Great place to live

• Listed among Money Magazine’s  Top 100 Places to Live
• Average household income of $97,173
• Average resident age of 34.4
• Current population of 47,150.

Popular tourist destination

• Grapevine hosts GrapeFest, the Southwest’s largest wine festival, every September.  GrapeFest voted a 2008 American Business Association (ABA) Top 100 Event in North America
• Main Street listed on National Register of Historic Places
• Home to more than 5000 hotel rooms
• Garners more than 18.75 million total annual visits.

Important websites

• City: www.ci.grapevine.tx.us
• Chamber: www.grapevinechamber.org
• Convention/Visitors Bureau: www.grapevinetexasusa.com
• I Love Grapevine: www.ilovegrapevinetexas.com

Source: Numerous sources

The North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) recently released its official Jan. 1, 2008 population estimates for the greater DFW area.  NCTCOG estimates are based on building permits, occupancy factors and household size; this process differs from U.S. Census methodology.

For the five cities in the greater Southlake marketplace with over one thousand residents, Grapevine experienced the greater increase of 3.6 percent, or 1,650 new residents.  Keller had the second highest growth rate at 1.9 percent, for an increase of 700 residents.  Overall, the five cities grew by 3,150 residents, or 2.3 percent from 138,500 in January 2007 to 141,650 on January 1, 2008.

Here are population estimates for the five local  communities with over one thousand residents as of January 1, 2007 and 2008.

Colleyville
2008  22,500
2007  22,150

Grapevine
2008  47,150
2007  45,500
 
Keller
2008  38,400
2007  37,700

Southlake
2008  26,100
2007  25,700

Trophy Club
2008  7,500
2007  7,450

If you need to obtain a certificate of occupancy or learn about signage requirements within the greater Southlake area, here are the appropriate departments within each local community to contact.  

Colleyville: The Building Inspection Department handles both items. 

• Phone  817-503-1030 or visit www.colleyville.com.

Grapevine: Development Services is the division to contact. 

• Phone 817-410-3154 or visit www.ci.grapevine.tx.us.

 Keller: Contact the Development Services Division of the Community Development Department. 

• Phone 817-743-4130 or visit www.cityofkeller.com.

Southlake: The Building Inspections division handles both items. 

• Phone 817-748-8009 or visit www.cityofsouthlake.com.

Trophy Club: The Permitting staff handles both items. 

• Phone 682-831-4680 or visit www.ci.trophyclub.tx.us.

Westlake: Planning and Development is the department to contact. 

• Phone 817-490-5726 or visit www.westlake-tx.org.

As a small business owner/operator/manager, you may periodically need to attend public meetings at which important decisions impacting your business are discussed and made.  If you live in the greater Southlake market, here are the meeting times for the Planning and Zoning Commission of each community.  This commission is often referred to as “P&Z”.

Colleyville: The Commission meets the second and fourth Monday of each month. The regular session begins at 7:00 p.m., Colleyville City Hall, 100 Main Street.

Grapevine: The Commission meets on the third Tuesday of each month at 7:30 pm, Grapevine City Hall, 200 South Main Street.  Special meetings and workshops are held as needed.
 
Keller: The Commission meets the second and fourth Monday of each month at 7 p.m., Keller Town Hall, 1100 Bear Creek Parkway.

Southlake: The Commission meets the first and third Thursday, following the first Tuesday, of each month, at 6:30 p.m., Southlake Town Hall, 1400 Main Street. 

Trophy Club: The Commission meets the first and third Thursday of each month, at 7 p.m., Svore Municipal Building, 100 Municipal Drive.

Westlake: The Commission meets as needed on the fourth Thursday of each month, at 7 p.m., Westlake Town Hall, 2600 J. T. Ottinger Road.

County Business Patterns data, published by the U.S. Census Bureau, is used by individual businesses to find information about the size and location of establishments within their specific industry.  In the public sector, government officials use this resource to assemble big picture information about markets at the zip code, county, metropolitan and state levels. 

Let’s take a quick look at the greater Southlake market using the latest data available.1/  In 2005, this market area had 4,563 businesses.

Grapevine

• 1,602 establishments

Southlake

• 1,056 establishments

Keller

• 786 establishments

Colleyville

• 689 establishments

Roanoke, Trophy Club and Westlake

• 430 establishments

Furthermore, in mid-March 2005, there were 75,438 full and part-time employees of these 4,500 plus businesses.  (The government does not include proprietors and partners of unincorporated businesses.)

