J
Joshua growing
at a steady speed
oshua still has that small town at-
mosphere, but city officials said
they are seeing growth coming
over the next couple of years.
The city, which dates back to
about 1867, retains history while
looking forward to what the future
holds.
From its agriculture beginnings to
the present day array of both mom
and pop shops and industry, Joshua
is business friendly and also a great
place to raise a family.
In the six years City Manager Josh
Jones has been in his position, he
said he’s seeing some growth.
“That expectation is currently
proving correct as we’ve seen a num-
ber of residential plats approved as
more folks look to move to Joshua to
get out of the hustle and bustle of the
main part of the [Dallas-Fort Worth]
Metroplex,” Jones said. “Also, and
what I’m most excited about right
now, is the commercial develop-
ment we’re seeing, especially
in the Joshua Station area.”
In 2018 through the
city’s Type A Economic De-
velopment Corporation,
they invested in the area
by purchasing some of the
land in Joshua Station to
use as an economic develop-
ment incentive to try to spur
the type of activity they
thought they were going to get
when the land was initially devel-
oped.
“That expectation came to a halt
when the economy bottomed out in
2008, and we’re just now seeing the
result of the resurgent local econ-
omy,” he said. “The decision we
8 Joshua Community Guide
made partner with a private devel-
oper to be a catalyst to additional de-
velopment is looking very positive
right now. Activity breeds, more ac-