City of Hillsboro Texas and Developer Finalizing Mall Demolition Plans

Hillsboro, Texas

The Hillsboro City Council amended the city’s development agreement with Glaser Retail Partners during a meeting held Tuesday, May 20, as demolition plans take shape at the outlet mall property.

The original development agreement between the city and Glaser specifies that the city is responsible for demolition of structures on its part of the mall property, and Glaser is responsible for demolition on its portion.

The agreement allows Glaser to be reimbursed for demolition costs at different percentages based on how many businesses are developed.

The amendment will allow Glaser to contract for all of the demolition, and the city will reimburse the developer for its portion of the cost. The change will put Glaser in control of the timing and processes with the demolition contractor.

City Manager Megan Henderson reported that demolition of the outlet mall is still planned for early June, but she added that no big announcement of businesses locating on the site is expected in the near future. Henderson said that the business prospects prefer to keep their plans quiet until further along in the development process.

The council also approved a proposal to add recreational vehicle resorts to the city’s zoning ordinance.

Victron Energy spoke in favor of the proposal at the council’s last meeting. Victron has purchased the former Amigo’s Truck Stop location at I-35 and US Highway 77 and plans to develop a truck stop with a short-term RV resort on property behind the business.

The business model would be designed to attract short-term visitors traveling I-35 who may want to stop in Hillsboro for a few days at a time. Victron says the location would not be an RV park, and pricing would not be conducive to a long-term stay.

With the ordinance change, the city will be able to consider providing a permit for an RV resort on a case-by-case basis.

In other action, the council authorized the mayor and city manager…

See the Thursday, May 28, edition of The Reporter Newspaper for the complete story.