Heart of Texas Retailers Get Wind In Their Sales
Published Apr 24, 2008
Retail centers such as Central Texas MarketPlace in Waco have experienced marked growth over the last several years.
Gone are the days when a serious shopping expedition meant a trip to Dallas or Austin. Retailing in the Heart of Texas is booming, from elegant specialty shops to big-box discount stores.
Local retail sales have been climbing steadily over the past few years, topping $3 billion in 2006. And it’s a good bet that the future will bring still more retail growth to Waco and vicinity.
“The retail climate here is very, very good,” says Zoe Lopez, property manager of Central Texas MarketPlace, one of
the area’s newest and most popular shopping destinations. MarketPlace, a 700,000-square-foot open-air center at the intersection of I-35 and Loop 340, was acquired by Inland Real Estate at the end of 2006 and has expanded rapidly since then with the addition of four stores, with more in the works.
“We have something for just about every customer, whether on the discount side or the upscale side,” Lopez says. “The key is having the right mix of tenants.” MarketPlace stores include Belk, Kohl’s, Ross, Old Navy, Jos. A. Bank, Ann Taylor and Marshall’s.
Enhancing MarketPlace’s appeal is the new Legends Crossing mixed-use development that is under construction in the same neighborhood. When completed, the 250-acre Legends Crossing, marketed by the Triliji Group, will boast a seven-acre lake, walking trail, hotels, restaurants, office space and Hillcrest Health Systems.
Downtown, Around Town
Even as new stores spring up around the area, a veteran of Waco’s retail sector continues to flourish. “We opened in 1980, and we’ve been doing great for a long time,” says Brad King, marketing director for the Richland Mall on West Waco Drive, a CBL Properties enclosed mall. Richland’s 720,000 square feet house more than 100 stores.
King attributes the retail boom to Waco’s location. “We’re right on I-35 between Dallas and Austin, and companies want to set up shop here.”
Downtown, shoppers flock to the River Square Center, where refurbished warehouse buildings contain a variety of interesting shops and restaurants.
Elsewhere around town, shops on Austin Avenue, Bosque Boulevard, New Road and Valley Mills Drive include everything from big-box home improvement warehouses to smaller retail outlets.
Energizing Changes
In Bellmead, just north of Waco, BH Properties of Los Angeles bought and renovated the 110,000-square-foot Eastgate shopping center in 2007, giving the 40-year-old complex a new lease on life.
The Prime Outlets Mall in Hillsboro also has undergone an energizing change in ownership. Now owned by Craig Realty Group and renamed Outlets at Hillsboro, the 95-store center has long been a boon to that city.
“People just associate Hillsboro with the outlet center,” says Robert Watts, executive director of the Hillsboro Chamber of Commerce. “The amount of traffic it generates has helped the development of dining establishments here and leads people to experience other parts of Hillsboro. It’s also our largest employer, with 350-plus jobs. And the sales tax revenue is important to us.”
Story by Laura Hill
Photo by Wes Aldridge
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