AUSTIN—Panelists came back to a central theme throughout the opening session of the inaugural RealShare Austin conference on Tuesday: The city of Austin is a hot commodity.
And while a key component is technology, the ever-growing MSA is thriving thanks to a recent new addition: The Circuit of the Americas (COTA) racetrack, and particuluarly, Formula One racing.
“We can't underscore what Formula One means to us,” Charisse Bodisch, senior vice president Economic Development, Austin Chamber of Commerce, told the crowd.
The entity brought some 6,000 jobs to the table in 2014 and contributed $507 million to the city's economy, Bodisch said.
The panel for “Local Leaders Roundtable: Austin's Past, Present & Future,” comprised Bodisch; Peter Mullan, CEO, Waller Creek Conservancy; Mark Tester, director, Austin Convention Center Department; Patricia Young Brown, president and CEO, Central Health; and moderator Lise Wineland, senior director, Kennedy Wilson.
Mullan, an integral part of the development of New York City's High Line, discussed his plans for Waller Creek, sharing that a flood control tunnel under the creek is almost complete.
“The entire area around Waller Creek is now going to be removed from the flood plain,” he said.
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