Business View Magazine | March 2020

305 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE MARCH 2020 BAYTOWN, TEXAS Almost all of our effort has been placed on getting the buyoff from the anchors for the development of the mall, and, in actuality, we’re seeing negotiations coming to a head.” Meanwhile, Davis says that recruitment of secondary retailers continues to be very robust and successful. However, the scope of the project has morphed over the last several years, due to changes in the retail marketplace environment. He explains, “We are working with the developer on a different kind of concept that aligns more with a mixed-use idea – kind of a live, work, play environment – that may include a residential tower, a Class-A office tower, some very significant entertainment components, and restaurants in a village-like environment that emphasizes extreme walkability and pedestrian connectivity. It’s going to be very unique; and it’s going to align with what is, now, the 2020 retail landscape. In 2015, when we started this project, the emphasis was on getting a square foot of retail for every square foot we were demolishing over at the mall – that’s about 1.1 million square feet of retail. Retail, itself, in the wake of the apocalypse that has hit bricks and mortar over the last half decade, has caused us to change our paradigm, and we are in a mode, now, of emphasizing quality of life elements at the San Jacinto Mall. And it’s going to be called the San Jacinto Marketplace, by the way. And we’re excited because we’re now entering the finalization of the agreements with the anchors and finally the construction of retail. This will be about a three-year build-out; 2023-24 is when we expect the entire thing will be complete.” Another major project in Baytown is a $63-million hotel/ convention center to be built on the city-owned Bayland Island, at the base of the Fred Hartman Bridge. “This project is getting down to the very end,” says Davis. “We are at the process of selling the investment, itself, to the private market and issuing the certificates of obligation on the convention center part. This is a partnership with Garfield Public Private and a top-tier hotel flag. I’m under an NDA, so I can’t