Major retail and restaurant names have flocked to the Interstate 35 corridor that runs through the fast-growing city of Kyle in recent years to fulfill the city's food and entertainment needs.
Endeavor Real Estate Group has helped create a landing spot for those tenants, and after finding success with its fully-leased Dry River District, the Austin-based developer is planning another retail center on the other side of the highway. Endeavor and Long View Equity LLC broke ground in early November on the 11-acre project, called the Amberwood Ranch center, which has already attracted the likes of major businesses such as Texas Roadhouse, Crunch Fitness, Texas MedClinic, Brake Check and more.
Kyle, the second-largest city in Hays County, experienced a more than 25% population increase between 2020 to 2022, with an estimated 57,000 residents at last count, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. With all of that growth, Kyle is seeing a flood of retail and restaurant development, bringing in names like Snooze, Cava, Mean Eyed Cat, Freebirds World Burrito and Academy Sports and Outdoors. Costco Wholesale Corp. opened one of its membership warehouses in Kyle earlier this year, and plans are moving forward for a Sprouts Farmers Market Inc. to anchor a planned retail development not far from the Amberwood Ranch project.
The 65-acre Dry River District, across the highway from the Amberwood Ranch site, is already home to Costco, Z’Tejas, Evo Entertainment, Torchy’s Tacos, P. Terry’s Burger Stand and much more.
"[The Dry River District] project had gone well, and tenants had been hungry to come into Kyle. We knew that there was more demand for this area to continue growing with high-quality retailers and restaurateurs and service users,” Daniel Campbell, chief investment officer for Long View Equity, said.
The new retail center site is broken into seven different tracts, six of which have already been leased or sold, according to Dan Frey, principal at Endeavor. Only a 1.2-acre pad site is available, he said.
The roads and infrastructure portion of the project is expected to be done in six months, whereas the buildout for the retail center is slated to be finished next summer. The developers declined to share construction costs but said they paid market price for the land.
Once the developers finish initial construction, the tenants will take over to build out the space. Generally, it should take between six to nine months to open shop, Campbell said, but it varies depending on the tenant.
Campbell and Frey did not specify lease and sale negotiations but said ground leases span between 15 to 20 years, depending on the goals of the incoming business.
Reed Traphagan, Crunch Fitness’s director of construction, said the gym could break ground in late January or early February and is estimated to open between October and December of 2024.
The fitness chain will take up approximately 33,000 square feet. The cost of land, construction and equipment will be about $11 million, according to Traphagan. This is a similar cost to San Marcos’ Crunch Fitness, he added. This gym will be able to handle about 10,000 registrants.
“The growth within Kyle, Texas, has been great,” Traphagan said. “And it's a great opportunity for us to bring transformation to their community through fitness.”
Texas Roadhouse, a national steakhouse chain, has also secured a space in Amberwood Ranch. The Louisville-based restaurant chain did not respond to requests for comment, but a preliminary filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation shows the restaurant is expected to be approximately 8,000 square feet. Construction is expected to finalize in March 2025, with an estimated cost of $750,000, according to the TDLR.
It’s unclear if Texas Roadhouse is leasing the property or if it has been purchased.
Another sit-down restaurant is planned, but developers declined to disclose the tenant name. The developers said sit-down restaurants are important for the space, and city officials expressed a need for these types of establishments, Frey said.
Frey also said a Texas-based financial institution plans to open in the retail center, though he declined to disclose the company's name.
“Kyle, for us, is a strategic location. It's kind of a booming location — they've got access to I-35, which has been helpful for our tenants. But they're growing, they are encouraging this kind of matriculation and the types of tenants they want. And so, they've pushed us to get first in class…. we think [Kyle’s] growth will be over the next 10 years, and tenants want to be there and the city wants these types of tenants. And so it was a good match,” Campbell said.