BRENHAM SHOPPING CENTER PROJECT SUFFERS DELAYS DUE TO PANDEMIC

  

Progress on the Baker Katz shopping center project in Brenham is still coming along, but has slowed significantly.

The retail development located on 35 acres of land at the Highway 290-Chappell Hill Street intersection was originally planned to open its first stores by spring of 2021, but that timeline has been pushed back to spring of 2022.

Brenham City Manager James Fisher said the city is still working with Baker Katz on amending the economic development agreement between them, but the two are essentially “pushing everything back a year”.  He said the developer intends to resume construction on the 200,000 square-foot shopping center in the fall or winter, and will be turning buildings over to tenants by December of 2021.

Fisher said concerns about the economy have somewhat shaken the confidence of some prospective tenants, but overall interest in the project is still strong.

 

Because of market volatility, tenants are careful in announcing what projects they are participating in.  However, Fisher said people should start figuring out what businesses are coming to town around this time next year.

 

Utility extensions for the project, according to Fisher, are nearing completion.  He said completing the regional lift station, located in the proposed Brenham Family Park, is the biggest piece remaining with utility work, adding that water and gas lines have all been laid and wastewater lines are being put in place.  The city will be working with Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative to bury electric lines underground.

Fisher said progress has been a bit slower on the widening of South Chappell Hill Street and design of traffic signals at the intersection, due to TxDOT being slowed down by COVID-19, but the projects are still on track to be completed prior to the shopping center’s opening.

In 2019, 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.