By Daniel Piotrowski
editor@jacksonvilleprogress.com
Former Bullard mayor A.W. Hines presented a plan Tuesday to Bullard City Council members for a $50 million mixed use development to be built at U.S. Highway 69 and Farm-to-Market Road 344 in Bullard.
The proposed Heritage Springs development would include commercial, retail and multi-family residential construction, Hines said. The roads would be wide, boulevard-type, and the property will have a water feature that would provide a focal point for the development and city of Bullard.
“I have good news for Bullard. I think you are going to like the plan we have for Bullard's first mixed use development,” he said.
Hines said his development company, The Hines Group, would like to have the first phase of the 12.5-acre multi-family apartment complex completed before the beginning of the 2010-11 school year. The 250-300 apartment units on 12.5 acres would cost between $10 million and $15 million to complete, he said.
“The development will, when it is completed, look something like you'd see in Austin or north Dallas,” Hines said.
The apartment complex would be high end with reasonable prices, he said, with a pool and parks, and mostly of brick construction. Hines said it will mean a great revenue and property tax increase for the city and school district.
He said they believe it would increase enrollment at the public and parochial schools, and would bring in money through the half-cent sales tax for the economic development commission.
“We think that this will create a chain reaction of growth and prosperity for the city of Bullard,” Hines said.
The roads have been studied to make sure there would be no congestion problem, he said. They have been working with the Texas Department of Transportation and the city of Bullard to coordinate the street projects.
Hines said they would like to start on the roads immediately. He said the market would dictate how long the buildout of the development will take.
With the new sewage plant going in, Hines said the sewage capacity should be OK by the time the apartments are ready. The addition of about 1,000 people to the area will help create prosperity.
“We are going to do it in phases so it works in accordance with the city ... so we don't drain your sewage capacity. And then it's also good business practice to lease out one section then build another section. I really believe that these things are going to lease out faster than we can build them,” Hines said
He said a convenience store and a Whataburger will be going in along with other businesses he could not name yet. He told the council the time frame for the whole project would be “pretty fast” because he likes to do things that way. The last part to go in, he said, would be the part in front of the apartment complex.
Mayor Pro Tem Stacey Thompson said the new development brings in a lot of commercial property and asked Hines if he had any concerns about the vacant commercial property in the Brookshire's center. He said by bringing in 1,000 people, they create a need for the businesses, which will be within walking distance.
Mayor Teresa Adams-Wilks posed a question about the U.S. 69 entrances to the development. Hines said the roads and entrances would all conform to TxDOT rules and regulations.
In other business, the council:
• Approved the final plat of Vaughan Addition, Unit 2, part of the William H. Steele Survey A-20 in Smith County and Survey A-19 in Cherokee County, a one-lot subdivision at 317 Hunter St. owned by Freddie Vaughan.
• Voted to opt out of the TxDOT Enhancement Program.
• Approved a resolution to authorize a grant application with the East Texas Council of Governments for a recycling bin.
• Passed a motion to seek funding through the State Energy Conservation Office for Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program.
