In recent weeks, we’ve told you about a new hospital, a new movie theatre, and new restaurants coming soon to the Creekside Shopping Center, at I-35 and FM 306. And as more and more businesses decide to locate there, the city reaps the benefits of new jobs and larger sales tax revenues.

The Baptist Health System hospital won’t be a big sales tax generator, but estimates say it may generate anywhere from 300 to a thousand new jobs over the next few years. But sales tax growth will be felt from places like the Longhorn Steakhouse restaurant, and from the 14-screen all-digital Starplex movie theater that has already broken ground at the Creekside complex. Initially, a lot of that sales tax revenue will go to paying back the city for its participation in a TIRZ agreement with the developer of the property, NewQuest. A TIRZ is a Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone that originally allowed NewQuest to borrow money from the city for the initial drainage work on that property and for the extension of FM 306. But that money will eventually be paid back to the city in the form of sales tax revenue generated at those new businesses, and at the various other stores already on the ground, like Target, Dick’s Sporting Goods, JC Penny, and Ross Dress for Less, and Best Buy. So how is that payback process going? We spoke to members of the TIRZ Board, that monitors the growth at Creekside to find out more about the plans there, and Dist. 2 Councilman Mark Goodner says that recent increases in sales tax revenues citywide are encouraging. And he says there’s another project in the works near the Creekside property that would bring a Buc-ee's Gas Station to the area, and NewQuest wants the city to approve adding that property into the Tax Zone to help pay off their debt. The timeline for NewQuest to start paying back the initial investment began once the first retailers moved into Creekside. And as NewQuest prepares to make its first payments back to the city, we’ll have updates for you here on KGNB.