A joint Waco and McGregor board this week approved zoning changes and land uses that Austin-based KBar Group needs for a mixed-use development called The Concourse near McGregor Executive Airport on U.S. Highway 84.
At stake remains an 88-acre project that would feature a grocery store, restaurants, a hotel, office space, retail space and residential homes, said Travis Krause, spokesperson for the family-owned company.
“Our goal is to break ground next year,” Krause said by email. Asked for details about land uses in The Concourse, Krause messaged: “Commercial, Eateries, Grocer, Hotel, Retail, Office.”
McGregor City Planner Bryan LeMeilleur said Krause remains hush-hush about some details relating to prospective targets, “believing at this point it is in the project’s best interest to remain radio silent until someone signs on the dotted line.” But LeMeilleur said speculation and spoken preferences continue to spread across the community about 15 minutes west of Waco.
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“People are talking about wanting to land something, Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s, for example, but the developer has not said,” said LeMeilleur.
Opposition to The Concourse reportedly has not surfaced.
“The general feedback we have received has been positive,” LeMeilleur said. “There are always a couple of folks who oppose things because they don’t like change. But we’re constantly hearing good things from people in that area, and countywide.”
The 88 acres in question lie in McGregor city limits but surrounded by the city of Waco, thus each has a stake in its future. The five-member Joint Airport Zoning Board includes representatives of both communities, including Waco Mayor Dillon Meek and McGregor Mayor Jim Hering. The board was formed as part of a legal settlement between the cities in 2004.
LeMeilleur said the board approved the zoning changes and land uses “in a meeting that lasted about 5 minutes,” but the decision culminates negotiations that have continued more than a year.
“Now we can begin work on finalizing the plans for improvements and get approvals. … The Airport Administrative Agency will need to give final signoff, as well as McGregor,” Krause said. “That said, everyone is working very well together, so I’m hopeful that we’ll have a relatively clear entitlement process as we drive toward breaking ground next year.”
Krause’s tone seemingly has changed since the Joint Airport Zoning Board was scheduled to convene Aug. 22, a meeting postponed due to a lack of quorum. McGregor Council Member Sherry Adams was not present when the session was scheduled to begin. Will Conrad, who attended the meeting representing the city of Waco legal department, determined all five board members must be present to conduct business on the rezoning.
Responding to emails last month, Krause said, “We’re a year and a half into this process and delays and postponements are a common occurrence. … I’m comfortable giving McGregor a pass this time, because they have been good partners to date and this is the first time we’ve had a delay due to them.”
If current zoning remained in place, and The Concourse failed to materialize, the site could fill up with duplexes and “industrial uses,” Krause said.
Krause said The Concourse will include a residential component, possibly townhomes.
“We’re starting with the commercial stuff first, since there is water/wastewater capacity for that today,” Krause said by email. “We’ll be coordinating with Waco’s utilities to improve the local systems, so that we can provide service to the residential uses.”
LeMeilleur said McGregor also stands to have more homes on the way, creating customers for what The Concourse brings to the table. He said 1,200 housing units have been proposed or approved within the city limits, “and we get a couple of phone calls a week from people wanting to develop, both residential and commercial.” He mentioned subdivisions such as The Ranch, Cotton Belt Crossing and The Parks that may produce more new homes.
Andrew Smith, executive director of the city’s McGregor Economic Development Corp., said Knauf Insulation, Messer and Allied Steel Buildings are progressing on plant construction in McGregor that will create hundreds of new jobs.
“Then there is SpaceX,” said Smith, naming McGregor’s dominant industrial resident that builds rocket engines and employs about 600.
Two other industrial prospects could produce exciting news, with nondisclosure agreements in place “and paperwork at the attorney’s office,” LeMeilleur said, referring further comment on the matter to Smith.
“The number of jobs we’re talking about is 150 to 200,” Smith said. “It’s difficult to say exactly because one prospect has kind of made its plans bigger. They are promising, but nothing is set in stone. We’re working through it. They would involve manufacturing, and potentially would raise eyebrows.”
Smith applauds The Concourse and its impact on industrial recruitment.
“Absolutely it would help,” Smith said. “It’s a quality of life issue, and any time you can offer citizens more options, living options, restaurants, retail, things that address quality of life, you stand to gain.”
(April 2023 meeting) A mixed-use development called The Concourse would bring a hotel, grocery store, shopping center and town homes to an 88-acre site along West Highway 84, with officials saying it could spur more commercial growth along the corridor that links Waco, Woodway and McGregor.
