City Council Approves Incentives for Shopping Center

Two incentives totaling $3.5 million for the construction of a shopping center by 2017 have the backing of the Cedar Park City Council.

The Parke shopping center will be built on 300,000 square feet of new commercial space on vacant land southwest of the intersection of Toll 183A and New Hope Drive, reported Community Impact Newspaper. The Parke will feature a number of retail and restaurant businesses and will be anchored by 365 by Whole Foods, a new concept grocery store that will be cheaper than Whole Foods Markets.

The land that The Parke will be built on is owned by Endeavor Real Estate group, which said that the shopping center would cost at least $50 million to build. The incentives were passed Nov. 12.

But Endeavor will be seeing money come their way from the newly approved city incentive package. The first incentive will reimburse Endeavor up to $2 million throughout five years. The money will come from city revenue generated from the shopping center, reported Community Impact. The second incentive will reimburse Endeavor up to $1.5 million for the costs of construction.

There’s also a tax reimbursement incentive in place that would pay Endeavor $25 million if they successfully develop The Parke by August 31., 2017 and $50 million if they finish The Parke by Aug. 31, 2018.

Charlie Northington, Endeavor Real Estate Group managing principal, spoke during the Nov. 12 City Council meeting. He said that there were several businesses interested in developing locations at The Parke, but he couldn’t reveal the names due to confidentiality, reported Community Impact.

“This is going to be best in breed of retail tenants that are in the [Austin area],” Northington said during the meeting.