Gun Barrel City Economic Development Corporation

What Gun Barrel City Economic Development Corporation does

Gun Barrel City Economic Development Corporation (GBCEDC) is a public, non-profit economic development organization serving Gun Barrel City, Texas — a population of roughly 6,186 residents on the eastern shore of Cedar Creek Lake, approximately one hour southeast of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. The EDC operates with a seven-member board of resident executives and business owners and a two-person office staff, and it is funded by a $.0025 (one-quarter cent) sales tax. Its mandate covers business recruitment, support for second-stage and expanding companies, incentive facilitation, workforce development, and tourism promotion for the Cedar Creek Lake region.

Its core product set comprises business recruitment services, performance-based incentive facilitation, a Renovation Grant Program (Grant A up to $25,000, Grant B up to $5,000), workforce development coordination, tourism promotion, and a portfolio of digital tools — including a GIS-based property search portal, a community profile tool, a community comparison tool, an industry clustering visualization, an area talent mapping tool, a business directory, traffic count data, and a custom report maker. Major development activity is anchored by Pier 334, a transformational waterfront project on Cedar Creek Lake featuring a 60-room Hilton Tapestry hotel, a 20,000 sq ft food and entertainment pavilion, a 40-slip marina, a splash park, and an amphitheater, developed in partnership with YNS Development Services.

The GBCEDC's business model is public-funded rather than revenue-generating: services such as site selection, incentive facilitation, and business support are delivered at no cost, with operational funding drawn from the sales tax levy. Go-to-market is direct engagement with site selectors, developers, expanding companies, and the local business community, executed through the office at 1720 West Main St, the redesigned website built in partnership with Golden Shovel Agency, and organic social channels (Facebook, YouTube, X, LinkedIn). Customer segments are use-case based: second-stage and expanding companies as the primary segment, developers and investors as a parallel primary segment, and local entrepreneurs, existing businesses, and workforce-seeking employers as secondary segments.

Name

Gun Barrel City Economic Development Corporation

Legal name

Gun Barrel City Economic Development Corporation

Website

https://gbcedc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Gun Barrel City Economic Development Corporation (GBCEDC) is a public non-profit EDC funded by a $.0025 sales tax that drives business recruitment, site selection, incentive facilitation, workforce development, and tourism promotion for Gun Barrel City, Texas (population ~6,186), located one hour from DFW on Cedar Creek Lake.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Economic Development Services

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Economic Development & Business Licensing (Local) (BPAIACAN)

Keywords

• Economic development services
• Business attraction
• Site selection assistance
• Incentive facilitation
• Workforce development support

Headquarters

HQ city

Texas

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Sales Tax Funding: The EDC is funded by a $.0025 sales tax. This provides operational funding for business attraction, support for local enterprises, workforce development, and tourism promotion.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Gun Barrel City Economic Development Corporation is a private nonprofit organization that delivers business recruitment, site selection assistance, and incentive facilitation services to attract businesses, developers, and investors to Gun Barrel City, Texas. The EDC also provides workforce development support through partner institutions, administers a Renovation Grant Program for storefront improvements, and promotes the community as a tourism and lifestyle destination. It is funded by a $.0025 sales tax and operates through a seven-member board and two-person office staff, with a digital platform featuring GIS-based property search and demographic analysis tools.

Product overview

Gun Barrel City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) is an economic development organization that functions as a marketing and business attraction platform for Gun Barrel City, Texas. The EDC offers a portfolio of services including business recruitment, site selection assistance, incentive facilitation, and workforce development support. The digital presence includes multiple interactive tools: a GIS-based property search/mapping tool for available commercial sites, community profile and demographic analysis tools, industry clustering visualization, area talent mapping, traffic count data, and a business directory. The EDC also administers a Renovation Grant Program offering matching funds for storefront improvements. Major initiatives include the Pier 334 waterfront development project featuring a boutique hotel, entertainment pavilion, and marina. The organization partners with Golden Shovel Agency for website and marketing services, and collaborates with workforce institutions including Trinity Valley Community College, Tyler Junior College, and Mabank ISD.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Business Recruitment Services Site selection assistance and hands-on support for second-stage and expanding companies looking to locate or grow operations in Gun Barrel City, Texas. Targeted at growth-stage businesses, site selectors, and expansion managers.
• Incentive Facilitation Performance-based incentive negotiation and administration for projects bringing primary jobs to the community, including small-business grants, infrastructure partnerships, low-interest loans, and technical support. Structured around expected sales taxes, jobs created, and wages paid.
• Renovation Grant Program

