Update: Walmart opened in Cedar Park May 21. Read the story here.

Original story posted Jan. 22, 2014 The new Walmart store on Whitestone Boulevard in Cedar Park is on track to open this spring, a city official said, about a year after the big-box retailer's construction began in May 2013. Phil Brewer, Cedar Park economic development director, said the new store is more accessible to residents in the growing area north of Ronald Reagan Boulevard. Nearby Walmart stores, such as those at Bell Boulevard and Whitestone Boulevard or on Lake Creek Parkway in Austin, likely won't see lessened business, he said. "It's a totally new market that this Walmart's going to capture," Brewer said. The new anchor store is one of several projects planned near the intersection of Whitestone and Ronald Reagan boulevards. But other additions are in very early planning stages, Brewer said. On the other side of Ronald Reagan Boulevard, Capella Commercial plans a 140,000-square-foot retail center next to a Walgreens store. Capella has owned the property for several years, Brewer said, and Walgreens has not yet begun building its corner store. "But with Walmart going in across the street, that might spur Walgreens to move forward with that project," he said. Growing neighborhoods such as the Ranch at Brushy Creek and others along Ronald Reagan Boulevard in Leander have led developers to expect significant business, Brewer said. For now, drivers on Whitestone Boulevard may glimpse the Walmart store's facade behind tall mounds of dirt and gravel. "[The dirt] was just used as they were grading the site," Brewer said.