'Once-in-a-generation project': Convention center, hotel, retail area planned in Cedar Park

The Cedar Park City Council has approved a development agreement for a convention center, hotel and a home furnishings retailer project estimated to generate the largest amount of sales tax revenue in the town's history.

The city still needs to apply for sales and hotel occupancy tax rebates from the state for the Northwest New Hope Development to work, officials said.

The 117-acre development, to be built at 750 E. New Hope Dr. near the U.S. 183 tollway, would bring $435 million in sales tax revenue to the city in its first 25 years, said Ben White, the city's economic development director. The developer is CPM Development LLC.

The City Council approved the agreement unanimously at its meeting Thursday night.

White called the Northwest New Hope Development a "once in a generation project."

"The project would secure a hotel and convention center that the city has long sought to help bring more visitors to Cedar Park and provide a much-needed venue for gatherings," he said at the council meeting.

The city would provide $45 million in rebates in city sales tax, hotel occupancy taxes and property taxes from the project to the developer, under the master developer agreement. The rebates would help pay for road and intersection improvements, according to the city.

The developer is required to invest a minimum of $400 million in the Northwest New Hope project. The project must generate a minimum of $450 million annually in sales and create a minimum of 725 jobs within the first year of opening to qualify for the rebates, according to the agreement.

Northwest New Hope Project would be anchored by NFM (Nebraska Furniture Mart), a home furnishings retailer that also sells appliances, electronics and flooring. NFM operates the three largest volume home furnishing retail stores in North America, according to the city of Cedar Park's website.

NFM would occupy 500,000 square feet of the project. The project also would include a 250-room full-service hotel, a 30,000-square-foot convention center to be owned by the city; 250,000 square feet of commercial development and a 700,000-square-foot warehouse to service NFM.

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A full-service hotel includes a restaurant/bar, a pool and a workout facility. The city currently does not have any full-service hotels, White said.

Jeff Lind, the chief strategy and operating officer for NFM, said the company looked all over the country before choosing Cedar Park. He wanted to find a place that would provide a good quality of life for employees, he said.

"This hit a home run," Lind said about Cedar Park.

For the project to work, the city needs to apply for rebates under the state's qualified hotel program. The program allows cities to receive rebates of state hotel occupancy taxes and state sales taxes from a qualified hotel near a convention center during the first 10 years the hotel is open.

The rebates the city would collect from the state over a 10-year-period are estimated to be $355 million, said White.

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If the state provides the rebates it will receive an estimated $1 billion in new sales tax revenue within the first 25 years of the project's opening, White said. Construction could start as soon as 2024 with NFM tentatively planning to open in 2025.

The project would make Texas the first state to have two NFM retail locations, said White. There is one near Dallas.

"This is a very rare opportunity for a city like ours to have," said Cedar Park Mayor Corbin Van Arsdale. He said the Northwest New Hope Project would help meet the city's goals, including growing the city's tax base and cultivating projects that make the city a regional destination.

"I'm totally blown away," Council Member said Mel Kirkland about the project. "This sets Cedar Park as a focal point for western Williamson County."

More information about the project can be found at cedarparktexaswins.com.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Cedar Park officials agree to convention center, hotel, retail space