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Bastrop West study shows high demand and profit ceiling
BASTROP — Facing a five-year growth rate predicted to be twice the state average, Bastrop is moving forward with plans for a hospital complex and hotel/convention center.
Council members approved City Manager Sylvia Carrillo-Trevino to take the next steps in securing both projects after presenting a feasibility study April 28. She said results of the study, paid for by the Bastrop Economic Development Corporation, indicated the projects were attainable and needed.
“There is a deficit of over 500 hospital beds that are needed (within a 30-minute drive),” Carrillo- Trevino said, citing 2024 data. “(About) 97% of our people leave the area for care. If that isn't opportunity, I don't know what is.”
Both projects are part of the proposed Bastrop West development, a 400acre site at FM 20 and Texas 71. The site would also feature residential neighborhoods, an outdoor entertainment facility and sports fields when fully developed.
The proposed hospital anchors a 26-acre medical mall including other service providers, retail and restaurants. Construction is estimated at around $150 million, though the city would not be responsible for funding it, according to Carrillo-Trevino.
The hotel and convention center would similarly be backed and operated by private partners.
“Let the hotel folks operate hotels, let the convention center folks operate convention centers, and let us go back to building water lines and streets and things cities do better,' Carrillo-Trevino said.
The city would be responsible for infrastructure, funded through a Public Improvement District and Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone. If approved, it would be the city's first TIRZ, according to Carrillo-Trevino.
The feasibility study showed a 300-room hotel with 40,000 square feet of convention center space would be financially viable. The project would sit on 33 acres, require an investment of about $150 million from developer Palm Properties and be structured as a public-private partnership.
Carrillo-Trevino said the hotel could be operational by 2029. The feasibility study estimated room revenue would exceed $18 million in the first year, with an estimated $55 million in income to the city over 10 years.
The development would also be partly funded through a Qualified Hotel Project agreement with the state, approved in 2023, allowing reimbursement of the state's 6% hotel occupancy tax over 10 years.
While the city remains in exploratory stages, officials said the developer is moving quickly. The project is expected to go before the Planning and Zoning Commission in June for zoning approval.
The council directed Carrillo-Trevino to work with legal teams, stakeholders and potential partners to refine both proposals and asked her to coordinate with Bastrop EDC on a second feasibility study for the medical mall.
She is set to present those proposals at the July 28 council meeting.
