Could Bastrop become the next Bee Cave?

Photo Credit: Sendero, a Pearl River Communities development

Sometimes headlines like the one I am about to write about can seem insignificant. But this one caught my eye this week: "Target Eyes Another Austin-area store". Justin Sayers at the Austin Business Journal reported that Target is considering expanding into Bastrop. I showed off the new Target in Liberty Hill on my Instagram channel last week but for Target to expand into both Liberty Hill and Bastrop - two cities once deemed rural by Austin citizens - is news worth talking about!

The Target Corporation has specific performance metrics it uses to evaluate a community in order to measure if a Target would be successful in that community. One such metric is evaluating if a community has enough consumers considered middle to upper income buyers willing to spend a little more for stylish, curated products. For Target to be considering Bastrop means that the local economy in Bastrop is shifting from a rural, land based community to a more suburban consumer based community.

Upon digging into this a little further, I discovered that Target is looking at building close to the Sendero mixed use development that is already under construction. If you haven't seen them, the mockups look an awful lot like the Bee Cave Galleria. The Sendera multi use facility is projected to have "multi-family housing", retail stores, health and wellness stores, restaurants, and a hotel. The restaurants that have already committed to opening are Jersey Mike's, Texas Roadhouse, Einstein Bros. Bagels, and Chuy's with Westlake Dermatology committing their presence there too.

While big box retail coming into an area can make a community feel like it's losing it's past charm, what I see when big box retail invests in a community is that they see a bright and opportunistic future. Could Bastrop or Liberty Hill become the next Bee Cave? I can't wait to find out!