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Ci V and Nei hb_o_..ihood..Desci lAion
<br />The subject is located in Paris, the county seat and the principal metropolitan area of Lamar County,
<br />Texas. Paris is the retail, cultural and medical center for a trade area that exceeds 150,000 people and
<br />includes some or all of the surrounding five counties in Texas and the tluee counties in southeastern
<br />Oklahoma. Paris had apopulation of 24,476 according to the 2020 census, which represented a 2.8%
<br />loss (695 persons) in population from 2010 to 2020. The city experienced a similar loss of 2.8% from
<br />2000 to 2010. On the other hand, the county as a whole grew 0.59%, or 295 persons, to 50,088
<br />persons over the same period.
<br />The city and county are bisected on an east- west axis by US Highway 82 and on a north to southeast
<br />axis by US Highway 271. State Highway 19/24 extends south and connects to Interstate Highway
<br />30 and the Dallas metroplex. Loop 286 encircles the city and is a divided four lane highway for all
<br />but the southeast section. The rail service is limited to a small regional carrier, Kiamichi Railroad,
<br />and that line comes in from the north, originating in Hugo Oklahoma. The tracks are old and slow.
<br />Paris has an excellent local airport (left over from World War II days) that is capable of handling
<br />medium-sized jets. The airport is very important for local industries.
<br />The following are some pertinent statistics for the area from the American Community Survey - Five
<br />Year Estimates 2018-2022:
<br />Median Household Income
<br />Median Family Income
<br />Per Capita Income
<br />Paris
<br />Lamar,Coun y
<br />$36,415
<br />$51,561
<br />$48,718
<br />$63,898
<br />$22,478
<br />$26,686
<br />The income data shows that the areas away from the cities are more prosperous than those inside the
<br />cities.
<br />Principal national manufacturers within the city have historically been Campbell Soup, Kimberly -
<br />Clark, and Turner International Piping Systems. Turner, however, has effectively been shut down
<br />for over two years now but hopes to re -open if their business comes back. J. Skinner Baking
<br />Company, which occupied the 350,000 SF plant on the southeast corner of Northwest Loop 286 and
<br />19`h NW, announced its closure in September 2021, and moved operations back to its home base in
<br />Nebraska. This closure created a loss of 140 jobs. On the other hand, a new, 250,000 SF plant for
<br />American Spiral Weld was completed in the Northwest Industrial Park in early 2022, and that pipe
<br />manufacturing company has added about 140 new j obs. In October 2022, the PEDC announced plans
<br />for a new 120,000 SF plant for a tire and wheel manufacturing business, Lionshead Specialty Tire
<br />and Wheel, to be built on a 20 acre site in the northwest corner of the Northwest Industrial Park.
<br />Construction is underway on the plant and that business will reportedly add up to 40 new jobs with
<br />an amival payroll of $1.8 million. In April 2023, Delco Trailers completed a 550,000 SF plant on US
<br />82, about three miles west of Paris, and it is also doubling the size of its 30,000 SF axle plant in the
<br />Northwest Industrial Park. On April 25, 2023, the PEDC released information that a new business,
<br />Ametsa Packaging, which is headquartered out of Houston, planned to expand operations to Paris
<br />and would occupy the vacant 350,000 SF (former J. Skinner) plant on the southeast corner of NW
<br />Loop 286 and 19`hNW. This business is focused on the packaging of sweeteners and sugar products
<br />and they have already added 90 employees. In addition to the companies previously mentioned, there
<br />PAT MURPHY & ASSOCIATES 7
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