LIVE OAK, Texas – Residential and retail developments and new schools are bringing further growth to the Northeast Side.
Judson ISD’s new schools
Weeks before her resignation as superintendent of Judson Independent School District, Dr. Jeanette Ball spoke with reporter Alicia Barrera about the school district’s future.
“Our major needs right now consist of things in the area, safety and security,” Ball said. “Then, also keeping up with the growth (is a priority).”
According to Ball, over 25,000 students and 3,500 employees make up its 30 campuses. However, space is limited.
“We have several of our campuses that already have portables,” Ball said. “So, the more we grow, the more we would have to add portables.”
Just this year, Judson ISD said they welcomed over 12,000 new students. The school district’s goal is not to have portables, and building two new schools could fill the need. Voters approved the two schools in a recent bond during the midterm elections.
In an email to KSAT, Nicole Taguinod, a spokesperson for the school district, said the projects are underway.
“The schematic plans for the new middle school were approved by the Board of Trustees last year and the construction documents are 90% complete. The project will go out for bid in January and a contractor will be selected and submitted for Board approval in February,” Taguinod stated. “We do not have the elementary school plans yet. We intend to get those bids and have a schematic and architect selected for recommendation to the Board before the end of January 2023.”
Live Oak managing growing city
Just down the street from the Judson ISD administration office, the City of Live Oak is busy managing its growth.
“We have some grants that we work with to either attract businesses or help them improve the facades of their business or expand their businesses,” said Glen Martel, city manager for the City of Live Oak. “We have a great Economic Development Commission that we work with for that.”
While there is residential growth, the bigger focus is on commercial development.
“Over the last two years, we’ve issued approximately 150 residential permits between single-family and multifamily,” Martel said. “From a sales tax standpoint, we’ve seen a growth of about 11%. We increased our sales tax revenues last year, about $1.2 million over the previous year.”
Some of the city’s business projects include IKEA, restaurants and medical partners.
“Our big one is IKEA at the corner of the intersection of (I-35) and (Loop 1604). We just had a brand new Twin Peaks open up. We have a Black Rifle Coffee that’s going to be opening up the middle of December,” Martel said. “We also have our Northeast medical partners with their new office complex going in, and our partners over at the Northeast Lakeview College with a new veterans center looking to expand their student body.”
The City of Like Oak is also working with TXDOT on the expansion of I-35.
“We’re looking at expanding our entry features, our entry (monuments), as well as some of our landscaping opportunities and maintenance opportunities with TXDOT,” Martel said.
The I-35 project, which includes adding lanes, is currently underway.
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