WACO, Texas — With a new Baylor basketball pavilion under construction and new city riverwalk projects underway, hundreds of millions of dollars are being invested in Waco's riverfront district.
The city council approved the $216.6 million Foster Pavilion, which will house Baylor's basketball programs, back in December. Construction of the new facility is underway along the Brazos river on the west side of I-35.
New renderings that will be shared at Tuesday's city council meeting show current design plans for the city's riverwalk project, including a waterfall and elevated walkway.
City council members voiced praise over the new renderings, asking if there were options to speed up its timeline.
"How cool is it that we're proceeding on action on this thing that we've talked about for so long?" Mayor Dillon Meek said. "So it's a really monumental day in Waco."
"It just seems like the time that I've been here, we've not really taken advantage of the riverwalk element," said council member Jim Holmes, of district five. "And there's a river walk there, but this is more than a river walk. This is transformational, beautiful."
The riverfront complex is set to also include restaurants, housing and public art. Catalyst Urban Development is collaborating with the city to develop the entire area, sharing renderings of the finished product during a work session Tuesday.
The city estimates a total of $700 million in investment will be brought to the area.
Baylor estimates Foster Pavilion will have an early opening in January 2024. Waco anticipates construction of the riverwalk completing in late 2025.
