Kohl's Inc., based in Menomee, WI, is putting up a new department store along US Highway 290 near Ernest Robles Drive while Atlanta-based Home Depot Inc. is working on a new store next to an existing one along Brodie Lane. It will remodel the existing store into an Expo Design Center. If that's not enough, Holiday Inn is moving ahead with plans for a 99-room Holiday Inn Express in Sunset Valley.

The projects are nothing new for Sunset Valley, where retail boomed in the past decade as a result of road projects. MoPac Expressway, the north-south route through the middle of Austin, was extended through Sunset Valley, creating retail opportunities at key intersections. One shopping center is anchored by Home Depot, Circuit City and PetsMart; another by Barnes & Noble, Petco and One World Market; a third by Best Buy and Sam's Discount Warehouse; and a fourth by a Wal-Mart.

This retail convergence has made property taxes unnecessary in Sunset Valley. The city, with just over 412 residents, gets 90% of its tax revenue from sales taxes. Kohl's and Home Depot are responding to demand, says Jayme Foley, Sunset Valley's assistant city administrator.

Home Depot new store will be 138,000 sf on 16 acres behind the existing store. The new store is to open in August. A traffic light is being moved to a new corner of Brodie and Home Depot Lane.

The 86,000-sf Kohl's is not part of the existing shopping centers in Sunset Valley. It's the chain's fourth Austin-area store; the others are in the city's northern reaches.

The Holiday Inn is planned for westbound US Highway 290. The building plans have been approved, Foley says, and the site plan is now under review.

Instant Insights /

Sunset Valley Captures Leading Retailers' Focus

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