DALLAS — This article was originally published by our content partners at the Dallas Business Journal. You can read the original article here.
A new way to award incentives in Dallas has spurred a headquarters move and additional economic activity in the city.
Koya Medical Inc., a medical device company, is in the process of relocating its HQ to Dallas from Oakland, California — thanks in part to incentives awarded through "administrative action."
Dallas City Council in January 2023 approved a new economic development framework allowing some kinds of smaller incentives to be awarded by City Hall instead of by council vote.
These incentives can come in the form of tax abatements and grants. Leaders at City Hall have championed the new framework as a way to reduce the burden of the normal incentives process on small businesses and to encourage more investment in underserved parts of the city, especially southern Dallas.
Examples of how the policy is being used have surfaced in recent public documents. According to an Aug. 2 memo, Koya Medical is eligible to receive a grant of up to $350,000 to create an HQ in a 35,000-square-foot space at 2332 and 2340 Valdina St., near the Design District.
The new space is expected to house corporate offices, light assembly operations, fulfillment and distribution capabilities and research and development, according to the memo. Koya Medical, which makes a sleeve-like compression device to treat venous diseases and lymphedema, plans to invest roughly $1.7 million in the leased space by the end of 2028.
Koya declined to comment for this story.
The grant agreement was authorized May 17, according to the memo.
Koya Medical already has a small presence in Dallas. The move is expected to retain seven existing full-time Dallas jobs, relocate 10 additional full-time staff members from out-of-state and create 220 new positions with a minimum average annual wage of $62,400 by the end of 2029, according to the memo.
If Koya meets all the requirements of the agreement, the company will be paid the grant in two installments. The first installment of $175,000 will be paid upon documentation of the company’s tenant improvements.
The second $175,000 installment will be awarded upon the verification of the creation of 100 jobs on or before June 30, 2028 and is subject to the company meeting a 30% local hiring requirement.
Koya is required to create and retain a total of 160 by the end of 2029 and 220 jobs by the end of 2034. It must also invest roughly $500,000 in tenant improvements.
Koya Medical in November announced a financing deal worth up to $30 million with health care investment firm OrbiMed.
Separately, Presidential Concepts LLC has also received approval from the city for incentives to renovate an existing 59,742-square-foot building into a commercial kitchen facility. Located at 1499 Regal Row, the property will be used by retail food manufacturers, private chefs and mobile food service vendors, according to a memo. Construction could be completed in December 2025.
Presidential Concepts plans to invest $9 million, which includes about $7.8 million in property improvements and roughly $1.2 million in soft costs, according to the memo. The company is eligible to receive 10 years of property tax abatements.
What are 'administrative action' incentives in Dallas
These "administrative action" incentives are geared toward areas that have historically been overlooked by big business. The City of Dallas uses the Texas Enterprise Program to define these "target areas," many of which have poverty rates of 20% or higher.
To be approved by "administrative action," the incentives must be valued at or below $1 million. They can be made to any kind of company within the target areas and to certified minority- and women-owned businesses in places outside the target areas.
