New shops, restaurants, a salon and a clinic could all be part of a proposed Pflugerville development near Stone Hill Town Center on FM 685. Dubbed The Shops at 685 in marketing materials, the proposed site includes three pads totaling around 24,000 square feet that are scheduled to be developed into two strip malls and a fast-food restaurant, Pflugerville Planning Director Emily Barron said. As of press time Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers was the only business to have filed a permit application for the proposed shopping center, Barron said. A Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt announced plans to be a part of the center as well. A data center planned for the site adjacent to the Shops at 685 is still in the works, but Pflugerville has not received a construction permit application from developer Dimension Capital Partners, Barron said. Patricia Gervan-Brown, president of the Pflugerville Chamber of Commerce, said development along FM 685 will play an important role in increasing Pflugerville’s tax base and keeping the city’s economy stable and independent. “That’s the growth corridor—that’s where we’re going to see all the growth, both commercial and residential,” Gervan-Brown said. “It’s going to give our citizens more options for shopping and more ways to spend money in the community, which increases the sales tax base.” Neil Ehrlich, owner of Express Oil Change and Service Center in Cedar Park, is opening a second location in Pflugerville on FM 685 and said he chose the Pflugerville site over locations in Georgetown and Austin. “The demographics are great,” he said. “It’s growing rapidly, and it’s a valuable place to start a business because of all the growth.” Ehrlich said he sees Stone Hill Town Center and the surrounding area turning into a destination similar to the Arboretum shopping center in North Austin, which will mean more traffic for his service center and his Express Auto Wash planned nearby. “For us, [expanding to Pflugerville] was a no-brainer,” he said. Although some residents have expressed concerns about increased traffic, many living near FM 685 are excited about new development in the area, said Judy Key, president of the nearby Royal Pointe Homeowners’ Association board. “Everybody seems to be very tickled with the development that’s going on with Stone Hill, and [they see The Shops at 685] as a continuation of that,” she said. “I like the fact that I can get almost everything in Pflugerville now without ever having to leave the area, and I’d rather spend my dollars in Pflugerville.”