A new retail development is coming to a bustling South Texas city and will be anchored by the state’s favorite grocer, H-E-B. The Shops at Westgate, a $6 million development, will be built on a 5-acre plot of land at the intersection of Westgate Drive and Panther Drive on the west side of Weslaco, the largest Mid-Valley city in the Rio Grande Valley.
The commercial development near H-E-B marks the second project in Weslaco by San Antonio-based property development firm Garansuay Group Construction and its related brokerage firm, Corporate Asset Partners, which is currently soliciting leases for the plaza. Further, the Shops at Westgate is set to be built within a retail and commercial core that’s critical not just to Weslaco, but to the Valley and South Texas as a whole. Just a stone’s throw from the proposed plaza lies the H-E-B Weslaco Retail Distribution Support Center, a 400,000-square-foot warehouse that supplies the dozens of H-E-B stores in the Valley.
The Shops at Westgate will consist of three 8,260-square-foot buildings, for a total of about 24,000 square feet, according to a Corporate Asset Partners leasing brochure. It’s being built immediately to the north of the largest H-E-B store in Weslaco and west of the grocer’s regional supply hub.
The Westgate real plaza will also be tucked behind existing developments, including a Texas Regional Bank branch, a DutchBros drive-thru coffee shop, and a long-established Whataburger. Other nearby retailers and eateries include Home Depot, Ross Dress For Less, Dollar Tree, Hibbett Sports, Chipotle, Buffalo Wild Wings, Cicis Pizza, Popeyes, Starbucks and Planet Fitness, among others.
Weslaco High School — and the Weslaco Independent School District’s football stadium, Bobby Lackey Stadium — hug the northern border of the Shops at Westgate site, while the main campus for South Texas College is also located nearby. It’s a region of the “city on the grow” that has seen explosive growth over the last 10 years.
Weslaco city officials officially broke ground on the retail plaza in late August. It’s expected to create 140 new jobs, according to a report by KRGV. The Shops at Westgate will be Garansuay’s second retail development in Weslaco. In 2022, the company broke ground on a 10-acre development across town along Interstate-2, the Shops at North Bridge.
That plaza has drawn brands such as Texas Roadhouse, Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers, James Avery Artisan Jewelry and Nothing Bundt Cakes. There’s no word yet on what retailers will sign onto the Shops at Westgate, but the project has nonetheless continued to move forward, according to Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation records.