Waco, Texas-area development corridor experiences retail boom. - Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

By Mike Copeland, Waco Tribune-Herald, Texas Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

Dec. 5--Retail development is exploding in the Hewitt Drive/Estates Drive corridor. And a land deal has just been completed that will continue that trend.

A Houston group has bought 14 acres at Estates Drive and Highway 84 from the Midway Independent School District in a deal that fetches more than $3 million for the district.

Already the developers have pledged to place a Walgreens drugstore on two acres, said Bland Cromwell, a Waco real estate agent who helped broker the sale.

'That's a firm deal we have,' said Cromwell, who continues to market the property for the new owners. 'We're talking with restaurants and retailers about the other pads, and we feel good about them.'

Cromwell has reason to believe the site will attract interest.

Right across Highway 84, H-E-B this year opened a new 109,000-square-foot store that sells grocery items but also an extended line of general merchandise like furniture, toys and CDs.

It is one of the largest H-E-B stores in Texas, reflecting the chain's enthusiasm for the Woodway and Hewitt market. So sensitive is H-E-B to consumer tastes in that area, it has made changes in layout and merchandise mix based on customer interviews since the store opened in April.

Specifically, the store has enlarged its automotive section and will carry more seasonal items, such as Christmas-related merchandise. It also has added products under its Nature's Harvest health-food label.

H-E-B spokesman Ed Page said the company is 'very pleased' with community response to the new store, which replaced a much smaller H-E-B at that same location.

The factors that prompted H-E-B to build a new store to serve Hewitt and Woodway also motivated Wal-Mart to build a new superstore this year at 600 Hewitt Drive: people with money to spend.

Statistics show that residential growth in the Hewitt and West Waco areas has surged. With people buying homes nearby, retailers want to sell their products along Hewitt and Estates drives.

Simply put, stores follow the 'rooftops,' said Brad Davis, a real estate agent who is masterminding the new WestRock Centre retail development on Hewitt Drive.

'We've seen new homes, a new (Midway) high school, and the junior high moving to the old high school,' Davis said. 'That has created a lot of traffic on Hewitt Drive. That's what caught Wal-Mart's eye; and H-E-B's expansion is the result of the heavy traffic it was experiencing at its old store.'

Davis is doing what he can to expand the area's retail offerings. His brother, Waco attorney Billy Davis Jr., and another attorney, Steve Harrison, wanted to invest in a real estate development.

Brad Davis suggested something on Hewitt Drive, and WestRock Centre was born. Space in the 70,000-square-foot center will be turned over to tenants by early February.

'We actually have commitments from eight to 10 tenants, and more are in the stage of getting committed,' Brad Davis said. 'I'm not in a position yet to identify them.'

Some are identifying themselves, with signs on the WestRock Centre grounds. Marble Slab Creamery, Summer Palace and Rick's Family Restaurant intend to occupy WestRock.

Davis said he also wants tanning and nail salons, a dentist's office, a clothes-cleaning establishment and a cellular phone provider. Space as small as 1,300 square feet is available in the development.

Hewitt Mayor Shirley Blanton marvels at the retail explosion in her community.

'For years you couldn't even buy a roll of thread in this area,' Blanton said. 'Retailers are realizing this is a growing market. As busy as people stay nowadays, they like convenience.'

Indeed, the market has grown, as census figures show.

Hewitt-area census tract 37.07 saw its population increase nearly 59 percent between 1990 and 2000, from 4,400 to 6,982, according to Chris Evilia, acting director of the local Metropolitan Planning Organization.

That was the largest increase among the 51 census tracts in McLennan County, both in terms of raw numbers and percentage, Evilia said. He added that the tract follows Chapel Road to Ritchie Road, Ritchie Road to Panther Way, Panther Way to Hewitt Drive, and south along Hewitt Drive to Sun Valley Road. From there it moves to the Union Pacific railroad tracks, then to State Highway 6.

Yet another Hewitt-area tract, 37.08, saw a 29 percent increase in population from 1990 to 2000, increasing from 4,139 to 5,336. Evilia said residential growth has continued in those areas since census figures were released in 2000, 'though perhaps not quite at the same pace.' He added that census figures from 2000 show that per capita income in both of these Hewitt-area census tracts was higher than that of McLennan County as a whole.

In Woodway, the sale of 14 acres at Estates Drive and Highway 84 locks up what Cromwell believes is the premier corner for development in that corridor.

Nothing is set in stone, except for construction of the Walgreens, but conceptual plans envision restaurants, retail and even a hotel. The market will dictate which come to fruition.

'How many restaurants are showing interest? Gosh, a lot. Not just one or two. Everybody you would expect us to talk to,' said Cromwell. But he cautioned against expecting a lot of new names, saying: 'Most of the prospects are not new to Waco. We're talking about additional locations -- though some are new.'

Cromwell said financial institutions have also approached him about placing a branch there.

In recent years, there has been speculation that Albertsons or another grocery chain might want to place a store at Estates Drive and Highway 84. That talk was before H-E-B built a larger store across the highway.

'I don't think anyone wants to take on H-E-B,' Cromwell said.

Keith Bush, who owns the Bush's Gold-N-Crisp Chicken chain, has mixed emotions about the boom. He has a restaurant at 710 N. Hewitt Drive, and he welcomes the increased traffic on that roadway.

But more restaurants mean more choices, and Bush wonders if customers will eat with him quite as often.

'If we just hold our own, we'll be doing good. We're probably going to be hurt some,' Bush said. 'The people who eat with us twice a week may eat only once.'

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