Waco: 130 acre Development Site Along Texas I-35 Hits Market

As the Dallas, Austin and San Antonio metros claim spots among the chart of fastest-growing places in the nation, parcels on the highway connecting them become valuable real estate. One such plot, spanning 130 acres along the 1-35, has just hit the market.

It’s one of the largest undeveloped sites along I-35 to hit the market in recent months, listed as two parcels at 7072 Jack Kultgen Expressway Woodway in McLennan County property records. The property has belonged to Jagdish Mehta and his family L.P. since the 1990’s.

It sits within Waco’s sphere of influence in terms of local government, roughly 90 miles south of Dallas-Fort Worth and north of Austin.

Earlier this year, Graphic Packaging International said it would build a $1 billion manufacturing facility in Waco, which has long had a strong industrial presence. The move is the most recent growth to spur complementary developments of logistics-focused facilities along I-35.

“Over the last 18 months or so, Waco’s industrial market has started to catch fire on the logistical and distribution side,” said Darren Cain of LanCarte Commercial, the firm marketing the property.

The site’s location near on- and off-ramps to I-35 position it well for that type of use, Cain said, though it could also become medium or high-density residential. He declined to provide a target price for the property, and its appraised value of under $2 million is likely far less than it could fetch on the open market.
Waco lies squarely amid four of the fastest-growing big cities in the country: Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth and San Antonio are all direct trips along I-35. They also have major satellite cities on their outskirts, like Kyle, Georgetown, Leander and Little Elm.