Bryan Development News

[Scotch]

There have been quite a few articles about new development on the B-CS area and I have neglected to post them. I thought I would start this thread to post articles as they come along the next few months...

Complex set for Bryan

By MELISSA SULLIVAN

Eagle Staff Writer

A 40,000-square-foot entertainment complex featuring miniature golf and a bowling alley is planned to be built in Bryan, business officials said Wednesday.

The Bryan Business Council announced plans for the $5.5 million complex at North Earl Rudder Freeway and Boonville Road, next to the future site of a Kroger and a Premiere Cinema movie theater.

Construction on the entertainment complex - dubbed Boonville Station - is expected to begin in late September or early October, said Mike Logan, developer and owner.

Boonville Station will include a 32-lane bowling alley, an indoor black light miniature golf course, a multilevel Laser Tag arena and a video arcade, Logan said. The center also will include party and conference rooms.

"It's going to be a family entertainment center," Logan said, "and it's gonna blow the socks off Bryan-College Station. The town deserves something like this."

Huntsville-based Grisham Construction will build the facility, which tentatively is scheduled to open next summer, Logan said.

The complex will be available for church and school groups to hold lock-ins and for children to have birthday parties, he said. Area businesses will be welcome to hold meetings in the conference rooms, he added.

The center also will feature two 8-by-10-foot projection television screens above the bowling lanes that will show music videos, Logan said. When the lights are turned off, Logan said, the bowling lanes will reflect a railroad theme, with tracks leading up to the pins.

"I felt like Bryan-College Station is a terrific market," he said. "It will be well-received."

Dennis Goehring, economic development director for the Bryan Business Council, said the complex and neighboring development will give Brazos Valley residents a single destination for a variety of entertainment.

"In one area, a family will be able to shop, dine, catch a movie and enjoy the amenities of Boonville Station - and do so without having to drive all over town," he said.

[Scotch]

Currently under construction:

BRYAN, Texas (Hudgins Apartment Development) - Fort Worth-based Hudgins Apartment Development has purchased nearly 15 acres at Finfeather and Villa Maria and will construct a 296-unit apartment community called The Presidio on the site. Bud Hudgins said he came to this area because the market was tight and rental rates were close to $1 per square foot. The luxury apartment complex will offer garages and many amenities. Apartments will be ready in summer 2005.

[Real Estate Center Online News]

Woodland Court under construction (Update) - 3/18/2005

Construction is ongoing on the 43-unit Woodland Court condos in Bryan. The three- and four-bedroom condos are located at 1425 West Villa Maria Road.

[GlobeSt.com]

[RedScare]

"Boonville Station will include a 32-lane bowling alley, an indoor black light miniature golf course, a multilevel Laser Tag arena and a video arcade, Logan said. The center also will include party and conference rooms.

"It's going to be a family entertainment center," Logan said, "and it's gonna blow the socks off Bryan-College Station. The town deserves something like this."

A bowling alley and miniature golf will "blow the socks off" of B-CS? I know it's not quite Houston or Austin, but B-CS has grown a bit more than this. Quotes from developers always bring a smile to my face.

So do the names of their developments.

[rcj0618]

Is this development going in the spot by McCoy's where the now-defunct Schulman theater/hotel project was going to be built?

[WestGrayGuy]

Schulman theater....ah the memories. It was the ____ until Cinemark came along. Now Cinemark is just sad, faded.

[GovernorAggie]

Huh? Cinemark had a big renovation that it finished last year. It went from 12 to 18 screens and is now all stadium seating with all the bells and whistles. It also has a fast food 'cafe' inside of it. They also changed the paint outside from that putrid sea green to your typical light brown and red. When I first got to A&M, I was let down by Cinemark, but I was impressed with the changes they made.

After all, they had to in order to compete with the new Premiere Cinemas in Bryan. Now that I think about it, I think their renovation coincided with Premiere's announcement.

[citykid09]

I did not know they where building a bowling alley. That good news and stuff, but a bowling alley? Why don't they build a mini theme park instead? We already have bowing here. Oh well! Better than nothing.

[Scotch]

Is this development going in the spot by McCoy's where the now-defunct Schulman theater/hotel project was going to be built?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

As I understand it, the development will be north of the Kroger Signature store. The land next to McCoy's will hopefully end up the home to a number of restaurants.

[citykid09]

It seems like there won't be any room for the bowling alley.

[rcj0618]

As I understand it, the development will be north of the Kroger Signature store. The land next to McCoy's will hopefully end up the home to a number of restaurants.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

My sources tell me that the announcement of this new development may have been a little premature. Nothing is set in stone as of yet, but is close. The complex will be north of the Kroger, but it is still unclear if it will be in the area in front of the theater (there is a possible spot there), or in the land north of the theater.

