bcstx06 said:
I have been one the ones that have criticized the Towerpoint area development. My criticism has been in the planning/design of the area, not necessarily the businesses that have located there.
I think the people living in West Bryan would agree that they would take 1/10th of the business development that South College Station has seen. West Bryan has seen so much growth pretty much all areas, but when it comes to retail and restaurants its lacking tremendously.
It seems like the City of Bryan could do something to attract more retail and restaurants to the area.
I wanted to reply to this but didn't want to clutter up the C&G thread further. I think this poster is vastly overestimating West Bryan and how it in no way compares to Tower Point. Just looking at Tower Point, it is a very nice location. It's right next to the highway, which is probably one of the busiest thoroughfares in the area and at Highway 40 (also very busy), and within a three mile radius covers a lot of middle to upper class (well upper class for B/CS anyway) areas, including Nantucket, Pebble Creek, Indian Lakes, Castlegate, and Shenandoah, some of which have been around for years and still maintain their value.
In comparison, I guess by "West Bryan" meaning the Villa Maria/2818 intersection, it's nothing like that. Villa Maria/2818 isn't nearly as highly trafficked as 40/6 are, plus despite a lot of development happening west of 2818 including Traditions and a few newer housing developments, but east of 2818 is older, poorer areas which already have a large commercial district (and Tejas Center) to draw from. Tower Point doesn't have competition, its closest point of comparison is the Rock Prairie shopping center two exits down and a small smattering of fast food type places at Rock Prairie/Wellborn and that's pretty much it. I don't think Tower Point is "taking" anything from West Bryan at all.