More shopping and restaurants in Calallen? Here's what may be coming.

More shopping and restaurants in Calallen? Here’s what may be coming.

Posted by author December 12, 2024 Shopping

Spread the love

A new shopping center could be on its way to Calallen.

Tuesday, the Corpus Christi City Council approved a resolution that would grant millions of dollars in tax incentives for the proposed retail-and-restaurant destination.

Dubbed Calallen Town Center, the development is slated for a 27-acre property off Interstate 69 and County Road 52, according to a news release.

The development is expected to be completed in about three years, according to the news release.

The specific eateries and stores have not yet been publicly announced.

However, a proposed site map shown to the City Council on Tuesday includes among its 11 individual slots two that are described as clothing stores, and one as a beauty store.

The remainder are labeled as either restaurants or retail, with no further description.

The specific businesses that would occupy the center haven’t yet been finalized, said Arturo Marquez, director of the city’s economic development department.

A map displayed to the council shows the proposed town center as adjacent to an existing Hobby Lobby.

It would also be about a mile from Calallen’s Walmart Supercenter.

Under the agreement, the development — estimated at about $53.8 million in private investment — could be awarded as much as $5.2 million in incentives via property and sales tax rebates, according to the news release.

“This is a performance-based contract,” Marquez told the council, “meaning they have to generate these sales taxes in order for us to rebate them back.”

City officials estimate that the development, as proposed, would ultimately generate more than $18.4 million in new dollars for local government and school coffers over a 10-year period, according to the news release.

The council approved the resolution in an 8-1 vote, with City Councilman Gil Hernandez voting in opposition.

Hernandez suggested that incentives for retail or restaurants could pose interference with “market forces.”

“If the market can support this, then they shouldn’t need incentives from us,” he said.

Hernandez added that he believed approving incentives for the town center could unfairly cost revenue for existing businesses in the area, which had not been granted incentives.

City Councilman Roland Barrera, in response, contended that boosting options for consumers would benefit the existing retail and restaurant locations.

“If you have more options, then there’s more reasons for people to come out,” he said. “And then you’ll find that a rising tide raises all ships.”

Marquez, in the news release, stated that the town center would capitalize on “a strategic location along the I-69 corridor in Calallen, transforming a greenfield site into a thriving retail destination.”

“It will attract hundreds of thousands of customers annually, many from outside the City, boosting sales tax revenue and enhancing Corpus Christi’s regional retail appeal,” he added.