UPDATE PROVIDED ON SITEWORK FOR BRENHAM SHOPPING CENTER PROJECT

  

City of Brenham officials have given an update on the ongoing sitework at the Baker Katz shopping center project.

The Houston-based developer is currently developing 35 acres of land at the Highway 290-Chappell Hill Street intersection, and plans to build a 200,000 square-foot shopping center at that location.

According to Development Services Director Stephanie Doland, the grading and preliminary sitework has been completed. This included a process called “cut and fill”, which Doland said essentially requires moving earth from one place to another to make the ground more level.  The property has over 30 feet of elevation change, and this “cut and fill” process allows dirt and earth material from the higher side of the property to be “cut” and moved to “fill” the lower side of the property.  In conjunction with the “cut and fill” process, contractors have compacted the dirt so as to reduce run-off and erosion of the recently re-arranged earthwork.

Doland said crews have stopped working at the site for the meantime to allow dirt to settle in at its new location. According to Doland, engineers recommend allowing the site to sit for multiple months, in order to ensure it has a level and firm pad to build a slab and improvements on it.  She said allowing the site to sit stagnant for a few months is necessary to ensure a solid foundation for the new development.

Doland said, while the physical site will not show much progress during the next two to five months, engineers and architects will be preparing and submitting plans to the City of Brenham for review and permitting. Once the permits are ready to be issued, and the site is determined firm enough to build on, then construction will begin.

Earlier this year, Baker Katz entered into a sales tax abatement with the City of Brenham and Washington County for the project. The agreement will reimburse the developer $6 million in sales taxes over a 12-year period, with the city contributing $4 million and the county putting forward $2 million. The city will also contribute roughly $2 million for traffic and infrastructure improvements.

The first wave of retailers and restaurants is expected to open at the shopping center in the summer of 2021.