Development boom has Henderson on the grow
By JIMMY ISAAC
Sunday, August 07, 2005
Henderson is experiencing a housing and commercial building boom, city and private-sector leaders say, and it shows no signs of slowing down.
"It's a long time coming for Henderson," said Dr. Yasser Zeid, co-founder of Brookridge, one of three sizable housing developments taking shape in the city. "We kind of feel it's time for Henderson to experience this kind of growth."
Housing permits issued by the city already have surpassed 2004 totals, with five months remaining in the year. The city has issued 13 single-family construction housing permits and one multi-family family permit. No multi-family and 13 single-family permits were issued in 2004.
The city is no stranger to economic booms. Rusk County flourished during the 1930s oil boom. When Texas Utilities, now TXU, established coal mining areas and built a lignite-fired power plant in the mid-1970s, Henderson again swelled in population.
Natural resources aren't necessarily powering this latest boom, which is highlighted by housing developments, a new Lowe's home improvement store and talks of potential new retail businesses.
Henderson Economic Development Corp. General Manager Sue Henderson, who said she meets with new site developers "every three or four days," attributes the recent economic activity to the city's "traffic count."
"One of the most valuable assets is our traffic count," she said. Representatives with Applebee's Restaurants initially weren't interested in the city with a population of about 11,000 folks. "When they looked at our traffic count, I got their attention."
Applebee's is still in talks with city officials.
According to her 2003 numbers from the Texas Department of Transportation, vehicles make an estimated 20,000 trips per day on U.S. 79/259 North near the traffic star, where several highways come together on the city's north side. That number swells to 23,000 between U.S. 259 South from Stoneridge Plaza to East Main Street, and there are about 12,000 trips on Kilgore Drive, north of the star, and Highway 79 near Lowe's, which opened in the last week of July. She expects those numbers to increase when she gets her 2004 report within a month.
New employers within the past five years in Henderson have included Panel Truss Co., with about 140 employees; Lowe's, which brought in 120 jobs; and Texas Meat Packers, with 38 jobs. Galyean Equipment also expanded and will add 40 to 50 jobs, Henderson said. A West Texas oil and gas company is expected to bring 14 "very good paying jobs," she said, and South Korea-based Shinil Co., a manufacturer of tiny glass beads used to make reflective paint for road signs and highway striping, is waiting on a state permit before building an estimated $1 million plant that will employ about 120 people.
Henderson also said she's talked with restaurants such as Chili's and Chick-Fil-A, as well as three undisclosed retailers "in the process of making deals on property."
"The people are ready for this growth because they're finally making property available," she said. "Just because a certain piece of property has a certain asking price, everything is negotiable."
Property owners' willingness to sell continues to drive growth, she explained.
The idea for Brookridge, located on Highway 79 east of the traffic star, began with a need for a new medical office for Zeid's wife and business partner, Dr. Brenda Vozza-Zeid. He noticed the land as he drove to work each day, wondering why it hadn't been developed, he said, and he later purchased it.
The idea evolved into a planned community with commercial and residential development. Five homes are under construction in Brookridge's first phase, which includes 39 lots. The second phase could begin in about four months, Zeid said. He said the area offers retirees amenities such as lawn care and medical services. Zeid plans for 60 additional lots in the community's second phase.
He said there was a shortage of homes for Henderson retirees who want to move from a large family home to a more cozy but modern residence.
"The one thing that everyone seems to forget is that we're exactly half an hour from everywhere in East Texas," said Zeid, who notes that the community could draw retirees from across the state and even New York and San Francisco because of the area's scenic beauty and slower pace.
Brookridge and the Chase Creek subdivision held ribbon-cuttings for their first model homes during the same week in early July.
Chase Creek developers Jane and Dave Knapp were living in Missouri at the time they decided to build a new housing subdivision. Jane is a native Texan, and they scoured East Texas to locate a site on which to build. Jane Knapp said that, after talking with Ms. Henderson, local real estate agents and Henderson Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Judy Sewell, she found a need for new housing in the area.
"We wanted to be where the need was," Jane Knapp said. "You get the best home for your money in this area."
Chase Creek, which will have a total of 37 homes, is located on Old Nacogdoches Highway just west of U.S. 259 South. The development will include single-family homes with vaulted ceilings and heated Jacuzzis and 14 garden homes, which will be attached to one another in groups of two.
"We've left most of the trees, and that's our marketability," Knapp said of the community, which features a bridge entrance with a half-acre pond and gazebos.
Millpoint Town Homes, a development by the Houston-based Washburn Group, are already available for leasing. They are located along Kilgore Drive in Henderson's largely undeveloped north side. The apartments, which offer housing for low-income families, have ceiling fans in every room, personal laundry rooms and pantries in all 76 units. They are located across the highway from Panel Truss Co. and the new Radar Funeral Home still under construction.
Linda Starcher, Millpoint's leasing manager and a Houston native, moved to Henderson in 1983.
"Since I've been here, Henderson has really grown a lot, and it's really expanded to the north," she said.
Sewell previously said it had been 10 years or more since a new apartment complex was built in Henderson.
"Hopefully, the north side will continue to develop," she said.
Sewell echoed Sue Henderson's sentiments about Henderson's sudden economic boom, noting that it's much more about residents' attitude about economic growth than, perhaps, timing.
"It's not just economic development and the chamber of commerce, but it's the overall attitude of people in the community. That is very effective, and the entire town is interested in new growth," she said. "And Henderson is a wonderful place to live."
