Council approves zoning change that would bring another grocery store on 77
- Charity Fitch
- Aug 21, 2023
- 3 min read
During its March 20 meeting, the Waxahachie City Council unanimously approved a zoning change request from general retail to planned development-general retail for a new shopping center on North U.S. Highway 77 between Hedgewood Drive and North Grove Boulevard. Located on 20 acres, the development will include a national grocery store (Tom Thumb), gas station, storage facility and a variety of retail shops.
The development will be built in three phases with the first phase being infrastructure and improvements to the site.
Following completion of phase one, construction will begin on phase two, which includes Tom Thumb, Tom Thumb Express gas station and convenience store, Store House Storage and a multi-tenant retail building.
The 60,000-square foot Tom Thumb will be a full-service grocery store with a deli area, online grocery order pickup and a pharmacy with a drive-thru. According to the city staff report, Tom Thumb will operate from 6 a.m.-11 p.m. with an expected 150 employees but can operate 24 hours a day, “if there is additional demand.” Along with about 305 parking spaces, there will be 10 spaces designated for electrical vehicle use and seven spaces for online order pickup.
Tom Thumb is expected to open in September 2024, Robert Horton of Horton TX, the real estate and development company based in Fort Worth on the project, shared in an email with the Sun.
Tom Thumb Express will have 12 fuel pumps available 24/7 with the convenience store open from 7 a.m.-9 p.m. selling food, beverage and other “convenience items.”
A two-story, 130,000-square foot storage facility will house Store House Storage, a storage company the Horton family owns with multiple locations across the metroplex. It will contain only indoor, climate-controlled storage units with full security cameras and gated entrance. Store House Storage will operate from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. with tenant access permitted from 6 a.m.-10 p.m.
The 11,000-square foot multi-tenant retail building includes suites for retail or office users and a drive-thru establishment on the northern side of the building. No specific users are being considered for the building at this time, according to the city staff report.
Phase three, which includes about 7 acres of retail with a drive-thru, does not have an anticipated completion date, and no specific uses have been determined at the moment, according to the city staff report.
Horton said phase three and the multi-tenant retail building could see a mixture of uses from restaurants to offices to banks. During the Planning and Zoning meeting, he mentioned Jason’s Deli and Chase Bank as examples of companies interested in the location.
To help with the flow of traffic, Horton is working with the city and TxDOT to build a traffic light at Hedgewood Drive.
James Gaertner, director of public works and engineering, explained to the council how Horton will pay for the traffic light, and the city will send a letter of support to TxDOT to help the traffic light installation finish before the opening of the shopping center.
“I have the letter pretty much ready to send it to them (TxDOT) with our support to put a traffic center at that location,” Gaertner said.
“It is our intent to cover the cost of the light,” Horton said. “It’s a part of the overall development for us to make sure the traffic flows like it’s supposed to. Our intent is that the neighborhoods can come into this facility, on either North Grove or Hedgewood, and do their shopping without ever having to get out onto 77.”
A sidewalk will wrap around the entire development, allowing residents from the surrounding neighborhoods to walk to the grocery store or retail stores.
Landscaping for the development includes about 131 crape myrtles. Horton said they plan to keep the building design consistent throughout the development and included architectural standards in the planned development.
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