Thursday, July 4, 2013

Brazos Commons!

This humble blog was created just a few years ago to suggest & solicit conceptual & strategic master development at 2 primary nodes in Waco - the IH-35 corridor intersection with the scenic Brazos River and also Hwy 6 S.

Well, lo and behold...there is now a new $250 million Baylor Stadium being built in the NE quadrant by the Brazos River and a $180 million proposal under review to develop the rest of that entire area as well!

Congratulations to Rick Sheldon on his grand vision! Hallelujah!!!
Details emerge of $180 million Brazos Commons project

The sole bidder to redevelop the city’s stretch of urban waterfront is proposing more than $180 million of development, including some 800 housing units, five restaurants, a movie theater and a pier with a lighthouse beckoning travelers off Interstate 35.

City Manager Larry Groth on Wednesday released the proposal that Brazos River Partnership LLC submitted in response to the city’s invitation to develop the 16-acre Brazos Commons area along University Parks Drive.

Brazos River Partnership, which consists of Waco developers Rick Sheldon and Joe Beard, will work with Dallas-based Westdale Real Estate Investment and Management on the project.

“If we do this right, this will be an absolute transformation for Waco,” Sheldon said. “Our perception in the world will change, more people will want to move here, more people will want to come to Baylor, more professors will want to live here, and better doctors, better jobs for everybody.”

Sheldon and Beard already own the corner of Franklin Avenue and University Parks Drive, where they envision a major convention center hotel. But Sheldon said that project will be easier to develop once the Brazos Commons is well underway.

Sheldon and Beard this month finished buying out the Brazos Landing multifamily complex between Clifton Robinson Tower and Brazos 
Commons and will incorporate that six acres into the development.

They also own 2.4 acres across University Parks Drive, where they envision a 25,000-square-foot grocery store and other uses.

The Brazos Commons project would be phased in during several years, with construction beginning in 2014 on a 200-unit condominium tower overlooking the Brazos River. Restaurants, some apartments, retail, office and entertainment uses could be developed by 2016.

At build-out, the project would include 500,000 square feet of buildings, about two-thirds the size of Richland Mall. The project would include 500 to 600 rental units in addition to the condos.

The development also would include significant public spaces.

From that grove, a tiered grass slope would lead to a public plaza and an improved riverwalk, which would be elevated slightly so it no longer floods. A pier would jut into the water and allow strolling crowds a place to take in sunsets and even catch a riverboat.
Sounds FANTASTIC, Rick!!!

And for a finishing touch, how about a new iconic symbol to crown your centerpiece lighthouse with?? Like a neon blue river phoenix...arising from hard dust & molten ashes!

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