Cedar Park creates tax increment reinvestment zone, paving way for super-regional destination center

Cedar Park City Council unanimously approved a tax increment reinvestment zone that will fund public infrastructure and other site improvements to support a future $400 million mixed-used development during its Nov. 10 meeting.

Called Project Northwest New Hope, the site will be a super-regional destination center that will include a convention center and hotel as well as a NFM retail store, according to the city. NFM has one other Texas store located in The Colony in North Texas.

CPM Development purchased the site and plans to build a 250-room full service hotel, a 30,000-square-foot city-owned convention center, a 500,000-square-foot NFM—formerly Nebraska Furniture Mart—store, a 700,000-square-foot warehouse space to support NFM and 250,000 square feet for high-quality commercial development, according to city documents.

Media and Communications Manager Jennie Huerta described the development, which is located on the land west of the H-E-B Center near the intersection of 183A Toll and West New Hope Drive, as a “shopping destination area.”

The new TIRZ includes 117 acres purchased by CPM as well as the 32 acre H-E-B center site and the 2-acre detention pond site, City Attorney JP LeCompte said at the Oct. 27 City Council meeting.

However, LeCompte said only the 117-acre parcel will be used for revenue-collection purposes. The revenue collected from that site, including sales taxes, hotel occupancy taxes and mixed-use beverage taxes as well as 50% of the property tax revenue, will pay for public infrastructure and site improvements at the development, according to city documents.

TIRZs are created by city councils to help promote and finance economic development and redevelopment projects, according to the city.

The city will set up a TIRZ board to oversee the use of funds that will include members of City Council, LeCompte said. The TIRZ will be in place effectively immediately for a term of 30 years at most.

This item will come back before City Council on Dec. 8, when council will approve the final project and financing plan as well as the TIRZ agreement, LeCompte said.