Lewisville looks to grow retail market

In the near future, Lewisville residents will begin to see changes in their city based on projects discussed during the Lewisville City Council's annual retreat.

After an intense market and economic development study by The Catalyst Group, the company identified two areas of Lewisville that are ripe for a boost in the market. At the council retreat, the company unveiled what it considered the top two areas due to its high traffic count: Main Street, west of Interstate 35E, and the Old Town area of Lewisville. Company representatives said that is where city leaders should focus attention on retail expansion and growth.

"Last year at the council retreat, the city council chose to hire Catalyst to do the market study and help guide us and help recruit retail to this area," said James Kunke, community relations and tourism director. "They made their recommendations and presented their preliminary plan. We think the numbers look good, and we want to move forward."

Kunke said now that the city council has seen the early report; Catalyst will finish its report and present it to the council at a later date. Once everything is finalized, Catalyst will target various retailers and recruit companies to move to Lewisville.

"Implementation could take roughly a year, but the project is intended to boost retail in the city," Kunke said.

Kunke said another portion of the study looked at the established stores in both areas to show which retail categories are being underutilized.

"In Old Town for instance, there is a need for special food service providers and grocery stores," Kunke said. "The whole purpose is to better market those areas and actively recruit new businesses."

Also during the retreat, council members discussed water conservation rates and asked the city staff to keep looking into options. Kunke said one option presented was to implement seasonal rates, which would cause the cost of water to rise during the hotter, summer months.

"The goal is to encourage people to use less water," Kunke said. "There's a lot of legitimate concern that water will become scarce and expensive."

Another option the council considered was to target certain users that use a massive amount of water. Kunke said the final option was to set a rate for a certain number of gallons of water, and if customers use more than that, they would have to pay a higher price for more gallons.

"The city council looked at all the options, and they want us to look at them more," Kunke said. "They want to maybe combine methods."

Kunke said the options would be brought back to the council after research is completed.

The city council also discussed a mosquito plan. After the high number of West Nile virus cases in 2012, the council is aiming to be proactive. This year the city will take the same steps it did last year, except it will start implementing them earlier.

"Health officials are already working on an educational video. They will get information out there around March, even though the mosquito season doesn't start until May," Kunke said. "We're also looking at underground sources of mosquitos that maybe we need to treat now."

The city council also discussed how to spend the $14 million left over from the 2003 bond package. Kunke said $10 million would be spent to replace streets in Old Town Lewisville. He said the other portion would be split between Corporate Drive repairs and a fund for I-35E enhancements.

"Old Town will continue to be a focus because it was neglected for a while. Now, we're having to come back in and catch up," Kunke said. "Also, once the I-35E expansion project begins, there will be opportunities to enhance bridges to make it known that people are entering Lewisville."

Also during the retreat, the city staff updated the council on the Lewisville vision 2025 plan. The city is working on a website and survey that will launch within the next 30 days. In addition, it will host a town hall meeting May 16 at the Medical Center of Lewisville Grand Theater. Kunke said the city is also accepting applications for people who want to serve on the committee.

"The only requirements for the committee are that you are a Lewisville resident and interested in city business," Kunke said. "This will be a year-and-a-half process and will be even more comprehensive than the 2010 plan."

City council members were also updated on what the city has changed with its code enforcement. Kunke said the city added two code enforcement officers, which shrunk the zone size for each officer. He said code enforcement is now using software that is used in the field and can track properties.

"The software tracks code violations on a map and will allow officers to identify problem areas before they become too major," Kunke said.

Kunke said the department has also increased the number of sweeps it does. It is also doing inventories on properties to show which ones have accessory buildings, carports and garage conversions.

"This will be an easy way to tell if a residence has legal buildings," Kunke said.

The city staff also presented a plan for a hotel/motel inspection program.

"It's designed to go in and make sure the properties are being maintained in a clean, safe manner," Kunke said. "The council likes the idea and wants the city staff to make an official proposal. This will benefit the city and property to ensure that there are no issues. It will also benefit visitors because they will be confident that will be happy with their hotel rooms."

The city council also discussed options for the lake development project. Kunke said, after researching, the city found that developing a hotel near Eagle Point marina is viable, but expensive.

"We showed them a concept that covers the Eagle Point marina and Sneaky Pete's area and just north of that, which is about a 60-acre track," Kunke said. "The concept shows a 300-room hotel, convention center, restaurants and private land that have shown interest in doing development. It's a very ambitious plan."

Kunke said the next step with the plan is to go out and find developers who want to execute the plan.

Finally, the city council look another look at the city's gas ordinance but made no changes other than to formalize a gas committee.

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