Grapevine

• 38,339 employees

Southlake

• 14,246 employees

Roanoke, Trophy Club and Westlake

• 9,811 employees

Keller

• 7,589 employees

Colleyville

• 5,453 employees

County Business Patterns data also includes annual payroll made by reporting businesses.  In 2005, the annual payroll of the 4,500 plus businesses of the greater Southlake market totaled $2.6 billion which includes all forms of compensation to employees.

Grapevine

• $1.1 billion

Southlake

• $645 million

Roanoke, Trophy Club and Westlake

• $481 million

Keller

• $219 million

Colleyville

• $164 million

By making a simple calculation, one can also find the average compensation per employee received by employees working in this market.  Note that this statistic is different than the average income per resident as not all employees of businesses in this market reside in the market.  For 2005, the average compensation per employee was $34,668.

Roanoke, Trophy Club and Westlake

• $48,993

Southlake

• $45,260

Colleyville

• $30,068

Grapevine

• $28,870

Keller

• $28,865

One other useful piece of information gathered from the 2005 County Business Patterns data is a breakdown of industries by community.  The top five industries in each of communities of the greater Southlake market follows.

Grapevine (zip codes 76051 and 76099)

• Retail Trade
• Real Estate and Rental and Leasing
• Health Care and Social Assistance
• Transportation and Warehousing
• Accommodation and Food Services

Southlake (zip code 76092)

• Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
• Retail Trade
• Finance and Insurance
• Construction
• Health Care and Social Assistance

Keller (zip codes 76248 and 76244)

• Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
• Construction
• Retail Trade
• Other Services (except Public Administration)
• Health Care and Social Assistance

Colleyville (zip code 76034)

• Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
• Retail Trade
• Other Services (except Public Adminstration)
• Health Care and Social Assistance
• Construction

Roanoke, Trophy Club and Westlake (zip code 76262)

• Construction
• Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
• Retail Trade
• Wholesale Trade
• Finance and Insurance

 1/ The following zip codes are included in this data: 76034, 76051, 76092, 76099, 76244, 76248 and 76262.

Over 2740 homes were sold in the Greater Southlake market in 2007.  Here’s a city-by-city breakdown.

 Colleyville

• 461 homes sold which is a 6 percent decrease from 2006
• Median price of $450,000 which is 11 percent greater than 2006
• $135 per square foot price
• 60 average days on the market

Grapevine

• 570 homes sold representing a 14% decrease from from 2006
• Median price of $220,000 which is 2 percent higher than 2006
• $103 per square foot price
• 45 average days on the market

Keller

• 921 homes sold which is a 13 percent decline from 2006
• Median price of $284,950 which is an 8 percent increase from 2006
• $107 per square foot price
• 64 average days on the market

Southlake

• 598 homes sold representing a 4 percent decrease from 2006
• Median price of $527,450 which is a 7 percent increase from 2006
• $147 per square foot price
• 71 average days on the market

Westlake

• 193 homes sold for a 18 percent decline from 2006
• Median price of $260,500 which is 11 percent higher than 2006
• $145 per square foot price
• 68 average days on the market

All five communities experienced a decline in home sales and an increase in the median price from 2006.  In total, 11 percent fewer homes were sold. 

• Data for Trophy Club is not available. 
• This information was published in the January 18, 2008 issue of The Dallas Morning News.

 As a small business owner/operator/manager, you may periodically need to attend public meetings at which important decisions impacting your business are discussed and made.  If you live in the greater Southlake market, here are the meeting times for the primary governing body in each of the local communities.   

Colleyville: City Council meets first and third Tuesday of each month, 7:30 p.m., at Colleyville City Hall, 100 Main Street. 

Grapevine: City Council meets first and third Tuesday of each month, 7:30 p.m., at Grapevine City Hall, 200 South Main Street. 

Keller: City Council meets first and third Tuesday of each month, 7 p.m., at Keller Town Hall, 1100 Bear Creek Parkway. 

Southlake: City Council meets first and third Tuesday of each month at Southlake Town Hall, 1400 Main Street.  Work session begins at 5 p.m. followed by the regular agenda. 

Trophy Club: Town Council meets first and third Monday of each month, 7 p.m., Svore Municipal Building, 100 Municipal Drive. 

