Since fall 2015, at least seven new shopping centers have been announced as new developments in Cedar Park and Leander, and they will bring a number of new retail stores and restaurants to the area. [totalpoll id="165491"]
By fall 2017, at least 694,276 square feet of restaurant, retail and professional services will become available in the area. Developers cite population growth, as well as a large number of new home communities in the area as reasons to build in Cedar Park and Leander.
These projects will contribute to the existing retail density in the area along the 4-mile stretch from the intersection of Parmer Lane and RM 1431 to Toll 183A and RM 1431, which include H-E-B, The Home Depot, Costco, Target and Wal-Mart, said Ryder Jeanes, senior vice president of The Retail Connection, the leasing agent of the Crosscreek Market property at RM 1431 and Toll 183A.
“It’s one of the most dense retail corridors for a reason because this is the funnel point of where the residential growth has occurred and will occur in the future,” Jeanes said. “That’s why there is only a finite number of physical locations on that stretch of that road, and we’re located at the very bull’s-eye of that road.”
Local, regional and national tenants
Many of these new projects will include a mix of businesses, such as health care services, liquor stores, gyms and beauty facilities.
Non-restaurant tenants signed on as of press time July 15 at the 37-acre Crosscreek Market include Factory Mattress and Austin-based Woodhouse Day Spa, Jeanes said, and the property is about 50 percent pre-leased. Phase 1 of the project, which includes 37,000 square feet, will open in spring 2017.
About 6 miles east of Crosscreek Market on RM 1431 is Arbor Park, a 100,000-square-foot multitenant project. Matt Kenyon, a partner and developer with Core One Commercial, the developer and leasing agent, said leases are currently being negotiated.
Desired tenants include a grocer, fitness facility, liquor store, and nail and hair salons as well as multiple restaurant options, such as sports bars or sit-down eateries. Health care services at the center could also include a dentist, chiropractor and orthodontist.
Kenyon said upcoming developments have caused Arbor Park’s value to increase.
“[The property is] attractive because we’re the last space available on [RM] 1431 and Ronald Reagan,” Kenyon said. “We’re the last place for retailers to go, especially the larger retailers. … Our main goal we’re trying to serve [is] day-to-day retail needs.”
Kenyon said tenants could be announced this summer.
Also in Cedar Park is the forthcoming 350,000-square-foot shopping center, The Parke, a project spearheaded by Endeavor Real Estate Group. The center, located near East New Hope Drive and Toll 183A, will add a new concept store by Whole Foods called 365 by Whole Foods as well as Nordstrom Rack, Field & Stream, DSW, Ulta Beauty, Buy Buy Baby, Twin Liquors and Dick’s Sporting Goods to the area, according to Endeavor’s site plan.
“We put a lot of time and energy into getting those tenants anchored,” Endeavor Principal Daniel Campbell said.
The Parke is 92 percent leased, Campbell said, with a variety of national, local and regional tenants that will begin to open in February. Campbell said The Parke is a unique type of development for Endeavor because of its heavy focus on modern, contemporary architecture and design.
“We’ve been developing in that city for about 10 years, and so we knew where that market was going,” Campbell said. “We knew that as the city continues to fill up with homes that there was a need for a different type of shopping center—one that caters to the current Cedar Park residents—and so we felt [that] bringing in this collection of pretty cool, unique tenants, that this is the right time to do that.”
In Leander, Cold Springs Marketplace, a 52,000-square-foot shopping center, will open in the coming summer months on Ronald Reagan Boulevard. Non-restaurant tenants that have signed leases include Sparkle Nails, dentist Dr. Truly Nguyen, State Farm, Best Brains Children’s Learning, a pediatric dentist and Fantastic Sams, said Trent Chastain, broker and owner of Dylan Commercial Realty, the leasing agent for Cold Springs Marketplace.
Chastain said residents living nearby provided a great deal of feedback in terms of what tenants are desired for the center. Aman Bandali, landowner and developer of the center, said it was important to find the “right synergy” of tenants to serve the neighborhood. Other area cities were considered for the development, Chastain said. However, the site in Leander was chosen in part because of its ability to host the pedestrian-friendly shopping center connecting to nearby neighborhoods.
Crystal Falls Town Center, near the Crystal Falls Parkway and Lakeline Boulevard intersection in Leander, will open in November with a Randalls grocery store as its anchor tenant.
The 93,642-square-foot property will include retail and restaurant space, and tenants thus far include Bella Salon, Jack Brown Cleaners, Tomlinson’s Feed & Pet Supply, Cost Cutters and Orangetheory Fitness, according to leasing agent Cypress Equities’ lease plan.
New restaurants
New retail centers will also bring a variety of restaurant types, such as fast-casual, drive-thru and sit-down eateries, to the area.
This summer in Cedar Park, locally owned Morning Sunshine Breakfast Treats will open at new retail center The Shops at Lakeline and will serve breakfast tacos, bagels, doughnuts and other breakfast items.
Cold Springs Marketplace will bring four new restaurants to the area, including Super Donut and an unnamed American food bistro concept, Chastain said. He said the marketplace has four spaces for restaurants, and he hopes to attract local concepts for the remaining two available restaurant spaces.
“We worked really hard to make sure we had the right tenants so the neighborhood would be happy,” Bandali said. “The whole idea is for everybody around the shopping center to have a good feeling and enjoy [it.]”
By spring, The Parke shoppers can choose from restaurants such as Chuy’s Tex-Mex, Red Robin, Freebird’s World Burrito and Potbelly Sandwich Co., according to Endeavor site plans.
Crosscreek Market will offer at least two restaurants—Pollo Tropical, a new restaurant concept by Taco Cabana—and another eatery, which is currently in negotiations with The Retail Connection, Jeanes said.
“We knew there was demand right now for retail and restaurant space for these smaller [businesses],” Jeanes said. “I fully expect this intersection in five to 10 years from now in terms of sales and retail and restaurants to be one of the top in [the] Austin [area].”