Quantifiable outcome

• 0% municipal property tax rate
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• Golden Shovel AgencycoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 3 October 2025Partnership for website redesign and ongoing digital strategy. Golden Shovel Agency, a national economic development communications firm, developed the redesigned website and provides continued support including content development, social media management, and SEO optimization. The agency specializes in website development, marketing and branding, workforce development, strategic planning, and business retention and expansion.
• Workforce Solutions East TexascoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorkforce development partner providing no-cost recruitment and employment services to businesses and job seekers across a fourteen-county East Texas region including Henderson County where Gun Barrel City is located.
• Trinity Valley Community CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHigher education partner offering workforce training, degree programs, and the Small Business Development Center for entrepreneur support in the Gun Barrel City area.
• Tyler Junior CollegesecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerArea community college with 12,000+ students and workforce development programs accessible to Gun Barrel City employers.
• Texas Workforce CommissioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState agency providing workforce development services and strengthening the Texas economy through workforce development components of the Governor's economic development strategy.
• Texas Economic Development CorporationsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerState-level economic development organization working to maintain Texas's No. 1 ranking for business, supporting regional EDCs like Gun Barrel City EDC.
• Mabank ISD Career & Technical EducationsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal school district CTE program offering career pathway training in 11 career clusters including Health Science, IT, Business, and more.
• YNS Development Services (YNS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeveloper partner for the Pier 334 waterfront development project - a transformational waterfront project bringing new dining, shopping, entertainment, and hospitality to Cedar Creek Lake. YNS is creating a 60-room Hilton Tapestry Hotel and 20,000 sq ft Food and Entertainment Pavilion.
• Hilton HotelscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHotel brand partner for Pier 334 development. YNS Development has formally applied for a license to brand the hotel under their Tapestry Collection.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Longview Economic Development Corporation: East Texas municipal EDC providing business attraction, incentive negotiation, and workforce development services; comparable in scale and Texas non-metro geography to GBCEDC.
• Waxahachie Economic Development Corporation: Sales-tax-funded municipal EDC in Waxahachie, Texas running incentive, site selection, and business retention programs for a smaller city south of DFW — directly analogous operating model to GBCEDC.
• Frisco Economic Development Corporation: Type A municipal EDC in Frisco, Texas performing business attraction, incentive facilitation, and site selection using sales-tax funding — directly comparable operating model to Gun Barrel City EDC in the same state regulatory environment.
• Allen Economic Development Corporation: Allen, Texas EDC funded by sales tax, providing site selection assistance and incentive negotiation; comparable small-city DFW-region competitor pursuing the same growth-stage company segment as GBCEDC.
• McKinney Economic Development Corporation: Type A municipal EDC in McKinney, Texas offering site selection, incentive programs, and digital property search tools; nearly identical operating structure to GBCEDC and competing for similar DFW-region site selectors.
• Tyler Economic Development Council: Regional economic development organization serving Tyler, Texas with site selection, business recruitment, and workforce support; comparable East Texas peer to GBCEDC competing in the same broader labor shed.
• Plano Economic Development Corporation: Sales-tax-funded municipal EDC in Plano, Texas that markets commercial sites, runs incentive programs, and partners with state-level organizations — directly analogous to GBCEDC's structure and mission in the same DFW market.
• Denton Economic Development Partnership: North Texas regional EDC offering site selection, business recruitment, and incentive programs; comparable DFW-region competitor with a similar nonprofit/sales-tax funding structure to GBCEDC.
• Mansfield Economic Development Corporation: Mansfield, Texas municipal EDC providing business attraction, site selection, and incentive programs in a DFW-adjacent location; comparable organizational model and competitive overlap with GBCEDC.

Regional players

• Cedar Creek Lake Area Chamber of Commerce: Local chamber of commerce for the broader Cedar Creek Lake region, referenced on GBCEDC's own website; serves overlapping member businesses in the same geography with visitor/tourism promotion and member services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/GBC_EDC
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCJYrU7VsBOsKKrQpTm6HbeA
• Facebookfacebook.com/Gun-Barrel-City-Economic-Development-Corporation-105762488777258
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gbcedc

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Gun Barrel City Economic Development Corporation