Renovations to 25-year-old store to be complete by summer

The Cedar Park H-E-B at US 183 and Whitestone Boulevard is undergoing an expansion project that will add new foods and square footage to the 25-year-old store.

"Last October we completed a major remodel at our other Cedar Park store down the road, and so this one is getting some of that love and expansion as well," H-E-B spokeswoman Leticia Mendoza said. "This is going to be a $10 million project for us. [The store is] gaining an additional 5,200 square feet."

In September, construction began to add space to the store's front, where Manager Rick Nevels said the existing parking spaces will be eliminated. Steel and glass will replace the red brick facade. Two previously leased commercial spaces will become part of the store's pharmacy and drive-thru.

"So it will be Papa Murphy's, a small leased space [remaining next to H-E-B], and then we are demolishing what used to be a dentist office and a hair care place," Nevels said. "We are putting in a state-of-the-art pharmacy where we will be able to have a consultation area."

Crews are creating 75 new parking spots on the store's north side to compensate for lost space and to meet the expected influx of customers, Nevels said. Most of the freshest items—including those in an expanded produce section, new scratch bakery and tortilleria, and the floral department—will be located near the store's left-side entrance.

"Nothing internally, with the exception of moving floral, will happen until after the holidays. So our consumers who are used to shopping with us around Thanksgiving and Christmastime can still find what they need," Nevels said. "We have all our partners well-versed on what's happening, and we'll have additional staff to assist customers from the time they step out of their vehicle to when they check out."

In January, crews will start moving and staging products in different parts of the store to make way for new display cases, Nevels said, adding the renovation is expected to be completed in June.

"When it's all done, it's going to be a beautiful store," Nevels said.