A big box development on 252 acres along Interstate 35 could receive millions in tax incentives and infrastructure support Tuesday from the Waco City Council.
The public-private partnership with developer Waco Gateway LLC would bring a large retail development between New Road and Loop 340 near University High School.
Details of the retail tenants have not been released yet. The property is one of the largest undeveloped tracts left in Waco and positioned along one of Texas’ busiest interstate highways.
The city’s incentive package would be among the largest to date, with $29.4 million for road construction and infrastructure over two phases, plus $18 million in sales tax rebates over 10 years. The city would pay $3.5 million for 28 acres of the land, which will be offered for a city-led development.
Waco’s infrastructure spend would be covered by public debt and paid for by the city’s Tax Increment Finance Zone 4. Waco Gateway will need to meet several performance targets to receive Waco’s assistance.
But city staff is projecting strong returns given the location of the property and the brands planned for the development. The retail complex is expected to generate at least $3.5 million in local sales tax revenue per year. The city also expects developers to commit more than $105 million over the project’s two phases.
Bland Cromwell, a real estate broker who has marketed the site for more than 20 years, said the time is right for development.
“It’s the best vacant tract on I-35,” he said. “I mean, between Laredo and Minneapolis. That’s 260 acres at an intersection like Highway 6. You can’t find that in a major city.”
Cromwell said national “big box” retailers are ready to commit to the site once the city approves the incentives and infrastructure and road plan.
He said the land has a prime location, but it lacks adequate utilities and road access. The city’s involvement makes a major development feasible, he said.
“They’ve crafted a way that’s good for the city, that provides the city sales tax revenue,” he said.
Cromwell said the city’s purchase of 23 acres for $3.5 million is a bargain, and that the real value is several times more than that.
Once the big box stores are locked in for development, he expects an influx of users for restaurant pad sites, strip centers and possibly the kind of entertainment uses seen across the interstate at Cottonwood Creek Market, which features Main Event, Cinemark and Top Golf.
Starting in 2019, the city of Waco contributed incentives to that project, including $4.1 million in TIF 4 funds and a $5.4 million business grant based on sales tax rebates. That 143-acre property has since grown to nearly $90 million in value, city officials have said.
The Waco City Council meets Tuesday at the Bosque Theater at the Waco Convention Center, with a 3 p.m. work session and 6 p.m. business session.
