Fidelis Realty Starts Redevelopment of Baytown San Jacinto Mall

Fidelis Realty Partners is moving forward with its long-awaited redevelopment of a Baytown shopping mall.

Alan Hassenflu’s commercial real estate firm started construction on San Jacinto Marketplace, at 16900 Garth Road, which will include a 550,000-square-foot shopping center, apartments, office buildings and a hotel on the site of the former San Jacinto Mall, the Houston Business Journal reported.

The 105-acre redevelopment is taking shape nearly two years after demolition crews cleared the site. It is benefitting from an agreement with the city of Baytown that will grant sales tax rebates of up to $16.2 million. The cost of the development hasn’t been reported.

Hassenflu envisions a walkable community for residents and visitors.

The retail and restaurant components could be completed by December 2026, he said. Plans for the following phase, which includes the apartments, hotel and offices, are still being worked out, but Hassenflu expects the entire project to be completed by mid-2028.

“The days of the indoor retail facility are probably gone, certainly for the foreseeable future,” he said. “It’s just too expensive to operate, and you’ve got to pass that cost back to the tenant, which harms their profits. And it also is less convenient for people to get in.”

The San Jacinto Mall, which opened in 1981, saw a prolonged decline. Fidelis acquired the mall property from seven owners, including Marshalls, Sears, JCPenney, and Macy’s, between 2016 and 2022.

“We believed that we would be able to reconstitute a retail development and continue to keep JCPenney and Macy’s in that new development,” Hassenflu said. “But when the pandemic came along, it kind of sealed the fortunes, at least in that particular location, for both Macy’s and JCPenney to just close their stores and sell us their stores and their land.”

The Houston-based developer is currently in lease negotiations with 10 potential anchor tenants and expects to finalize those agreements by the end of the year.

“While it has taken longer than any of us wanted, we are seeing real progress, and I can’t wait for our residents to see that the San Jacinto Marketplace was worth the wait,” Baytown Mayor Brandon Capetillo said.

— Andrew Terrell