The Gazette-Enterprise

SEGUIN — With just a short drive around the city of Seguin, residents can’t help but see construction in progress.

From a Hibbett’s Sporting Goods in front of Wal-mart to a housing project on the east side, construction is popping up all over town.

Director of Planning and Zoning Don Smith said the number of groundbreakings is not a new phenomenon for Seguin.

“We’ve been on a pretty steady increase in nonresidential development for a couple years now,” Smith said, referencing such current projects as Walgreens and Advance Auto Parts in the revived Plaza Del Rey center.

Smith attributed the city’s steady stream of growth to developers’ awareness of incoming State Highway 130 — a toll road designed to relieve Interstate 35 traffic and reach Seguin within the next three to four years.

“I think that Seguin’s in a growing area strategically located on SH 130, which has a proposed location on the east side of town. People realize that and want to capitalize on the additional traffic patterns.”

A general increase in the population hasn’t hurt either, Smith said.

One trend that stands out among the rest is a slight increase in medical and cosmetic medical services. A new laser cosmetics office is in the works off East College Street, and workers are putting the finishing touches on the Studio FX Salon and Day Spa on Kingsbury Street.

“We’ve always had our share of medical type office and office facilities,” Smith said. “We even have two surgical centers now. The medical service industry is very strong for a city this size.”

“Access to medical facilities is always attractive to older citizens, but some of [these services] are not necessarily just used by older folks.”

Other new projects include a Jackson Hewitt tax office on East Walnut Street, GBRA office expansion on Court Street and the construction of the new police station at the corner of Guadalupe and Medlin streets.

But commercial development is not the only kind of growth the city is experiencing. Several hundred rooftops are in the works on the residential side, Smith said.

The Little Mill Creek subdivision along Highway 46, for example, will have a total build out of about 431 homes when all phases are complete. Though the market can always fluctuate, rough estimates put the number at about 50 houses per year, Smith said.

On the east side of the city along Eastwood Drive, the East Hill subdivision caters to more upscale homeowners.

“The houses are on par with the Sagewood subdivision,” Smith said.

The development’s zero lot line style plots are designed for full-size houses with smaller lawns and less maintenance.

The city is also in discussions with developers for the Falcon Meadows subdivision along Highway 46. That development would have a build out of 645 rooftops.

By all accounts, whether residential or commercial, Seguin is on a very steady growthpath.

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