Let’s say there’s a completely unsubstantiated rumor floating around that the H-E-B grocery company is working on building a store somewhere in downtown Austin. (There is.) That’s a great way to create some intrigue, since a project like this would absolutely change the game for downtown dwellers — yeah, we love Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, but in the end these stores serve niche interests and don’t provide all the resources at the same price points as a full-fledged grocer.
Though the density of a downtown area adds some logistical hurdles to keeping a store like this adequately stocked, if Whole Foods can do it we think there’s a distinct possibility a company with H-E-B’s reputation could pull it off — and there’s good evidence that H-E-B is pursuing more urban grocery configurations designed for dense environments already. A 96,000-square-foot “urban prototype” store anchoring a mixed-use development in Houston opened back in 2018, and the brand’s Lake Flato-designed South Flores Market concept just south of downtown San Antonio squeezes a functional grocery store into a tiny 12,000 square feet — its smallest store ever.
H-E-B is no stranger to testing urban concepts in the Austin area, for that matter — its new stores planned on Lake Austin Boulevard and South Congress Avenue both feature multi-level layouts and other features friendly to dense environments. But moving into downtown Austin would be a big step just the same, and since that rumor we heard is absolutely just a rumor at this point, we thought we’d engage in a little idle speculation with our readers about where exactly a downtown store could go.
The odd wrinkle to this rumor is that the grocer supposedly plans to build a store within an existing building downtown, which is a real “zigged when we thought they would zag” moment, at least for us — we thought the ground floor retail space of a project along the lines of the Railyard redevelopment would be prime real estate for something like this, but retrofitting an existing building is out of left field.
We’d love it if H-E-B’s deep pockets took on the tremendous challenge of renovating the Hobby Building — so decayed on the inside that its underrated postmodern architecture doesn’t save its reputation with very many people besides us — but otherwise we have no idea where something like this could go, and the massive difference in square footages of the two urban store concepts we mentioned earlier means we can’t really use size to narrow the possibilities down.
That’s where y’all come in. We’ve prepared a survey for your hottest takes on where a downtown H-E-B could go, and owing to the telephone game-style inaccuracy of the rumor mill, we’ve also included space for the possibility that this hypothetical store is bound for a new building after all. Give it your best shot and we’ll all have a good time:
Latest Downtown Austin Condos For Sale
-
$2,240,000
MLS # 7048577
Austin, TX -
$499,000
210 Lee Barton DR #321
Austin, TX -
$870,000
501 West Ave #802
Austin, TX -
$649,000
360 Nueces ST #2401
Austin, TX -
$650,000
48 E East Ave #3203
Austin, TX -
$595,000
48 East Ave #3005
Austin, TX -
$1,349,000
70 Rainey ST #1402
Austin, TX -
$2,950,000
210 Lavaca ST #2201
Austin, TX -
$725,000
44 East Ave #3806
Austin, TX -
$3,625,000
44 East Ave #4602
Austin, TX -
$789,000
70 Rainey ST #3105
Austin, TX -
$3,850,000
901 W 9th ST #1102
Austin, TX -
$750,000
507 Sabine ST #905
Austin, TX -
$1,795,000
200 Congress Ave #12E
Austin, TX -
$515,000
54 Rainey ST #1020
Austin, TX
-
Lot Size131 sqft
Home Size1,918 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
Lot Size349 sqft
Home Size862 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
Lot Size53 sqft
Home Size846 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
Lot Size88 sqft
Home Size801 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
Lot SizeN/A
Home Size641 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
Lot Size61 sqft
Home Size706 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
Lot SizeN/A
Home Size1,154 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
Lot Size157 sqft
Home Size1,953 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2.5 Baths
-
Lot Size61 sqft
Home Size796 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
Lot SizeN/A
Home Size2,556 sqft
Beds3 Beds
Baths3.5 Baths
-
Lot SizeN/A
Home Size837 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
Lot Size1,042 sqft
Home Size3,668 sqft
Beds3 Beds
Baths3.5 Baths
-
Lot SizeN/A
Home Size1,456 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
Lot Size131 sqft
Home Size1,918 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
Lot Size188 sqft
Home Size750 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
Leave a Reply