The beloved, now former, H-E-B on Speight Avenue and 11th Street was torn down over the past week after more than a year of vacancy.
Clint Peters, Waco’s planing director, said American campus Communities is planning to build a new student housing development that will begin construction within the next couple of months on the grounds of the old H-E-B. The construction will last around one year.
The development is one of many new luxury complexes going up around Waco, similar to The View, The Domain and Oso Verde.
“The development is a four-story, urban-scale, high-end student housing complex with a 702 bed count and parking garage,” Peters said, “Similar to The View except the parking garage will completely wrapped by the apartment complex and not visible.”
After seeing the demolition of the H-E-B, many Baylor students reminisced on experiences the store had provided them over the years if had operated.
Indiana senior Jenna Pfeiffer had never heard of H-E-B before coming to Baylor, but discovered the store while living on campus in North Village her freshman year. The Speight Avenue H-E-B allowed for early stops during the week to pick up necessities.
“I remember making late-night runs with friends to get cookie dough,” she said.
Although the store has been out of business for months, seeing that the structure had been torn down was emotional for students.
“I think everyone was pretty upset. The new H-E-B on Valley Mills definitely has more options, but it’s so crowded every single time I go. The H-E-B on Speight was nice and small,” Pfeiffer said.