[Scotch]

...Quotes from developers always bring a smile to my face.

[Scotch]

Bryan plans to clean up its streets

By APRIL AVISON

Eagle Staff Writer

Bryan City Council members said Tuesday they plan to aggressively combat code violations, but they want to help elderly, disabled and poor residents who aren't able to bring their properties up to code.

Discussion on the issue was introduced by Councilman Paul Madison, who has said before that the code restrictions should be more lenient in certain cases.

"We have a number of elderly individuals who really have a problem coming into compliance," he said. "It's also expensive to do some of the cleanup. ... We want to listen to what the citizens have to say, and we want to do whatever it takes to make sure Bryan is a clean place."

Madison himself has faced scrutiny in the past because he owns a salvage yard at Texas 21 and Louis Street that does not have a solid fence to conceal the yard from public view, as required by code. He told The Eagle on Tuesday that he has agreed to "come up to code" and has not received a citation.

An open records request submitted by The Eagle on Tuesday afternoon asked whether any citations had been issued against council members over the past two years for code violations. Information was not immediately available.

Madison said his personal issues are not the reason he asked the council to discuss code enforcement at Tuesday's meeting.

Bryan's codes state that residents can't park cars on their lawns and grass cannot exceed a height of 12 inches. But some of the streets in Single Member District 2, which Madison represents, are too narrow to accommodate vehicles, residents said. About 25 people attended Tuesday's council meeting to show their support for continued dialogue on code enforcement.

Former councilwoman Annette Stephney said elderly people who have lived in Bryan for 50 or 60 years don't understand what is required of them.

"I'm not against code enforcement, but I think we ought to make [codes] more clear to our elderly people," she said.

Keep Brazos Beautiful Executive Director Laura Tankersley-Glenn introduced an idea for a program that would allow residents to help poor, disabled and elderly neighbors repair their properties.

"We've taken away the responsibility from individuals," Tankersley-Glenn said. "If something is wrong, we call the city. If the neighbor's grass is too high, we call code enforcement instead of walking next door to see if they need help."

The city could implement "community tool sheds" through grant funds available to Keep Brazos Beautiful, Tankersley-Glenn said. She suggested that tools could be housed at local fire stations and checked out to volunteer groups or residents who want to help with cleanup for poor and elderly residents.

After the meeting, Mayor Ernie Wentrcek said the council hasn't had a chance to look at the program in depth but could consider it at a future meeting.

He also said he wants the council to continue discussing the concerns brought up about code restrictions.

"There have been some very valid complaints made," Wentrcek said.

Council members appeared to agree that they want Bryan to be clean and attractive, but they don't want to penalize residents who are physically unable to keep their properties up to code.

"We're not just going to write tickets and assess fines," Councilman Mark Conlee said. "We're going to do everything we can to try to help people come into compliance."

Madison said he believes the council "really understands and really cares" about code enforcement issues.

In other matters, the council:

[Scotch]

(Scotch's note: It's only pork barrel spending if the projects are somewhere else. )

Bill includes $9.8 million for Brazos County roads

Congress sends measure to Bush, who says he will sign it

Staff and Wire Report

Link: full article

WASHINGTON - A $286.4 billion highway and mass transit bill approved by Congress on Friday includes $9.8 million for improvements in Brazos County and promises to give Texas a bigger share of future federal transportation funds.

The new six-year surface transportation bill was approved by a 91-4 vote in the Senate hours after the House approved the measure, 412-8.

It guarantees that by 2008, Texas and other states will get back at least 92 percent of what they contribute through federal gasoline taxes to the Highway Trust Fund. Currently, the state gets 88 cents for every dollar it sends to the federal government in gasoline taxes.

Local funding would go toward the following projects:

[citykid09]

That's good news, I wish they would widen 28th street though. It looks tacky with ditches.

[KennethColeSRG]

It's about time something was done to the MLK/Old Reliance overpass, which has been too small to handle all the traffic that comes through there. Now, with Bryan set to build the new high school on Old Reliance as well as the developments at the freeway and Boonville, the improvements to that overpass are a MUST. Watch for the areas on both sides of the freeway at that overpass to quickly see new development.

[citykid09]

Hey KennethColeSRG, are you from Bryan?

[txshady]

Yesterday I was at McCoys on Boonville Rd. and noticed a sign on the road advertising a new development with 2 retail spaces on the tract of land between McCoys and Max Shell/Popeye's. The site is not even 1 acre, so whatever takes the 2 spaces would have to be small such as a Subway or something comparable. From the looks of the sign, I doubt the building will barely reach 2,000 sq ft. Has anyone from this area seen this yet?

