KAUFMAN, Texas — Make a drive to Kaufman County and you’ll see proof it’s one of the fastest growing counties in the nation. While much of the growth is largely impacting the cities of Forney and Terrell, it’s trickling down to Kaufman, a population of about 8,000.
“For a long time, this was a sleepy bedroom community,” said Jeff Jordan, Mayor of Kaufman.
Located just over 30 miles east of Dallas, the downtown area is full of character, charm and now growth. Kaufman Mayor Jeff Jordan says he prepared for it.
“What we did see with North Dallas and the growth, we knew it would eventually come here,” said Jordan.
He’s focusing on quality-of-life issues for residents, improving the city’s parks and rec system and making adjustments for more transportation.
“Major retailers [are] coming in, we’ve seen a major increase in residential development whether that’s single family or multi family. Industries moving in,” said Jordan.
“When you hear that Kaufman County is the fastest growing county in the nation, do you believe it?” asked WFAA Reporter Susanne Brunner
“I do, yes. I see it every day,” says Stewart McGregor, Executive Director of the Kaufman Economic Development Corporation.
Stewart McGregor leads the charge in recruiting and retaining business in Kaufman. His goal is to preserve the historic nature of the downtown square while embracing future growth. He says they have a lot of new businesses making its way to Kaufman, but it’s too early to release those details.
“We have one developer that has quite a bit of land that he’s getting a lot of interest in from a lot of national retailers and restaurants,” says McGregor.
McGregor has secured a Hampton Inn that’s breaking ground late summer. With roughly 3,000 new housing units in the pipeline, job creation is at the top of his list too.
“We don’t want all those people getting on the road, driving into Dallas every day. We want to keep jobs local, help keep those dollars local in our community,” says McGregor.
City leaders leave folks looking to make Kaufman home, with this message—“We’re open for business.”
Kaufman City Leaders expect their population of around 8,000 will double within the next 10 years.