What to watch: The Midland Development Corporation (MDC) Board of Directors will meet on Monday, July 6, to consider a proposed $23.9 million budget, a $3.5 million contribution toward widening Briarwood Avenue, and an application for the federal Opportunity Zone 2.0 program.

Key points:

  • Proposed annual budget: Directors will consider a $23.9 million budget for 2026-27, about $7.7 million larger than the current year’s budget. The increase reflects a $4.1 million increase in incentive payments that the MDC previously committed to businesses and is now scheduled to pay, along with $3.6 million in additional funding for future economic development incentives.

The proposal would use about $7.5 million from reserves to balance the budget, while increased rental revenue would cover the remaining growth. According to the agenda packet, the MDC currently reports about $39.4 million in cash and cash equivalents. Roughly 4.4% of the budget is earmarked for administrative expenses while they remaining 95.6% is for economic development.

The MDC budgeted for its sales-tax revenue to remain flat at $15 million, though the packet demonstrates it is on pace to collect more than that for the 2025-26 fiscal year. MDC’s quarter-cent sales tax is the corporation’s main funding source.

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  • Briarwood Avenue widening: Directors will consider an economic development agreement that would pay the City of Midland up to $3.5 million to widen Briarwood Avenue from two lanes to four for the 1.5-mile stretch between Avalon Drive and Trobaugh Boulevard, add a traffic signal at Avalon and Briarwood, and make drainage improvements.

If approved, the MDC would reimburse the city after construction is complete and certified. Last year, the MDC agreed to direct 35% of its annual budget to infrastructure projects, up from 30% in previous years.

  • Opportunity Zones 2.0: Directors will consider supporting the application to designate eligible Midland census tracts as federal Opportunity Zones, a program offering tax incentives intended to encourage long-term private investment in economically distressed areas. It follows the City Council’s June 23 vote to ask Gov. Greg Abbott to nominate Midland’s eligible tracts, with the city saying MDC will file the application.

Under the program, the governor nominates a state’s tracts to the U.S. Treasury for certification, and any designation would take effect Jan. 1, 2027. Midland County received no Opportunity Zone designations in the 2018 round, so a designation this time would be the county’s first. The city is also seeking a resolution of support from Midland County.

  • Midland Hispanic Chamber: Directors will consider a one-year promotional agreement paying the Midland Hispanic Chamber of Commerce up to $12,000 to feature Midland and the MDC in marketing materials promoting the community for business development.
  • Entrepreneurship Center: The University of Texas Permian Basin will present a proposal for a Southeast Midland Entrepreneurship Center. The board has no action scheduled.