ELGIN, Texas — When you're cruising down Highway 290 eastward, eventually you'll bump in to Elgin.
“I used to say small sleepy town. It’s not sleepy anymore," Elgin Mayor Chris Cannon said.
In fact, Elgin is the opposite of sleepy. By 2021, the city is expecting 1,800 homes to have been added within the city limits.
Nevertheless, it still has the small town feel next to its giant neighbor, Austin, to the west.
“We’re – in my opinion – the gateway to Central Texas when you’re coming from Houston," Mayor Cannon said.
But while that gateway rapidly grows, it can be a bit much at times. That's why the city has been taking action to get ahead of it.
“Expanding the retail availability to where, when the market is here and now, we’ve got the land and the planning, zoning and the infrastructure to accommodate that," Mayor Cannon said.
More and more businesses have been setting up shop in Elgin over the past couple of years.
A rec center was built in 2018 and a Seton clinic/after-hours urgent care is under construction now. That will break ground in November of this year.
“The healthcare need through that mechanism should be covered for the next 30 years," Mayor Cannon said.
This story is ongoing and will be updated.
If you have a story about growth in Central Texas you think KVUE should cover, send an email to Boomtown2040@kvue.com.