LEANDER, Texas — Northline Leander developers said The Hub pausing its involvement with the billion-dollar mixed-use development will only slow down the build of a portion of the development by a year.
Progress has been made at what Leander city leaders have referred to as its "new downtown." The development portion of Northline Leander has proceeded along well, but developers have hit a roadblock with one of its major retail tenants.
The Hub, which was set to take up three acres of retail space and two acres of parking, will no longer be part of the 116-acre mixed-use development as of Thursday. But CEO Brad Zeitlin said he hopes to rejoin in the future.
Northline developer Alex Tynberg said The Hub had financing challenges that prevented it from breaking ground by the end of the year, which was a requirement from the City.
"The decision to postpone Leander was simply that we are now open in Allen, TX (Collin County) and have built a team of 124 people in DFW in the last 12 months, including our corporate team. We absolutely LOVE the Northline project," Zeitlin said in a statement.
The Hub would have included a dozen casual restaurants and bars in a large public space, with a jumbotron screen and a pavilion stage.
Tynberg said this won't change much about the overall progress, as Northline developers have already been in negotiations with multiple replacement retail anchors.
"We remain firmly committed to delivering our original vision for Northline," Tynberg said. "We believe that the city is going to be very proud of this project as it as it unfolds."
The Northline development will have a mix of retail, housing, hotel, business and restaurant spaces. Last year, the City of Leander even considered moving its City Hall to Northline.
Northline's first residents are set to move into townhomes and apartments later this summer. The first handful of retail shops are set to open in 2025.
Developers said Northline was always envisioned as a 10 to 15-year project built in phases, with the residential component opening first.
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