News

Palestine EDC Welcomes Texas Health and Human Services to Willow Creek Business Park

Friday, May 21, 2021

The Palestine Economic Development Corporation’s (PEDC) 352-acre Willow Creek Business Park welcomes the latest office facility for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHS) and Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. “The new facility for Texas Health and Human Services is a wonderful addition to the Willow Creek Business Park, and we welcome them as our newest business within the park,” said Lisa Denton, Palestine Economic Development Director. “Wildwood Development has done a great job with construction, and I am certain the new offices will help streamline their processes. We look forward to their continued growth and assistance i...

Palestine Mall, Economic Development update

Friday, May 21, 2021

Photo: Around 56,000 square feet of the mall was affected by water damage, due to a malfunction in the mall’s fire suppression equipment and pipes bursting in the wall of the VA Clinic. STUART WHITAKER BY PENNYLYNN WEBB pwebb@palestineherald.com May 13, 2021 The city of Palestine is one step closer in selling the Palestine Mall to the Christon Company. The city council approved a sixth amendment to the purchase and sale agreement between the city, the Palestine Economic Development Corporation and the Christon Company during the council’s regularly scheduled bi-monthly on Monday, May 10. Contract negotiations between the city, PEDC and the Christon Company began in 2019. Th...

Palestine’s Real Texas Story

Wednesday, March 10, 2021

When Lisa Denton became Economic Director of Palestine Economic Development Corporation (PEDC), one of the priorities was to make the city more visible through recruitment and marketing. Like many economic development corporations, she had a small staff and limited marketing budget to work with. Those constraints required her team to find creative ways to leverage their available resources and get the biggest bang for the buck when it came to exposure. One of the ways PEDC met that challenge was through their partnership with Texas Economic Development Connection (TxEDConnection), a new, innovative economic development marketing initiative designed to spark interest i...

19 Incredible Experiences In Palestine, Texas

Thursday, February 25, 2021

Founded in 1846, Palestine (rhymes with “teen”) is just over a two-hour drive from the Dallas/Fort Worth area. You’ll find the Texas state train, scenic dogwood trails, antique shopping, and more than 1,800 National Historic buildings (second only to Galveston), making it a unique destination, especially for a spring weekend escape. Remember The Legends Of The Dogwood Tree The Romans made Jesus’s cross from a dogwood tree that used to grow tall like an oak. God transformed the dogwood tree to a slender tree with gnarled branches. The flower appeared as a cross with blood-stained nail prints at the edges with ...

Palestine’s Progress in 2020

Friday, February 12, 2021

Palestine entered 2020 with exciting plans and initiatives. Though historic challenges were soon to follow, their dedication, expertise, and pragmatism prevailed. Here are a few of the year’s highlights. 1.) High Speed Fiber - Partnership with Etex Communications - A Connected Nation broadband survey showed that Palestine was in need of more reliable, high speed, cost effective internet. PEDC committed to fund 50% of the construction cost to pull fiber into Palestine from Jacksonville. Bringing broadband internet to local businesses will help create jobs, support economic growth, and generate revenue for additional broadband expansion into residential communities. This is a larg...

Palestine Partners with Etex to Bring Fiber Broadband to Town

Tuesday, January 05, 2021

PEDC identified broadband as a key economic development issue and has been working to study current internet access and create a plan for improving it. In March of 2020, Anderson County was selected to take part in a broadband study with Connected Nation Texas. This survey of 1,648 households confirmed much of what was already known - our area is lacking in affordable, reliable, high speed internet for businesses and residents, both in Palestine and Anderson County. Unfortunately, reports can be misleading. The recent summary report indicates higher access to high speed internet, as defined by the FCC, but w...