KXXV-TV News Channel 25 - Central Texas News and Weather for Waco, Temple, Killeen | One Developer's Vision of a New Waco

One Developer's Vision of a New Waco

by Loren Korn

WACO - It's public-private partnerships the City of Waco and a local developer are looking into that will help create a greater downtown Waco and Brazos Corridor.

"Our partnership aquired a piece of property and it just kind of grew and grew. And it became apparent that Waco has the unbelievable opportunity with all the land and the river to put it together and make it a special place," said Rick Sheldon, Member of the Community River Partnership.

Sheldon's animated video highlighted a new bear dome, a trolley system and an upscale I-35 bridge. Not to mention a new hotel, restaurants and shops, and that's why Chris McGowan from the Chamber of Commerce is so excited.

"It'll be a significant economic development advantage for us to have more people in downtown Waco. More people living and working, means more restaurants, more shops and more activity in general," said McGowan.

But how much will this new investment cost Waco residents?

"Nothing is free. I think you got to look at it as an investment. If we go down there and do something like this on the river, it's something that can be paying a return for centuries to come," said Sheldon.

But Larry Holze said that ultimately, it's the council's decision.

"As developers bring us a project, we'll then look at what does the city need to be, how is our involvement and what is our participation. Certainly, we want to be a partner in this but it's going to be step by step and the council will look at each move," said Larry Holze, of the City of Waco.

"There aren't very many places in the country that are like Waco. And capitalizing on our assets is really what we're focused on," said McGowan.

And Sheldon said if the City does approve his plans for downtown Waco, he hopes that building will happen in the next seven years.