Westlake: The Mayor and the Board of Alderman meet the second and fourth Monday of each month, 7 p.m., at Westlake Town Hall, 2600 J. T. Ottinger Road. 

The majority of establishments listed below offer some type of meeting or conference facility appropriate for focus groups, networking meetings, or other types of marketing events.  As an example, marketing experts often recommend using an off-site or “neutral” location when conducting focus groups involving prospects or customers. 

I’ve also provided an approximate location and the number of rooms for each establishment.  Within the greater Southlake market (Colleyville, Grapevine, Keller, Southlake Trophy Club and Westlake), the total number of hotel rooms exceeds 3700.  To my knowledge, there are no hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts or extended stay hotels in either Colleyville or Keller.

Grapevine

Amerisuites DFW Airport North

• across from Grapevine Mills Mall
• 125 rooms

Baymont Inn & Suites

• north of SH 114 / SH 121, east of Main Street
• 101 rooms

Comfort Suites

• east side of SH 121, north of I-635
• 96 rooms

Embassy Suites Outdoor World

• west side of SH 121, north of I-635 and adjacent to Bass Pro Shops
• 329 rooms

Fairfield Inn & Suites

• east side of SH 121, north of I-635
• 73 rooms

Gaylord Texas Resort & Convention Center

• north side of SH 26, west of Grapevine Mills Mall
• 1511 rooms

Hilton DFW Lakes Executive Conference Center

• north side of SH 26, west of Grapevine Mills Mall
• 393 rooms

Holiday Inn Express Hotel

• south side of SH 114 / SH 121, west of Main Street
• 95 rooms

Homewood Suites

• across from Grapevine Mills Mall
• 105 rooms

Residence Inn by Marriott

• south side of SH 26, close to Bass Pro Shops
• 133 rooms

Springhill Suites by Marriott

• across from Grapevine Mills Mall
• 111 rooms

Super 8 DFW Airport North

• south side of SH 114 / SH 121, east of Main Street
• 100 rooms

Southlake

 Hilton

•  within Southlake Town Square, close to Barnes & Noble and Harkins Theatre

• 248 rooms 

Trophy Club

Value Place Extended Stay Hotel

• north side of SH 114
• 121 rooms
• does not offer any type of meeting or conference space

Westlake 

Marriott Solana

• south side of SH 114, off Kirkwood Boulevard
• 198 rooms and undergoing expansion 

 According to statistics from the Texas Real Estate Commission, there are almost 400 brokers and over 1400 real estate agents in the greater Southlake market. 

Brokers by Zip Code

• 76051/76099 (Grapevine), 93 

• 76248/76244 (Keller), 62

• 76092 (Southlake), 102

• 76034 (Colleyville), 94

• 76262 (Roanoke, Trophy Club, Westlake), 47 

Agents by Zip Code

• 76051/76099, 304
• 76248/76244, 105
• 76092, 793
• 76034, 197
• 76262, 46

When you add 2008 population into the equation, here are the number of residents per agent by zip code. 

• 76051/76099, 150
• 76248/76244, 359
• 76092, 32
• 76034, 112
• 76262, 303 

Small business owners, or those thinking about starting a small business, need to undertake considerable research about their industry and their competitors.  A great place to start when researching such information is your local library.  

Here’s information on the four public libraries in the greater Southlake, Texas area.   Phone numbers and website addresses are listed so you may obtain hours and ask questions about specific resources for which you’re searching.  

Colleyville Public Library

• 110 Main Street, next to City hall
• Hours vary by day and closed on Sunday
• 817-503-1150
• www.colleyville.com

 Grapevine Public Library

• 1201 Muncipal Way, off Main Street, north of S.H. 114
• Hours vary by day but open seven days/week
• 817-410-3400
• www.grapevine.lib.tx.us

 Keller Public Library

• 640 Johnson Road, which is north of FM 1709
• Hours vary by day but open seven days/week
• 817-431-9011
• www.kellerlib.org

Southlake Public Library

• 1400 Main Street, located in Town Hall within Southlake Town Square
• Hours vary by day and closed on Sunday
• 817-748-8243
• www.ci.southlake.tx.us

If you would like a local professional to help out in a minor or major role with this necessary research, contact Kate at 817-488-2761 or kgbmarketing@hotmail.com