In July 2007, Austin’s population stood at 743,074, a growth of 2.4 from 2006. Many of the neighborhoods immediately surrounding the city of Austin showed significant growth between 6 percent and 25 percent, many in the 11 percent to 25 percent range. This increase in population offers opportunities as well as posing challenges for managing and controlling the growth.

Within Texas, four suburbs around Austin made showed significant growth during the year between July 2006 and 2007, and were numbered among the 25 fastest growing cities in the state. Cedar Park ranked 11^th, Round Rock was 16^th, Georgetown came in at 19^th and Pflugerville was 22^nd.

The growth has slowed, due in part to the real estate meltdown that, while hasn’t been as significant as the rest of the country, still has had a small impact on the Austin area economy, and the state as a whole. Even so, Betty Voights, executive director of the Capital Area Council of Governments (CAPCOG) declares that, “while fewer people may be moving here now compared to the last few years,  we’ve seen five cities in the region double in population size over the last five years regardless of the housing downturn.”

The city council of Cedar Park wants to bring Corvalent to the area and voted unanimously to approve a $402,500 package of incentives designed to lure the computer systems manufacturer to the city. The move would bring 45 jobs over three years to the Cedar Park area. Corvalent is working on the design for a 25,000 square foot building that will become its new home. The city plans to pay about $130,000 per year for three years from a portion of its sales tax revenue that is slated for economic development as part of its agreement with Corvalent.

In turn, Corvalent will carry a minimum payroll of $1.5 million and be required to sign a five year lease for its building, which will be located in La Jaita Business Park. The company is also required to invest a minimum of $300,000 in capital improvements.

Corvalent was founded as a privately held corporation in 1993 and is currently based just south of San Jose, California. They manufacture motherboards and systems for industrial applications, including single board computers, peripheral equipment, desktop and handheld devices, and rack mounted systems. Corvalent systems are designed for heavy use and long life, guaranteeing a life cycle of eight to ten years. Their products are geared toward the security and surveillance, medical, industrial automation, defense, semiconductor and test and measurement industries.

The city of Cedar Park attracted Corvalent, not just for the incentives, but also for the type of workforce they were seeking. “We were looking for a city where people love to live, work and play,” said Ed Trevis, president and CEO of Corvalent.