Waco area seeing excellent growth
Thursday, May 17, 2007
By Scott Connell
Vice president, economic development, with the Waco Chamber of Commerce
Waco has seen tremendous growth, especially in the past two years. From a retail perspective, the developments along Interstate 35 are getting the most attention and investment. The focus is on a few exits around Texas Highway 6 in South Waco and Loop 340 on the North side at Bellmead and Lacy Lakeview. The area also has been experiencing a large amount of investment in health care. Providence Hospital is completing a $50 million expansion and Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center recently broke ground on a new $184 million hospital complex at I-35 and Texas Highway 6.
| Population numbers | |
|---|---|
| McLennan County | 226,189 |
| City of Waco | 120,465 |
| Hewitt | 12,987 |
| Bellmead | 9,555 |
| Robinson | 9,062 |
| Woodway | 8,689 |
| Lacy-Lakeview | 5,804 |
| McGregor | 4,847 |
| China Spring | 3,789 |
| Elm Mott | 3,113 |
| West | 2,711 |
| Mart | 2,531 |
| Axtell | 2,284 |
| Lorena | 1,595 |
| Bruceville-Eddy | 1,534 |
| Moody | 1,393 |
| Riesel | 1,004 |
| Crawford | 789 |
| Hallsburg | 533 |
| Leroy | 333 |
| Ross | 234 |
| County demographics | |
| Female | 51.4% |
| Male | 48.6% |
| White | 62.0% |
| Hispanic | 20.6% |
| Black | 15.2% |
| Asian, Indian, Hawaiian | 2.2% |
| High School Grad | 76.6% |
| College Grad | 19.1% |
| These demographics were obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau’s latest releases, mostly on complete statistics at the end of 2005. | |
 A preview of the future Heritage Square. |
There currently are several significant projects underway in Waco. Triliji Group, for example, is completing construction of Legends Crossing, a $50 million, 150-acre mixed use development at the crossroads of Texas Highway 6 and I-35. Stonehenge Development is building a $49 million, 9.4-acre mixed-use development in downtown Waco. Sanderson Farms is completing construction near TSTC of a $70 million chicken hatchery and processing plant, which will employ 1,300 people in the next year. In addition, Caterpillar Logistics has announced the leasing of 975,000 square feet of distribution space at a former General Tire facility near the intersection of I-35 and US 77. Many other projects are underway in the community that together represent more than $321 million in investment and 2,189 new jobs.
 The "new-look" Hilton Hotel, a 4-star masterpiece. |
Residential development continues to boom in two directions around Lake Waco — south/southwest along U.S. Highway 84 and northwest in the China Spring area. Many of the new residential areas are close to the 70+ employer Texas Central Park, a 3,000-acre business park located between I-35 and U.S. 84. I-35 developments are taking advantage of the regional accessibility of Waco and the traffic on the corridor.
 Student housing loft project proposed for Heritage Square. |
Retail also is growing along Franklin Avenue. New retailers in the Waco market include Pei Wei Restaurant, Academy Store, Mardel, Rib Crib, Wild West Wings, Dickey’s Bar-B-Q, and a new The Home Depot, which was built in Bellmead. Comfort Inn & Suites and Sleep Inn also are two names that have entered the market. Waco is seeing a lot of second and third stores of some of the major retailers already in the area.
 A "birds-eye" view of the future Heritage Square parking area. |
The places to watch for future development include downtown Waco, which has been receiving a lot of attention and focus for development; and the I-35 and Texas Highway 6 interchange, including the Central Texas Marketplace and Legends Crossing areas that will likely have more tenants vying for space going forward. The Texas Department of Transportation has a large construction project with fly-overs underway at that intersection. The Robinson and China Spring areas have both seen tremendous residential growth and are expecting significant commercial development as well.
Waco has experienced some of the strongest industrial growth in its history during the past few years. The labor force continues to grow with a relatively low unemployment rate, and the overall market should grow at an accelerated pace in the coming years as more jobs get filled.
Mark P. Felton is a proud member of the Waco Chamber of Commerce and the Waco Real Estate Community. He is actively involved in all aspects of the maket including, residential & commercial construction, development, and real estate brokerage. For more information about Mark or some of his projects please contact him at 254-495-1241.
www.cottoncrossing.net
