Arguably one of the biggest rumors consistently circulating the Hub City over the last four years was whether or not HEB would decide to build on their land located at 114th Street and Quaker Avenue.
“With HEB, you kind of hear the stories all the time,” Commercial Real Estate Broker David Powell said, “One of them was, ‘Market Street wasn’t going to go into their territory and they weren’t going to come to Market Street’s territory,’ that was one thing that we had heard for many years.”
The Texas-based grocery chain boasts 350 stores and serves more than 150 communities across the state.
“Lubbock seems to find the perfect mix,” District 5 Councilwoman Karen Gibson said, “As we grow, our small businesses will grow also, but we’ll also see that mix of larger companies coming in.”
HEB’s land sits at 114th Street and Quaker Avenue, right across the street from the new Walmart and next to the Vintage Township neighborhood.
In time, the parcel’s worth jumped to more than 2.3 million dollars.
“As we develop south and southwest, that commercial development is going to come,” Gibson said, “People are going to shop, they’re going to eat, so as rooftops come that development is going to come.”
“I think we’re well served today by the grocery stores we have,” Mayor Dan Pope said, “If another one wanted to enter the market, that’d be a decision they would have to make…but we’re fortunate to have what we have today.”
In poll hosted on the KAMC News Facebook page, nearly 1,200 viewers had something to say about HEB. An overwhelming majority said they’d give the chain a shot.
Corporations will often buy land for its value, but right now, the grocery store said they had no plans to build.
“We have not heard a word. That rumor’s been going around for a long time and they do have the property. But there’s been no action,” Gibson said.
“They’re still investors and they’re still looking to maximize their return,” Powell said, “I think we’ll be seeing them soon. Sooner or later, right?”
