ROBINSON, Texas (KXXV) — The city of Robinson is expanding John Bowden Parkway near Robinson Business Park.
Robinson's city manager said the property is 640 acres, which has attracted the attention of many large companies looking to set up shop locally.
"Those projects didn't move forward because we didn't have a roadway on the property," Robinson city manager Craig Lemin said.
The city partnered with McLennan County and the Waco Industrial Foundation to start the road in early 2023. The first section of the road was finished earlier this year.
"That led to definitely getting more companies looking at us, and one of those companies was Walmart, for the milk production facility," Lemin said.
Now, the rest of the road is being built so businesses can access the park during construction.
In phase two of the project, the parkway is being expanded to Greig Drive.
"But by doing this, it creates that opportunity to bring in these bigger projects which create lots of jobs," Lemin said.
The Walmart facility is estimated to bring close to 400 jobs to the city.
Lemin said our neighbors can benefit from this.
"But it also will become another point of connection, from the service road to Greig Drive," Lemin said. "Residents will also be able to use it as another point of access to get to 35 or get from 35 into the cities,"
The expansion is estimated to cost about $4,150,000.
Lemin said the city is paying for the roadway with money from the city's tax increment reinvestment zone—so it won't cost residents anything.
"It does leave us, it's going to leave us about five and a half to 6 million, that will actually be allocated to other street projects that will benefit everyone in the community," Lemin said.
