H-E-B has acquired the 10-acre property at the southeast corner of Hillcrest Road and 635 for a very large H-E-B store.  It would replace a row of older office buildings fronting on LBJ.  See the map below.  

The store will be a "Big Box" the size of a Walmart at about 125,000 square feet.  The Tom Thumb at Preston Forest is about 50,000 square feet.  The building will be on the west end of the property and the entrance will face east.  The store's loading docks will be our view on Hillcrest Road.  

H-E-B held a neighborhood meeting on February 17 attended by over 120 residents.  Many attendees were concerned about a massive increase in traffic on Hillcrest.  H-E-B discussed adding turn lanes and adjusting the traffic lights, but there is no way to totally mitigate the traffic.  A Traffic Impact Analysis is being conducted by H-E-B.

Besides traffic, other issues raised at the meeting and by our Association: 
 

• This 125,000 square foot "Big Box" is totally out of scale with its surroundings.  

• The back of the building and loading docks with 18-wheelers and other trucks will be on Hillcrest Road, at the entrance to our community from LBJ.

• This is not neighborhood-serving retail.  It will attract shoppers from all of North Dallas and nearby suburbs.

• There has never been any retail on Hillcrest Road between Northwest Highway and Arapaho Road.  This introduces an entirely new and incompatible use in a residential/office area.

On the other hand, H-E-B has many devoted fans, and there were a number of residents at the meeting who said that they look forward to shopping there.

H-E-B plans to apply for a re-zoning in the near future, and they said that they will hold an additional neighborhood meeting after their plans are further developed.