Waco’s downtown market development plans to include the remains of the Anheuser Busch building; serves the local population

WACO, Texas (KWTX) – A group of Waco developers are moving forward on transforming the historic former Anheuser-Busch building into a thriving market, aiming to cater to local residents and help bring the downtown area into a prosperous area.

WAGBOO Properties, a developer group that grew up in the Waco area, said they began the process of rezoning the site in October 2021. The building is a few blocks from the Silos on Webster Avenue between 10th and 11th Streets.

“We love Waco and we love giving back to the community,” said Josh Barrett, one of the group’s developers. “We really saw a need to connect Magnolia and downtown and bring local people to the area. So we just thought it would be a great opportunity to create a mix that would stimulate it and bring the locals here and help us blend in with the tourist crowd. “

The market, planned to be called W10, will include about a dozen restaurants and retail businesses, Barrett said. He said the area is specifically designed for small local businesses.

“It’s more for local mom-and-pop shops that want an affordable space downtown and can really feed off of the growth and other activity in downtown Waco, so local is definitely our focus here,” Barrett said. said

There will be different parts of the market, including a high bay, a low bay and space for a steakhouse restaurant with possible rooftop seating. He said the retail spaces will be about 600-700 square feet of enclosed space, and he hopes sharing the space with other tenants will make it more accessible to local businesses.

During the design phase of the project, the team decided to retain aspects of the Anheuser-Busch barns.

“There are some things we have to change, but I mean, from a shell and building standpoint, we love the historic aspects of it,” Barrett said. “We want to keep it that way.”

The stables, which will be the high bay of the market, were where Anheuser-Busch kept their Clydesdale horses for transporting beer. The bazaar still retains the remains of the stables as well as the original walls and architecture. However, they plan to update the warehouses by adding windows and more features that fit the market’s aesthetic.

“We’ve already started cutting the spaces for the windows, so the concrete is pretty thick, so it’s a process,” Barrett said. “We plan to keep it as original and untouched as possible, and then, other than that, just add windows and create more exposure and light, but then keep the facade pretty much the same…”

The group is also working to turn the railroad tracks behind the building into a quiet area, and they plan to leave the dead-end section of 10th Street past Webster Avenue in hopes of turning it into an outdoor event space.

Barrett said they plan to start construction in the next month or two and hope to have the market open by the end of the year or early 2024.

He said local businesses interested in leasing space at W10 Market can contact Turner Brothers Real Estate or find the QR code and phone numbers in the future market building.

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