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Decades ago, small towns and cities didn’t change that much — they didn’t have to.
However, changes in consumer preferences around remote work and the social impact of the Coronavirus pandemic have made that a thing of the past. For the first time in decades, domestic migration pushes more people to smaller towns and communities than larger cities. For some, the small town they grew up in may be a thing of the past.
New residents in cities with populations under 250,000 are driving economic development and new opportunities for elected officials to rethink the future of their communities. When transformations are happening everywhere, it’s worth the time to consider what constituents would want to improve.
States like Texas, Florida, South Carolina, Idaho, and South Dakota have seen the largest population increases so far this year — and most of those new residents are settling into little cities like Celina. Growth is inevitable but manageable if elected officials recognize the importance of planning and preparing for the future.
The town of Celina, Texas —pronounced Suh-Leena with an optional, friendly tip of the hat — has done just that. About 40 miles north of the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area, Celina has grown nearly 1,300 percent since 2000, according to U.S. Census figures. Collin County also saw the second-largest population increase in the country.
There, times are changing, and it’s nothing short of stunning. Taking a closer look at this once-small town can help officials who may be noticing similar trends in population get ahead of it. Preserving what is loved about an area and what is destined to evolve can be a challenging balance, but some cities, like Celina, can provide best practices for doing it right.
Back in 2000, when Celina counted less than 3,000 residents, it was sleepy, to be sure. It hadn’t changed much from 1915 when its main street, Celina Pike, was first designated “fit for the automobile.” It already had a downtown square, thanks to the railroad coming through in 1902, and was home to the 75-acre Collin College campus, but not much more.
All that changed when young families looking for an alternative to the pace of much larger cities, such as Dallas and Austin, slowly started finding the town, with the population growing exponentially since 2020. Celina is now home to over 42,000 people.
“Longtime Celina residents may have described our community as being built upon the bedrocks of faith, family, and football,” said Mayor Ryan Tubbs, whose family was one of the thousands that stumbled upon its charm.
He moved to Celina six years ago when his wife was pregnant with their second daughter. He had never heard of the little city, even though he was living just 40 minutes away in Plano.
“We were looking for a place with young families where we could grow long-term,” he said. “[My wife] had friends here, so we drove around. We loved the downtown square and seeing kids playing in the streets.”
He also saw the potential for great growth. With the new Dallas North Tollway expanding through the community, it became an attractive escape from the crowds and traffic of the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area. The town’s projected build-out is 378,000, and it’s on its way.
“As a North Texas native, we heard these predictions but rarely thought places like Frisco, Prosper, Celina, and on up Highway 289 would really come to pass,” the Mayor said.
But as the population grew, city leaders created strategic planning models that have become the blueprint for responsible growth.
Mayor Tubbs said the city is processing around 200 building permits a month, and they’re expecting an additional 100,000 residents by the end of the decade. This growth has caught the eye of new industries, too. New retail centers, restaurants, recreation opportunities, and healthcare facilities announced their arrival in town.
“One of the first and the largest of these announcements was the investment into Celina by Methodist Health System,” he said. “They are finishing a beautiful medical care campus, initially estimated at $237 million, that will provide hundreds of job opportunities to this community while extending their renowned medical care and wellness to residents here.”
Costco is anchoring a new retail center on Preston Road, Starbucks came to town, and Whataburger added to fast-food options. A large golf course development is set to open toward the end of 2024, while the historic downtown is now flourishing with small businesses.
“When I first moved here, it was just an old auto parts store, the flower shop, and empty buildings,” the Mayor said. “Now, everything is occupied.”
Thankfully, city leaders started planning early for expanded infrastructure to support such a rapid increase in population. They watched as towns closer to the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area struggled, and they learned from their mistakes. City council worked to address concerns before problems arose so that there wasn’t too much pushback from residents yearning to keep Celina small, the Mayor said.
“We have learned from our neighbors that growth, alone, can be disastrous if a municipality fails to have a plan for wise growth,” the Mayor said. “To the folks who worry about growth and change, they will see our continued commitment to keeping Celina’s heritage alive and in the forefront of the life of our community.”
Now, Celina officials are working overtime to address the challenges that come with growth. They are actively expanding and widening roads to reduce the traffic burden. The police department recently moved into a state-of-the-art headquarters building to address growing public safety needs, and the fire department dedicated its third fire station.
Celina officials didn’t just focus on infrastructure but also on the preservation of green space. The city recently acquired 700 acres of parkland that can serve as green and recreational spaces for years to come.
They got creative with funding, receiving grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, federal Coronavirus funds, the Texas Department of Transportation, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and Collin County. The latest park project, the 100-acre Wilson Creek Park, is due to open next year and was funded through a $50 million tax bond.
“Extensive long-range strategic plans were made in the areas of our downtown district, parks, and recreation spaces, plans for arts and entertainment, and for the overall growth and expansion of the downtown square, specifically,” he said. “Only in the last few years have these living documents now accelerated into real-time plans for the robust growth and expansion happening all around us.”
For example, the 2019 Downtown Master Plan requires any new businesses to conform to hybrid form-based zoning rules and to be constructed with “historic/Texas style” in terms of architecture, signage, lighting, landscaping, and public art. The plan encourages owners of historical buildings to seek protections and funding through the National Register of Historic Places and the Texas Historical Commission to keep the small town’s history alive.
As city officials work to focus growth within their vision for the future, Mayor Tubbs said it’s important to continue efforts to preserve what matters most to the community. For Celina, that remains faith, family, and football.
“Downtown Celina is expanding, but with tight restrictions to maintain the beauty and historic feel of the area,” he said. “Families still flood the square on afternoons and weekends. And friends who are closer than family still meet at our parks to cheer their little ones on in sports. There are more of us now, and we are more beautifully diverse than ever.”
