Manor, Texas, a 153-year-old city on Austin's eastern edge, experienced a 225% population surge between 2013 and 2023, and Mayor Dr. Chris Harvey outlined the city's ambitious plans to manage continued growth in the latest episode of The Building Texas Show, hosted by Justin McKenzie. With an additional 22,000 residents expected by 2030 and 14,000 housing units already in the planning pipeline, Manor is racing to build civic infrastructure for the first time in its history.
Harvey detailed the city's first-ever city-owned library and recreation center, funded through a recent bond election, and a feasibility study supporting a proposed 50-bed hospital anchored by a relationship with St. David's, which already operates a full-service emergency center downtown. The push to diversify the tax base beyond residential property is critical, Harvey explained, as the city seeks to recoup sales tax revenue committed away in a 1985 vote. Manor's first comprehensive plan, a 600-page document mapping the next 30 years of growth, guides these efforts.
"Our city is 153 years old and this is the first time we're building these facilities. And so that's phase one," Harvey told McKenzie. He also addressed tax policy, stating, "The tax rate is not the tax rate because we want it to be a high tax rate. Being able to get to a lower tax rate is city leadership's dream." Harvey described efforts to recover sales tax dollars and reinvest them into roads, parks, and drainage.
The episode explored workforce development partnerships with Manor ISD, which was for years the city's largest employer before logistics and semiconductor suppliers arrived. Harvey described regular meetings between the city manager and superintendent to share demographic data and coordinate employer recruitment. McKenzie drew parallels to other Texas cities, noting that Garland is the largest city in the country without a hospital and that Bastrop faces similar healthcare gaps, framing Manor's hospital ambitions as part of a statewide challenge.
The Building Texas Show, sponsored by Chisos Boots, is available on podcast platforms and YouTube. Listeners can hear the full conversation with Harvey for deeper insights into Manor's transformation.
