By Josh Siatkowski | Lead Writer
Residents and city leaders gathered at an empty lot on the northwest corner of downtown Waco Thursday morning to celebrate the beginning of some major changes coming to the city center.
Speakers struck a celebratory tone as years of planning and visioning finally culminated in construction on the Barron’s Branch Project, a 30-acre floodplain on the corner of University Parks and Jefferson Avenue that will soon house a park, commercial buildings and multiple public gathering spaces.
Thursday’s groundbreaking marks the physical beginning of the 12-20-year Waco Downtown Redevelopment Project, which will repurpose more than 100 acres of riverfront land to create a new city hall, an arts district, a sports entertainment complex and more.
“Barron’s Branch is the first phase of a much larger vision for downtown Waco, one that reconnects our community to the Brazos River,” Waco Mayor Jim Holmes said at the ceremony. “It creates welcome public spaces; it supports new investment; and it makes downtown Waco a place where even more people want to live, work, visit and spend time.”
Expected to cost about $169 million, the Barron’s Branch project will last until 2028, according to the City of Waco. During the two-year construction period, new development will add more activity downtown while also improving critical infrastructure such as utilities and roads for residents.
“Those aren’t always the things that make the renderings or the news clippings, but they are the things that make everything else possible,” City Manager Ryan Holt said to the crowd. “This is also a good example of how we want to approach major projects as an organization, as a city, to be good stewards of your taxpayer dollars.”
The impact on Waco’s residents was a key theme of the event and the larger project. Beyond making Waco a nice place to stop, leaders focused on the long-term, quality-of-life improvements expected from the development.
“We want the community of Waco, not just people visiting Waco, but every resident in Waco to come and celebrate this park,” Holmes said.
Additionally, the Barron’s Branch District will pay homage to a Mexican American community that previously existed in the area: the Calle Dos neighborhood. As one of the most knowledgeable people on the Downtown Redevelopment Project, Waco’s Director of Strategic Initiatives Tom Balk said the project drew inspiration from the neighborhood in the years of planning leading up to construction.
“Calle Dos was once the heart and namesake of a vibrant Mexican American neighborhood right here in Waco’s downtown, built around hardworking families, institutions of faith and community, familiar landmarks and a vibrant social life,” he said. “These are great things we want in downtown Waco.”
One of Calle Dos’ most historic meeting areas, a fountain called La Pila, is also coming back, just west of the park across Jefferson Avenue. The fountain was destroyed in 1958 during the era of Urban Renewal, according to the blog Waco History.
As construction begins, Balk said that “for a while it does mean fences, equipment, detours, a whole lot of dirt.” But he contrasted these short-term inconveniences with the promise of shade trees, gathering spaces and a more connected community.
“That’s why this moment matters beyond today and beyond these 30 acres,” Balk said. “This is the first step in a much larger vision — a vibrant, connected downtown that celebrates Waco’s unique identity, embraces the Brazos River as its heart, and creates a place where people from across our community can come together.”
