“This road kind of divides our city, but it’s the center of us, and we have this land that we’re able to sell to make into a more profitable, more aesthetic situation,” City Manager Heather Neeley said.
Over the next several years, The Blue Ox Group and Identity Architects will construct a downtown shopping area known as the Plaza District with over 34,000 square feet of new retail and professional development in the city, Neeley said.
The big picture
The Robinson Road realignment project has been underway since 2023 and faced a number of delays due to utility relocations and inclement weather. However, officials said the project is set to wrap up by the end of May, opening the door for work on the new Plaza District area downtown to finally begin.
The city has partnered with Houston-based firm Identity Architects and marketing firm the Blue Ox Group to begin work for the proposed Plaza District area.
“The intersection’s long-awaited improvements, coupled with Oak Ridge North’s new pro-development stance, means that the stage is set and demand is about to surge,” said Jack Savery, land and leasing specialist at The Blue Ox Group.
The Plaza District will be a redeveloped area along the intersection of Robinson and Hanna roads, and it will include multiple retail centers, a new city hall and professional offices.
The realignment project was originally planned to address bottleneck traffic issues along the intersection of Robinson and Hanna roads, which—according to data from the Texas Department of Transportation—has seen steady annual average daily traffic growth along the roadway.
“Everybody comes through Robinson [Road],” Neeley said. “We’ve got 25,000 cars coming through every day.”
The most recent numbers from TxDOT for annual average daily traffic on Robinson Road show it has increased from 15,258 vehicles in 2020 to 22,298 at the intersection with I-45 as of 2023. At Hanna Road, it has increased from 12,356 to 18,777 vehicles daily, as of 2023.
This will shift the point of crossing for the railroad tracks along Hanna Road. Additional work such as installing railroad crossing guards and lights will be scheduled at a later date, Neeley said.
Among other projects taking root in the area in response to the Robinson Road realignment, Newman Commercial Real Estate is also developing a 100,000-square-foot multipurpose space along the west side of southbound Robinson Road, CEO Nate Newman said.
Also of note
Newman said he has waited until this year to develop the land he owned on Robinson Road until realignment was completed.
“The thing about Oak Ridge North is that it’s directly off of I-45, so the location is phenomenal,” Newman said. “In the real estate business, it’s all about location; and you want to control sites where people have to go by your site.”
Why it matters
Sarah McClure, director of economic development for the city, said the city has been marketing to potential businesses since work first began on Robinson Road in 2023 to garner interest.
“We do exist, and we are going to have space, but right now we don’t. So we’re trying to go more the retail route, but it’s really been the fast-casual restaurants [the city has pursued],” McClure said.
The Blue Ox Group has also begun actively seeking potential commercial and retail partners for the Plaza District, which will act as the central hub for the city, McClure said.
“A lot of it has to do with just bringing a family-oriented center to Oak Ridge [North],” Savery said. “We’re trying to get different concepts, whether that’s like a pickleball or volleyball court—something that brings that traffic outdoors.”
Neeley said the creation of the Plaza District and redevelopment efforts are key to ensuring the city is able to fund larger community projects such as sidewalks, park expansions and the creation of new amenities.
The city collected $3.3 million in sales tax revenue in 2024, according to budget documents, and it has averaged around $3 million annually since 2022.
“Sales tax is 75% plus or minus of our annual budget, so that pretty much funds everything the city does,” Neeley said.
However, some residents shared concerns that the district may only increase traffic issues along Robinson Road once the Plaza District is completed.
“It’s like they say, ‘build it and they will come,’ and I’m not sure we can handle even more traffic once [the Plaza District] is done,” said Joleene Custer, a resident along Robinson Road.
Next steps
Savery said construction of the Plaza District is set to begin by December once the roadway is officially completed by the end of May.
However, Neeley said one potential delay is the planned railroad crossing relocation.
Union Pacific Railroad officials said the railroad crossing shift could take up to nine months, and as of press time they said work would begin May 23-25.
Once the Plaza District is complete, Neeley said the city is hoping it will attract new residents by providing retail and lounging opportunities.
“We’ve got three- to five-bedroom houses, so of course we’re looking for young families to move in. And when they look at places to live, they want to see what’s around them; they want to have amenities that are close by,” Neeley said.
