The sounds of jackhammers and construction equipment in downtown Waco sets the tune for the surge of development underway.
The newly completed Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce headquarters will open its doors June 6. This $4-million, 14,000-square-foot "green" building is the cornerstone of Waco Town Square. The $60-million, 17-acre mixed-use development between Third and Fourth Streets will offer Class A office space above retail and restaurants. Construction has begun on 70 residential lofts, the Austin Avenue Flats that will range in size from 540 to 1,504 square feet.
A 368-bed student housing structure is slated to open in the fall of 2009 with special amenities targeting Baylor University students.
This busy block is an early glimpse of the transformation taking place downtown. The historic Roosevelt Hotel is undergoing a multimillion-dollar renovation and will soon be occupied as a mixed-use building with offices and retail.
Wells Fargo Bank is slated to relocate to the former site of the Heart of Texas Council of Governments at Fourth and Franklin, and development along Austin Avenue includes retail, loft apartments, offices and a wine bar.
Two new hotels are underway downtown, an upscale 120-room Hotel Indigo between Second and Third Streets and Webster and Clay Avenues and a 90-unit Staybridge Suites between Fifth and Sixth Streets near Interstate 35.
The renovation of the Waco Convention Center made possible by a $17.5-million bond will transform the 40-year-old building into a modern and more functional facility that attracts 175,000 visitors annually.
The Landmark Group will invest at least $12 million to turn the old Waco High School on Columbus Avenue into affordable housing units, and the floor-by-floor $16-million renovation of the Hilton Waco is nearing completion. The nearby Marriott Courtyard received a $2.5-million upgrade in 2007.
Consider that developer Rick Sheldon has revealed his vision for a Lake Brazos project that would include a domed stadium, bridge, hotel and restaurants, and it's apparent that the $150 million in announced development projects has set a pace for continued growth.
In fact, the Greater Waco Chamber predicts a billion dollar decade of development is just beginning. Revitalizing strategic community area is one of the Chamber's goals for stimulating the Brazos river front and other key areas.
As the synergy builds downtown, the Chamber's Traditional Neighborhood Development Task Force is also looking at North Waco and East Waco as vital areas for enhanced services such as transportation, banking and grocery stores.
When people can easily access the necessities for day-to-day life, neighborhoods tend to be more successful, safer and offer a higher quality of life, according to Chris McGowan, director of urban development for the Chamber. By focusing on sustainability in communities where residents are within a five-minute walk to their everyday needs, denser neighborhoods create outstanding places for people to live, work and play, he said.
Steve Sorrells, president of Sorrells Development, chairs the committee, which was formed in 2006 and organized the first Downtown Summit for stakeholders to share their opinions and ideas. "This is a tried-and-true development style that integrates naturally with the existing development styles present within Waco. It is currently a very hot technique that many other communities have implemented without any of the existing resources Waco already enjoys," said Sorrells.
The committee continues to assess areas of Waco to attract and facilitate development, he said. "New Urbanism has many social, economic and environmentally friendly benefits that appeal to a broad spectrum of people and makes Waco attractive to both employers as well as citizens looking to relocate to up and coming areas," said Sorrells.
