includes Belmont Icehouse, a creative boutique in Deep Ellum, and three international media buyers.

Two of the team members, Tony Balmer at Slingshot and Drew Holmgreen at Belmont Icehouse, previously oversaw the account at TM before joining their current agencies. Balmer will oversee the account for Team Texas.

Holmgreen was the Texas Tourism account leader for six years before joining Belmont Icehouse in August 2010. “They trust their agency and allow a lot of creative freedom to do the right thing,” he says of the state agency. “Yet they’re tremendously smart and know their product and their audience extremely well.

“We’re going to market Texas as a whole other country,” Holmgreen says. “In the past, it’s been just a signoff for the advertising. It’s such a strong differentiator for the state as more than just a destination. We’re going to take ownership of that and create an entire campaign around it.”

Beyond TV image

The campaign will also do a lot of explaining, especially to international visitors, who tend to stay longer and spend more than domestic travelers but think of Texas in movie or TV terms and don’t travel here as routinely as they do Florida, California and Las Vegas.

“People who have not been here do not understand what a great, diverse culture we have and the variety of different places we have to visit,” Hannay says.

“Nobody wants to run away from the Western heritage, but that’s not all there is here by any stretch of the imagination. That’s what needs to be communicated — the arts, shopping, diverse cultures, the beaches, all the outdoor activities that are here and the great weather for large parts of the year.”

Yeah, but there were 71 days of 100-plus heat last summer.

“Yeah, there were,” he says.

I don’t think he’ll be touting that.