By Joe Lanane
Corners along FM 1431 expected to set tone for more retail projects
If retail follows residential, then Ronald Reagan Boulevard is ready for significant new development the rest of 2013.
The growing corridor, shared by Cedar Park and Leander, has become the landing spot for many new residential subdivisions in recent years. Commercial development is starting to fill the gaps, beginning at the FM 1431 intersection in Cedar Park where the two northern corners will soon host Walmart, Walgreens and other retail shops.
Capella Commercial is developing 140,000 square feet of retail space on the intersection's northeast corner next to a future Walgreens. Managing Partner Matt Kenyon said the space has become more valuable since it was purchased five years ago—mainly because of the increased residential activity taking place in the immediate area.
"We were happy to be able to hold that land through the recession," Kenyon said. "It's a blessing on the back end, but it was a little scary for a while."
Once the market improved, however, Capella Commercial was quick to add 200,000 cubic yards of new dirt to help level the previously unbalanced landscape. The challenging topography was one small example of various limitations to development along the Reagan corridor.
Wishing
Much of Ronald Reagan Boulevard is within Leander, a city expected to see residential rooftops double in the coming years thanks to a boom in planned projects.
That residential growth should attract complementary commercial services but not until more utility lines move north, said Tom Yantis, Leander's director of development services.
Water and especially wastewater utility lines are needed in many undeveloped portions of the corridor, he said. Water lines currently end at FM 2243 but are slated to extend past Hero Way to the new Reagan's Overlook subdivision, while no wastewater line exists beyond the Sarita Valley neighborhood south of FM 2243.
Demand is already high enough to build utilities farther north, but such major infrastructure improvements are too expensive for a single retailer to afford, said Marci Cannon, commercial broker for Marketplace Real Estate Group and vice president of the Reagan Parmer Corridor Association. The group was founded in 2007 to help the city attract development along the corridor.
Consequently, she said, the corridor is in need of a large developer willing to help extend utility lines to support the growing residential base on Leander's east side, which is currently without any convenience store, grocer or other major retail operation.
"Rooftops are in the works, and now's the time for commercial to start grabbing land," Cannon said. "And regardless of what the economy does, there are people here already who need services."
Utilities aside, a major retail project would also help spark confidence among other potential commercial developers, she said.
Such a scenario nearly came true earlier this year when H-E-B considered acquiring land on the southwest corner of Ronald Reagan Boulevard and FM 2243 for a second Leander grocery store. For multiple reasons, the Texas-based grocer withdrew interest at that location, a major setback to the corridor, Cannon said.
"That would have set the tone for everything and been a catalyst for more growth," she said. "I hope they don't skip over Leander and go straight to Liberty Hill or Georgetown."
Waiting
Speculation about development along Ronald Reagan Boulevard would not be possible without Williamson County voter-approved bond packages in 2000 and 2006 that helped expand the once-rural roadway.
"We wanted to get ahead of the curve. Otherwise, it would have been short-sighted," said former Precinct 2 Commissioner Greg Boatright. He represented western Williamson County for 16 years before Commissioner Cynthia Long took over the precinct in 2006.
"A lot of people looked at these guys like they were crazy" when they proposed expanding Ronald Reagan Boulevard, Long said. She said she supports any effort that will help bring traffic into Williamson County.
"Cities and counties need a diversified tax base, and big commerce [corridors] are prime places for such development to occur," Long said.
Leander thus far has failed to meet its retail sales potential, according to a city-commissioned analysis from Austin-based consultant The Retail Coach, which determined that more than a half-billion dollars leave the city's retail trade area each year.
Aaron Farmer, The Retail Coach's vice president, identified 62 developers and 40 retailers that could potentially help Leander fill that void, and he said he has been encouraged by the feedback he has received since being hired in January.
"We're seeing more interest in Leander than any other community we're working in," Farmer said during the July 18 Leander City Council meeting. "Obviously, that has a lot to do with your growth."
