Floyd Casey site work underway for 259

Aug 17, 2023

Ground-level work underway at the former Floyd Casey Stadium site, including demolition, site preparation and infrastructure placement, is expected to last a year before vertical construction gets started on Floyd Casey Village’s 260 single-family homes, three multifamily sites and three commercial sites.

Heavy equipment clears out remaining structures, including roads, at the former Floyd Casey Stadium site. The planned Floyd Case Village redevelopment will include 259 single-family homes, three multifamily sites and three commercial sites.

Ground-level work underway at the former Floyd Casey Stadium site, including demolition, site preparation and infrastructure placement, is expected to last a year before vertical construction gets started on Floyd Casey Village’s 260 single-family homes, three multifamily sites and three commercial sites.

Ground-level work underway at the former Floyd Casey Stadium site, including demolition, site preparation and infrastructure placement, is expected to last a year before vertical construction gets started on Floyd Casey Village's 260 single-family homes, three multifamily sites and three commercial sites.

The public may have noticed lately lots of pushing and growling going on near Dutton Avenue and South Valley Mills Drive. No, it’s not the ghosts of Baylor University running backs and linemen romping at the old Floyd Casey Stadium site. Rather, heavy equipment is paving the way for a $100 million mixed-use development called Floyd Casey Village.

In about a year, the dust and rubble will fade, and work will start on 259 single-family residences, three multifamily sites and three commercial sites, all overseen by Turner Brothers Development. Other planned features include various trails connecting to a new city of Waco park and a redeveloped multi-use sports complex right across Clay Avenue.

“The development team is out there removing the former roads and driveways,” Waco City Manager Bradley Ford said of the Floyd Casey site. “We have probably a year of demolition, site preparation and infrastructure work prior to seeing vertical construction. But we are definitely excited to see the project come to life.”

The city holds a stake in the venture, its Tax Increment Financing Zone No. 4 having earmarked $19.2 million in TIF money to support it. The city also has offered up to $6.25 million in economic development grants and is making the property, which it acquired in land swaps with Baylor after Floyd Casey’s demolition, available for the development.

Local custom homebuilder Jonathan Barrow, president of the Heart of Texas Builders Association, said he was contacted by Turner Brothers about possible interest in placing a home at Floyd Casey Village.

“I’m assuming others would have been approached as well,” Barrow said. “It has not been a huge topic of conversation among homebuilders, probably because it is in the preliminary stages.”

Barrow’s Bam Builders erects homes across Greater Waco, with a concentration in Woodway and Hewitt.

Barrow, whose homes typically run $750,000 and up, said it is his understanding Turner Brothers wants to build homes carrying a range of price points, “something that might be affordable to anyone.”

“We’re definitely exploring the option but have not decided whether to pursue it,” Barrow said. “The market is topsy-turvy.”

He said Floyd Casey Village holds promise.

“The plans look amazing. Between what the city and the Turners have done, it looks like they have put their best foot forward,” Barrow said.

Brothers Shane and Cody Turner weighed in on their reasons for developing Floyd Casey Village and what it could mean to Waco.

“Having grown up in Waco and graduating from Baylor we understand the impact a development of this size can have on the area,” Cody Turner said by email. “Our goal is to build a generational neighborhood that will stand the test of time and make a positive impact.”

Shane Turner said the group wants to bring back to the area some of the glory it experienced and the impact it had during the Floyd Casey Stadium years.

“We wanted to create a development that connected into the surrounding neighborhood and make the area a walkable community,” Shane Turner wrote. “We want to see the neighborhood using the trails to get to the new city park on Clay Avenue or over to the South Waco Rec center just like people were walking around Floyd Casey before the Baylor games.”

What once was called Baylor Stadium opened in 1950, with the Bears hosting the University of Houston Cougars in the first game played there, a 34-7 Baylor win. It became Floyd Casey Stadium in 1988, officials announcing the change during halftime of that year’s homecoming game. Baylor trustee and longtime booster Carl F. Casey and his wife, Thelma Casey, donated $5 million to a major renovation, and Carl’s father, Floyd Casey, received the naming honor.

The stadium was fully demolished by May 2016, following the football team’s relocation to Baylor’s new McLane Stadium on Lake Brazos after the 2013 season.

The city gained control of the property later in 2016 through a series of land swaps with Baylor University. Waco in August 2019 issued a Request for Proposals to find a developer for the site, and in March 2020 chose Turner Brothers Development.

Turner Brothers development director Jonathan Garza said construction will begin in 2024, but completing lot development may take until 2025.

“We have been working closely with the neighborhood association to get a good list of builders that have grown up in the South Waco area and have generated interest in the project,” Garza said in an email response to questions.

Turner Brothers also met with South Waco residents to get feedback on street names in the development, hoping to honor Hispanic leaders.

“The street names are on the final plat the city approved, but we are currently in the process of renaming the streets based on the neighborhood’s input,” Garza said. “We had a great turnout at the final town hall meeting and collected close to 300 submissions.”

Waco Parks Director Jonathan Cook said Floyd Casey Village should mesh well with the regional park Waco is planning on the other side of Clay Avenue. Trails and pedestrian bridges would link the village with Waco’s planned redevelopment of the Hart-Patterson Track and Field Complex and surrounding area.

“We’re working to create a regional park destination,” Cook said. “We’re done with the preliminary design report and with environmental studies, and next month, in September, we will open up the community engagement phase.”

The city plans public meetings on what exactly the park will look like.

Cook said the proposed park, located near existing Bell’s Hill Park and Waco Creek, would cost an estimated $25 million and cover about 30 acres. Anchoring the park would be “a dynamic and inclusive playground.”

The park would feature wooded areas, open space, “and room to create a variety of amenities while preserving a slice of nature in the middle of the city,” Cook said. “This area was heavily identified as an anchor for our Master Trail Plan, one that we can start to dream about. No doubt it would serve our community, but it could become a regional destination, a one-of-a-kind playground for all ages. Waco could become the city where people recreate, exercise and spend time with their families.”

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