Businesses brace for future changes to Bell Boulevard

Walker is also one of several business and property owners waiting to find out how the redevelopment project will impact them. 

Designing Bell When Cedar Park went through a comprehensive planning process in 2014, city staffers asked community members what they wanted the city to look like in the next 20 years, Caffrey said. Residents asked the city to beautify the area around Bell, and they expressed interest in a community gathering space with several activities.

Caffrey said she is reluctant to compare Cedar Park’s plan to The Domain, but she said the Northwest Austin development has several features Cedar Park is hoping to implement.

“[The Domain] is a place where you can go where there’s multiple things you can do—you can go to restaurants; you can go to shops; you can just walk around; you can go to the movies,” she said. “It’s that type of idea.”

Funding for the realignment of Bell was included in the city’s November 2015 bond election. Voters approved the $96.7 million in bond funds, and about $20 million of that amount was set aside for Phase 1 of the Bell project, according to the city.

The first phase includes the design of the roadway, a process that could take about 24 months, and the realignment, said Brian Rice, corporate vice president with Binkley & Barfield, the engineer hired by the city for the road project. The city will have to work closely with other entities, such as the Texas Department of Transportation and Capital Metro, during the design phase, he said. Once the design of Bell is completed, construction could begin in 2019.

The realigned roadway will end just north of Park Street, where John Nguyen’s restaurant, Pho What, sits inside of the North Bell Street Center business park.

Tenants in the center said the business park underwent an 11-week remodel earlier this year, and Nguyen said business at his restaurant dropped by about 40 percent during that time. Although city leaders have said their goal is to minimize the impact of road construction on local businesses, Nguyen said he is worried sales will drop again. 

“It’s a real good possibility it’s going to impact us,” Nguyen said. “Any type of construction is going to turn people away.”

The city also plans to redesign the six-way intersection at Bell, Buttercup Creek and Brushy Creek into a four-way stop intersection. City staffers said the transition should help improve safety and mobility and serve as a gateway to the development project.

Ray Solano, the owner of Specialty Compounding and PDLabs, spoke positively about the plans for the roadway.

“Right now the traffic and the safety is a big problem—to get in and out [of the businesses], it’s problematic,” he said. “Right now [Bell is a high speed] road, and for people to go in and out, it can be very life-threatening.”

Plans to minimize impact During a Sept. 14 meeting with business owners, Caffrey said the city plans to minimize the impact of the road construction on the local businesses by holding a series of meetings to update local business owners about the project’s progress. The city will also place signage around the area during construction to let residents know the businesses are open, Rice said.

Rebecca Leonard, a city-hired consultant with Design Workshop, said business owners can reach out to the city if they experience disruptions, and the Cedar Park Chamber of Commerce is planning to form a Bell Boulevard group to discuss any problems, chamber President and CEO Tony Moline said.

“This has an impact on businesses along Bell Boulevard; they want to try to get everyone who’s a business owner, a property owner, a leg up,” he said. “We want to talk about upcoming events and strategies to make sure everybody’s doors stay open, to make sure there’s as little disruption to business as possible.”

Sydney McCann, owner of interior design store Plush Fabrics, attended the meeting with Tina Mallach, who owns the building in which McCann’s business is located. McCann said she would look into joining the chamber’s group, but both said they remained concerned.

“As the property owner, I’m concerned about making sure my tenants are happy, and if customers are not coming through the door, that’s a problem,” Mallach said.

Rice said construction along Old Hwy. 183 should not heavily disrupt traffic along Bell, and the roadway would only experience disruption when it connects at Buttercup Creek/Brushy Creek and north of Park.

“We’re going to make this a success, and I know you’re worried about impact on your businesses,” he told attendees of the meeting. “My job is, when we’re under construction, to make sure [we] minimize the impact.”

Future development As the realignment phase is underway, city staffers plan to work with private investors to encourage future mixed-use developments inside the redevelopment area, which the city is calling Destination: Bell Boulevard.

In the city’s comprehensive plan, Caffrey said residents asked for the Bell area to become more vibrant.

“We see that [property] values are rising in Cedar Park as a whole, but they aren’t rising in this area at the same rate we see elsewhere,” she said. “So we want this to be a place that is economically beneficial for the city and also for the businesses that are located in this area.”

McCann said the rise in property values will be beneficial for property owners, such as Mallach, but not for tenants.

“It’s going to be good for Tina [Mallach], since she owns the building,” McCann said. “But that means my rent is probably going to go up.”

Mallach said many of the businesses remaining in the area represent “old Cedar Park,” and she worries rising rent costs could cause many older businesses to leave.

Ursula Overdiek, the owner of Hang Ups Picture Framing, said the area around Bell has been one of the most affordable areas of town for years. She believes the upcoming development could cause that to change.

“For certain companies like mine, the rent will go up in a way that will be mathematically impossible for me to survive,” she said.

At a previous meeting with the city, Walker said a city official told him his car wash and mini store were not the city’s ideal businesses for the new development.

He was one of several business owners who raised concerns over whether the city would let them stay in their current locations. 

Caffrey said cities cannot legally use eminent domain for economic development purposes—it can only be used for public projects, such as roads. She said it is the city’s goal to work with landowners and businesses around Bell, but that the decision to move would be up to the property owner.

“I was asked by several business owners who lease space in various strip centers what would be happening to their properties, and that is really a better question for their landlord—the actual property owner,” she said. “Whether a property owner chooses to sell their property or redevelop it is really up to them.”

Mai Lan Bradford, owner of Korner Kitchen in the North Bell Street Center, said the remodel inside her business center raised monthly maintenance costs but so far has not raised rent prices. She said if the rent goes up next year she may relocate.

The remodel has brought in more customers, Bradford said, and she said the Bell redevelopment could bring more customers to businesses in the area as well.

“Now that [the business center] is remodeled, people come in and say they didn’t notice the shopping center before,” she said. “So there are some positives, too.”

Solano welcomed the redevelopment, saying it could bring his business more retail traffic.

“Right now, this area around Old [Hwy.] 183 is going to die if nothing happens,” he said. “I think we should embrace [the redevelopment plan], because it would give us some longevity long-term.”