Major Kudos to HEB

This is the right way to do the right thing. Regarding the new HEB planned for West Alabama and Dunlavy:

A promising scheme by architect Robert Morris allows for a “rainwater harvesting” pond with two fountains, a waterfall and footbridges, a “family meadow” on the southeast side and a “performance meadow” on the southwest side, complemented by a “performance shell” for live events. The infrastructure also includes outdoor dining tables immediately outside the supermarket, a plein-air artisans market to the south and independent shops (topped by office space) on the northern end of the lot. A retaining wall along the perimeter would be available for local artists to paint.

“I’m excited about the prospects of building something very unique,” McClelland writes. “This really has the potential to be unlike anything else in the state.”

H-E-B is attaching a limited amount of generosity to the plans, stating that the corporation will require $3 million to preserve the land and offer it for park development.

Now, it would be great if HEB would do this all out of the goodness of their hearts without attaching a price tag – but let’s be real here. HEB is a for-profit company competing in an industry with razor-thin margins. The fact that they’re willing to do something quite literally “outside-the-box” is, frankly, amazing.

And in truth, why shouldn’t they ask for the community to pay for the park? The park won’t make HEB any money, but it will be a huge benefit to the neighborhood. Meanwhile HEB is going to incur much more than $3 Million in extra costs to build a vertically, street oriented grocery store. They’re smart enough to realize they can recoup the extra investment, however, if it means they get to have their retail space and create a highly attractive public amenity as well.

Good for them. Now, as a neighbor living just down the street from the new HEB, I’m going to start collecting spare change to build a new park!