HOUSTON, TX – Earlier this month, construction broke ground on a new mixed-use development in Houston’s Buffalo Heights District—anchored by a new “urban prototype” H-E-B store.

According to a Houston Chronicle report, the ground-floor 96,000-square-foot store will involve a forward-thinking walk-up cafe concept. The new format will feature on-site and to-go dining options

"You'll see things like a poke bar, a coffee bar, pizza, different things we haven't tried in other stores that we think will appeal to the urban shopper," Scott McClelland, President of H-E-B's Houston Division, told the Houston Chronicle last December when the project was initially announced. "The transformation since the turn of the century to now in that area has been maybe unlike any part of the city...Now you're going to see it change again."

The new development will additionally feature 230 apartments, three floors of boutique office space, another 2,000-square-feet of retail space, and second-story parking, noted project developer Midway in a press release. The project, developed by Houston-based Midway for Russell Gordy—a local real estate, oil, gas, and ranching magnate—is expected to be finished by spring of 2019.

"Houston is changing—just like a lot of other cities around the country," noted Gordy, in the press release. "We are seeing people want to live closer to the city and not drive as much. We are hoping to make this a place where people can live, play, and work."

Check in with us at AndNowUKnow for more on this and other forward thinking concepts in retail.

H-E-B