Preliminary plans to bring a third H-E-B to Cedar Park are underway after Cedar Park City Council approved a $500,000 incentive agreement with the San Antonio-based grocery store chain April 10. The incentive deal funds drainage improvements at the southwest corner of Lakeline Boulevard and FM 1431 through the city's Economic Development Corp., or 4A Board, which first approved the agreement March 17. H-E-B must begin construction on the 46-acre site within five years, according to the agreement. "H-E-B has to perform in order to receive these dollars," said Phil Brewer, Cedar Park economic development director. "The performance measure, as laid out in the agreement, is the development of a retail center that includes at least a 65,000-square-foot building occupied by a targeted retailer. And that retailer would be H-E-B." The funds will help H-E-B pay for drainage improvements since a portion of the property is in a flood plain, Brewer said. If the store opens by 2020, reimbursements can include engineering and construction costs; permitting, inspection and wetland mitigation fees; and expenses related to changes in the site's flood insurance map, he said. City Council also approved an ordinance rezoning the property site and about two adjoining acres from light industrial to general retail. The zoning includes a conditional overlay that prohibits certain uses such as used or new vehicle sales, vehicle repair shops, car washes and day care centers. H-E-B Real Estate Manager Mary Rohrer said preliminary work on the site could take up to two years. Many details are still left to be determined, including whether H-E-B will independently develop the rest of the tract or recruit a partner. Discussions about improving the surrounding roads are ongoing, Brewer said. "We think this is one of our last premier sites to be developed. It has a lot of potential in terms of retail," he said. "To be able to partner with H-E-B on this, we think we are going to be able to end up with a very quality project." The size of the store could call for about 100 new employees, Rohrer said, though that is a preliminary estimate. The new store would not replace either existing H-E-B in the city, she said. "We definitely just made a huge investment on our store at [FM] 1431 and Parmer [Lane] two years ago," she said. "We've made another improvement and are working on our store at US 183, so this will get us to the next place within Cedar Park." Additional reporting by Stephen Burnett