WACO, Texas — The Waco City Council voted unanimously to move forward with phase one of the redevelopment project for Downtown Waco on Tuesday, June 18.
Efforts for this project began in 2022 with six developers and stakeholders being part of the project.
In June 18's city council meeting, councilman Darius Ewing wanted to make it clear this phase one was only to evaluate infrastructure and get a better understanding of the project.
"Phase one is really to improve existing infrastructure underground and take that opportunity to beautify and provide public space downtown," Ewing explained. "Going from there will be council input at each subsequent phase before we take any action."
What's included in the redevelopment plan includes building a minor league baseball stadium, expansion of the river walk, building new living spaces, a convention center and a Waco hotel.
The design cost of phase one will be $11.75 million and the overall redevelopment project will cost the city $167 million.
Some Waco residents took to the council podium to share their concerns about Waco potentially expanding to that sort of level.
"Clean up the roads, the bushes, the trees," Cameron Morgan explained. "Invest in making this whole city nice, not just Downtown. That's all I've heard."
Other residents believe this expansion is great for Waco to boost the overall economy.
"I think anything we can do to enrich the vibrancy of the city is a great idea," Waco resident Chris Rios shared. "I'm impressed by what's going on here in the last decade. I think a lot of people are. It's exciting to see people wanted to grow and continue the momentum."
The project is expected to take at least 20 years
"It is so much bigger than anything we've ever done before, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't do it," Councilwoman Andrea J. Barefield added.
Moving forward, a number of residents asked the city council for more transparency as the redevelopment kicks off.
Construction for phase one of the redevelopment plan is expected to begin in June 2025 and the target open to that phase is November 2027.
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