At its next meeting, the Highland Village Planning & Zoning Commission will consider a plan to build hundreds of apartments at The Shops at Highland Village.
Poag Shopping Centers, owner of The Shops, has been looking at adding apartments to the mall for several years. The company held a community meeting in October 2021 about its plan to replace the AMC theater with 560 “luxury” apartments, but was met with strong opposition from neighboring residents. After considering that feedback, and with AMC doing better financially, the company changed its plans, but it still wants to put apartments in The Shops.
In June 2022, Poag Shopping Centers presented its new plan, which would keep the movie theater and cut the number of proposed apartments in half, to 280. The four-story high-end multi-family complex would be located on the east side of the theater, where Snuffer’s restaurant is located. Snuffer’s would likely relocate within The Shops, officials said. The apartments, which would have lots of amenities for residents, would wrap around the theater, a new parking garage and courtyards.
Many residents and local leaders generally oppose high-density and multi-family developments, and they have expressed concerns about an increase in traffic and, possibly, crime if 280 units are added to the area. The applicants have said that traffic flow will slightly improve — even with the new apartments — once a future construction project is completed to add turn lanes to the intersection of FM 2499 and FM 407. The crime concerns may be quelled because the luxury apartments would largely attract younger adults with high-paying jobs and older adults looking to downsize.
Since then, some tweaks have been made to the proposed plan but the number of apartments hasn’t changed. More information will be made available when the May 16 P&Z meeting agenda is released, and during the meeting. If the P&Z votes to recommend approval or denial of the zoning change, it will then go to City Council for a final decision, likely within a month.
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