[citykid09]

I haven't been down in that area latley, but I here that there is a new Dollar General down that way. They sure are taking forever on the movie theater. The barley put the walls up the other week, over a year after construction started.

[KennethColeSRG]

Citykid, yes I am a born-and-bred B/CS kid...started elementary at College Hills...graduated from Bryan High, at which point I felt the need to get the hell out of what I believed to be a dead-end area, so I rebelled and went off to school at UT..LOL...then decided that wasn't far enough from home and transferred to school in Atlanta before returning home a few years ago. My time away from home made me realize how lucky I had been to have been raised in a stable, if sometimes annoying and small-minded, community like B/CS, and since I've been back here I have gotten involved in a number of civic and community organizations in Bryan. My interest in the area's development and issues is greatly enhanced now, and I am excited by the progress the Valley has seen and continues to experience, especially the revitilazation happening in Bryan.

[KennethColeSRG]

I was just in the Austin's Colony/Boonville area this past weekend and can report that the support beams for the staduim-seating in the theater are now in place. In addition it looks as if the foundation for the Kroger Signature/retail slots is about to be poured, and the new traffic lights have been put up at Austin's Colony Parkway and Boonville was put into place a couple months ago.

Also took my first drive through the Miramont development and all I have to say is....WOW. The country club, whose clubhouse is being billed as the largest in the nation, is truly stunning. If this development doesn't significantly to Bryan's tax rolls, I don't know what will.

Also rode down B/CS's answer to Houston's West Loop, Texas Ave South through College Station (aka Texas 6 Business) and construction has already begun on the multimillion dollar widening of the road to seven lanes from Bush Drive to Earl Rudder Freeway.

In addition, the land has been cleared and construction is about to begin on the huge mixed-use development on University and Lincoln Street.

[Scotch]

Here are a few pictures taken of the theatre and Kroger construction. These were taken at dusk and from the back of the properties(along Austin's Colony Pkwy), so they are not the best, but here goes:

[Scotch]

Here are a few pictures of new development in Park Hudson-

Lot where office buildings will be built, sign of proposed layout:

Construction of Brazos Abstract Company, picture is too close, but you can kind of see how the building will look:

Additionally, there is another lot being cleared and leveled behind the Physician's Centre, but no sign of what will be going there. Perhaps Bryan Guy will know more about that?

[citykid09]

Good to see an update!

Do you think The new theater will be more popular than Hollywood Theater? I do. I just seems like the time will never come when the will open.

Thats a weird looking business center. I think an 8 story building instead of 8 seperate buildings would be better.

[Bryan Guy]

Here are a few pictures of new development in Park Hudson-

Lot where office buildings will be built, sign of proposed layout:

Construction of Brazos Abstract Company, picture is too close, but you can kind of see how the building will look:

Additionally, there is another lot being cleared and leveled behind the Physician's Centre, but no sign of what will be going there. Perhaps Bryan Guy will know more about that?

Wish I did. I drive home that way everyday and keep looking for a sign to pop up. No rumors about town on that one. Did you happen to notice that Anco is moving next to the Williamsburg development? The sign was put up today.

[citykid09]

Wish I did. I drive home that way everyday and keep looking for a sign to pop up. No rumors about town on that one. Did you happen to notice that Anco is moving next to the Williamsburg development? The sign was put up today.

Anco Insurance?

[Scotch]

I didn't see that, Anco gives Park Hudson yet another solid fixture. Decision One going under was probably a good thing as it didn't fit in with the other businesses going into the area. Any word on what that might become? Seems like the building would be good for a medical use.

I think eight separate buildings are much better for law, dental and doctor's offices, etc., than a tower would be.

From the plans I have seen for Crescent Pointe, it seems like C.S. is going for more of a business headquarters area with just a few buildings as opposed to numerous buildings for services on the Bryan side. I guess we will see what goes accross University when something other than Adam's building starts up.

[txshady]

I didn't see that, Anco gives Park Hudson yet another solid fixture. Decision One going under was probably a good thing as it didn't fit in with the other businesses going into the area. Any word on what that might become? Seems like the building would be good for a medical use.

The Decision One building was purchased by a firm called West Corp. which does tech support for various computer companies.

[rcj0618]

Anco Insurance?

[citykid09]

Thanks for answering my question. So you live in B/CS?

[rcj0618]

Thanks for answering my question. So you live in B/CS?

Sure do... lived here for 40-plus years. I've been lurking on this board for a while and occasionally posting. Get lots of good news about local development. It's very interesting to me, as I live in Austin's Colony and work very closely with the above-mentioned insurance agency.