“The board had been looking strategically for quite a while to look for that significant project that we could initiate and get started that would have some impact [in downtown],” Steele said.
The project will be located on a 1.5-acre parcel of land on Commerce Street between Classic Collision and the Magnolia United Methodist Church, and add about 100-135 parking spaces, Steele said.
She said more parking would help provide relief for the businesses along The Stroll, the paved pathway between FM 1488 and Sanders Street.
“We’re very excited because not only will it provide parking, but it will also [allow] us to facilitate local market drives, local farmers markets or pop-ups that may be able to come in and [be] legally permitted through the city, building an organic entrepreneurial system here in town,” Steele said.
She said the corporation is also looking to create an established farmers market policy and program as part of its 2024 goals.
“Hopefully [we will] coincide that with the development of the tract,” Steele said.
The Market at Commerce project, funded by the 4B corporation, is projected to cost around $700,000, Steele said.
Created in the 1990s, the 4B Corp. works to expand commercial enterprise in Magnolia while also assisting with quality of life development, she said.
Steele said Venturi Engineering is providing the engineering services, and Studio Avid is the landscape architect for the project.
The landscape architect is working on identifying plants that will help shade the parcel, while the engineer is looking at site development options.
“The Stroll is one of several commercial districts in the city, and it was time to see what we could do to infuse interest in the area,” Steele said. “Is it a final fix? No, I think things are always a work in progress. ... But we hope that this will be a very large step toward getting some sustainable development down there in quite some time.”
