The city of College Station is currently interested in getting their own Trader Joe's or Whole Foods. (2024)

College Station saw huge economic success when Costco opened. Now, the city is more than ready to open its doors to new opportunities and new brands.

During the May 23 College Station city council meeting, members of the Economic Development and Tourism department gave a presentation and update on current projects, upcoming initiatives and planning efforts. According to the presentation, the department is pursuing partnerships with retail entertainment groups, destination/specialty retailers and restaurants not presently found in Brazos County.

Councilor Elizabeth Cunha said during the meeting that citizens were interested in when College Station would be getting a Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods, two grocery store brands that are not currently present in the city.

Brian Piscacek, assistant director of economic development with the city of College Station, said a future Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods in College Station is a prospect the department is actively working on.

“Right now, it’s all about working with our local broker and developer network to try and identify an adequate space for them,” Piscacek said Thursday. “The city stands ready to help facilitate these activities. … So much of our job is ultimately matchmaking where you’re trying to convince a retailer or an industry prospect that College Station is worth investing in.”

As a part of their presentation on retail recruitment strategy, the department said it uses consultant The Retail Coach to organize conversations with brands for future developments.

College Station has already seen economic benefits from bringing well-known brands to the city, including the Costco that opened in August 2022.

“It’s hard to even put it into real dollars and cents at this point. Obviously, you can quantify property tax and sales tax collection, but I think the real added value of a Costco is driving people from outside your area into College Station,” Piscacek said. “It’s critical that we continue to grow and diversify from that perspective.”

Large grocery store brands, like Costco, bring visitors to developments around the area and Piscacek said a future grocery store could encourage more growth and development within the adjacent area.

“What we saw in 2023 was that grocery stores did really well,” he said. “A lot of places want proximity to an anchor store where they know people are going to be so they can take advantage of the visibility … A destination retailer is the catalyzing piece that can lead to [other retail tenants].”

Around 40% of employees in College Station are in education services, which encompasses Texas A&M University, with the second-largest industry being accommodation and food service, according to the Economic Development and Tourism department. During the last fiscal year, around 51% of sales tax came from retail with College Station earning around $41 million overall.

“College Station is a hospitality town and we try to provide the highest level of service we can. Ultimately, for businesses to decide to come here, whether it’s for retail or industry, our greatest differentiator is our quality of life and we try to treat that as our greatest amenity,” he said.

Piscacek also said there have been conversations with the Texas A&M System to create opportunities for collaboration on retail developments in the future.

“I give all credit to the System at A&M and the vision of the Chancellor on the Board of Regents and the staff on identifying these public-private partnerships. Obviously, Century Square is a shining example of that,” he said. “We’ve certainly worked with the System’s real estate office to try and identify those opportunities primarily for those three main areas of designation.”

There are currently many city-owned properties in College Station that are available for development and could be potential sites for retail locations, Piscacek said.

“I feel like we have dual areas of focus when it comes to retail recruitment. You’re either looking south of town for newer developments where you can build from the ground up … or there’s some property that’s zoned commercial on the south side of William D. Fitch,” he said. “There’s also some acreage that the city owns that’s next to the Costco.”

Piscacek said College Station is more than ready to welcome a Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods, but the department will need to continue working on the partnership before anything official can move forward.

“Step one is convincing Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods with College Station and everything that it has to offer. Then, step two is finding that perfect site for them. That will continue to be our chase,” he said. “Those conversations are constantly ongoing. From a city perspective, so much is happening behind the scenes … to provide employment opportunities and quality of life improvements for residents.”