The Pflugerville Community Development Corporation is marking its 25th anniversary with a portfolio that has shifted well beyond the bedroom-community reputation the Austin suburb once carried. In a new episode of Why Pflugerville Texas Is Quietly Building Austin's Next Economy, published September 15, 2026, PCDC executive director Jerry W. Jones Jr. tells host Justin McKenzie that the city has become a magnet for advanced manufacturing, semiconductor, life sciences, dual-use defense and aerospace investment along the SH 130 corridor north of Austin.
The distinction matters for readers watching the region's growth. Pflugerville was once joked about for not selling socks inside city limits, yet its development strategy now leans on business tax revenue to fund infrastructure, parks and roads, with Jones citing a partnership with new city manager James Harshorn on those priorities. That framing is a direct answer to residents skeptical that new rooftops and rail spurs actually pay them back, a question Jones addresses candidly in the conversation.
Jones describes the approach as people-first, with a filter he applies to every prospect. "We don't apply for opportunities for businesses to come here that we ourselves as individuals would not want to live next to," he tells McKenzie, adding that his north star is simple: "People don't care what you know until they know that you care." He also acknowledges his own restlessness, joking that he pushes constantly for change and then asks his team, "Whose idea was this?"
For the wider Austin economy, the episode argues that regional wins compound rather than subtract. Jones celebrates Blue Origin's move to nearby Hutto, contending that supply chain activity, housing demand and sales tax lift Pflugerville too, and credits C.S. Freeland for activating Venture Fest programming statewide. He notes participation has jumped from roughly 100 attendees two years ago to 480 last year, with more than 300 already registered for 2026. Venture Fest runs Saturday, September 26 through October 2, featuring a Women's Summit, two workshops, boot camps and pitch competitions.
The workforce pipeline is another thread with long-term implications. PFORGE, a youth entrepreneurship program built with Pflugerville ISD, a district where more than 100 languages are spoken, recently earned an International Economic Development Council award. Jones also highlights the chamber's community fair at Typhoon Texas, PCDC board president Darrell White, and an open invitation to Buc-ee's and Trader Joe's to consider land along SH 130.
McKenzie pushes back on Texas silo thinking, urging regional wins over neighbor-versus-neighbor competition, a theme that runs through The Building Texas Show, which spotlights the founders, economic developers, mayors and operators shaping communities from the Hill Country to the Gulf Coast. The episode is available now wherever podcasts are heard.
