Chamber of Commerce Responds to Recent Business Closures

The San Angelo Chamber of Commerce responded to San Angelo LIVE!'s request for information surrounding the closure of local businesses and the Chamber's role in the area this morning. Vice President of Marketing and Recruitment at the Chamber of Commerce​ Michael Looney's response is as follows:

"To give you a brief review, the Chamber serves to promote the health of the economy of San Angelo and the Concho Valley. We work with ten economic development partner organizations in San Angelo. The Chamber’s economic development division, my division, helps existing companies in San Angelo grow and brings new companies into the region. We assist those new companies and help them get established with workforce, locations, facilities, and any other resources they need to get settled and get producing.

Here are the main economic development partner organizations:

• Concho Valley Workforce Development Board
• City of San Angelo Development Corporation
• San Angelo Chamber of Commerce
• The Business Factory
• The Small Business Development Center
• Downtown San Angelo, Inc.
• Howard College
• Angelo State University
• The City of San Angelo
• Tom Green County

The Chamber is aware of most all of the available property in San Angelo, and we connect property owners with prospective companies all the time.  As an example, last week we directly introduced a company from out of state to a property broker of a large building in town. We personally arranged the meeting, and all toured the property together. The Chamber works with our partners consistently, as if we are all part of the same organization, to help provide leads and backup tenants for vacant buildings. We stay in contact with as many brokers and owners as possible and meet regularly with the local Realtors office. We keep strong lines of communication open with real estate agents, and we work together very regularly.

As part of our multiple economic development partners alliance, we all communicate and meet regularly to discuss available facilities and what potential leads we may have for them.

In the big picture, the closure of businesses like Hastings, Green’s and Office Max, will not be an overly damaging blow to the economy. I should add, these retail stores will be very missed and we hate to see them go. However, as operations close down, others come into being. We work with these new companies every day.

In the world of commercial real estate, it would not surprise me if there were replacement tenants waiting to infill these properties already. The Concho Valley Workforce Development Board has been working with the employees of these companies since the earliest indications of a shut down. This will help give the employees options for other jobs in the Concho Valley. We expect that all of the displaced employees will not be unemployed for very long, or for any period of time at all.

I was trying to get intel on the OfficeMax building – the rumor is that Ashley Furniture is taking that building. The old Ashley Furniture building was inhabited by a large church." 

Check out San Angelo LIVE! for more about the recently announced closure of these businesses or the Chamber's new president.