City Welcomes New Leadership in Building Inspections, Code Compliance, and Planning and Development

Al Raymond joined the City of Garland as Managing Director on Oct. 28. Raymond oversees the Building Inspections, Code Compliance, and Planning and Development departments. He has more than 36 years of experience in architecture, construction and development. Most recently he served as Director of Development Services for the City of Corpus Christi.

Raymond spent the first half on his career in the private sector working with several architecture and engineering firms including HKS in Dallas, Raba-Kistner in San Antonio, and two hotel development organizations: Marriott Corporation and La Quinta Inns & Suites. Raymond began work in the public sector in 2000 with the City of San Antonio where he served as the Plan Review and Inspections Manager for the Development Services Department. He also worked with the Port Authority of San Antonio where he served as the Vice President of Architecture and Engineering. Raymond has also worked with the City of Vista, California, as Building Official and for the City of Tacoma, Washington, as Permit and Resource Center Manager. He returned to Texas and worked for the City of Houston's Permit Center as the Deputy Assistant Director.

Raymond has a bachelor's degree in Architecture from the University of Texas and is a registered architect in Texas. He is also a Certified Building Official as granted by the International Code Council.

Nabila Nur joined the City as Director of Planning & Development on Oct. 14. Nur has extensive experience in management and leadership, long-range and current planning, development projects of various scales, working with elected and appointed officials, continuous process improvement, development reviews, public hearings, comprehensive plans, and development code updates, both in public and private sectors.

Nur has served several cities within the metroplex in critical roles, including being the Director of Community Development for Town of Argyle, the Planning Manager for City of Dallas, and the Principal Planner for City of Arlington. Nur also worked as a consultant with Freese and Nichols for several years focusing on long-range planning projects for municipalities across the state.

Nur holds a master's degree in City and Regional Planning and a bachelor's degree in the same discipline. Nur is a trained classical singer and a theater enthusiast, who performs in various community events with her band.