It was the perfect weather, a Chamber of Commerce type morning, as members of Fidelis and the City of Baytown joined together to break ground on the project that is always the talk of the town: The San Jacinto Marketplace.
“This is Day One,” said Baytown Mayor Brandon Capetillo.
He added, “This is a proud moment as we celebrate what will be a quality shopping experience our residents have been waiting for. This will be the renaissance of the Baytown shopping experience.”
While the groundbreaking is taking place on a warm October day in 2024, this plan has been in the works since 2015.
Alan Hassenflu, Fidelis CEO, said, “We have been faced with a number of challenges to bring this project to this point and we are thrilled to be moving forward on the redevelopment.”
It is the regular conversation in town of why it is taking so long to build, but it’s not a simple question to answer.
Timeline of Events
July 2015:
Fidelis purchases 40-acres of mall property. There were 4 anchor retailers that Fidelis didn’t own. In all, Fidelis’ plan is to buy seven tracts of land to own 100% of the land.
2015-2016:
Fidelis purchases for Mervyn’s and Service Merchandise facilities. Fidelis now owns three of seven tracts.
2017:
Fidelis purchases Marshalls, but allows business to finish lease. The company now owns four of the seven tracts of land.
2018-2019:
Fidelis purchases Sears location, marking the fifth tract purchased.
2020:
Macy’s informs Fidelis they might be interested in a buy-out.
2020-2022:
COVID pandemic changes the retail landscape
2021:
Fidelis purchases JCPenney’s and Macy’s buildings; both announce they will stop operations in 2022. Fidelis now owns all seven tracts of land, making them 100% owners of the property.
2022-2023:
Inflation rate hits 9.1%, putting a halt on retail growth.
August 2022:
Fidelis signs new agreement with City of Baytown and pays $3.5 million to the City as compensation reimbursement for a new agreement.
2023-2024:
Fidelis continues pre-leasing 500,000 square-feet of new major and smaller retail merchant leases.
Hassenflu said, “We appreciate your patience as we secured all 105 acres. It’s been a long wait for us too.
Worth the Wait
The City of Baytown and Fidelis have been working together to bring residents and visitors an elevated shopping experience since the new agreement was reached in 2022. Since then, Fidelis officials have been working hard, behind the scenes, getting the important planning documents ready. Recently, the Planning and Zoning Commission discussed the Planned Unit Development for the Marketplace. The site plan includes a mix of retail and pedestrian walkways that will provide connectivity to the Pelican Green open space to the larger retail sites.
Renderings were released a few months ago to showcase what the marketplace is expected to look like and what themes are planned for the project.
Hassenflu said, “This 105-acre project is going to be about 60% retail, 30% residential, and 10% will be office or hotel space.”
What is Next?
Groundbreakings are great photo opportunities, but the Marketplace property is an official construction zone. You will start to see groundwork taking place between now and the beginning of November.
Hassenflu said, “After that, you will start to see the parking lot getting poured and the foundations getting set. Once those are laid and the parking lot is there, we will start staging building materials to go vertical on the actual buildings.”
Everyone wants to know about the stores that are coming to Baytown. Agreements are in place, but Fidelis has agreements with the retailers to announce it when both sides are ready.
But...
Hassenflu did say there will be about “15-20 restaurants” in the Marketplace and that there at least “10 major leases that are being negotiated.”
And don’t forget about the community gathering space, known as Pelican Green. This will be a space to bring the kids, enjoy some music or movies, and many other opportunities.
Bold Predictions
There is a lot of confidence into the future of this project and Fidelis is determined to make it something residents and guests will love.
Hassenflu said, “The mall was a 1.5 million square feet. Our shopping center is going to be just over half a million square feet and I bet it does five times more in sales than the mall did in its best year.”
The groundbreaking was just the beginning. It might be considered ‘Day One’, but it’s time to get excited about a shopping experience people will be coming to Baytown for.
Mayor Capetillo said, “Let’s stop the doubts about this project. It’s time to retire the word mall and time to get excited about the San Jacinto Marketplace.”
The retailers are expected to be announced soon. Look for more information, including those names, from the City of Baytown and Fidelis as this project starts to take shape.
