New businesses sprouting in recession-weary North Richland Hills

By Gene Trainor

Special to the Star-Telegram

NORTH RICHLAND HILLS -- The economic recovery might finally be reaching Tarrant County's third-biggest city.

At the Home Town NRH business district, several restaurants, including Mooyah, Sushi Nikko, a Bite the Weenie hot dog shop and Sweet Frog frozen yogurt, have opened in recent months.

Office Depot is building a store next to the Kroger supermarket, where it will move from its current location near Texas 26 and Northeast Loop 820.

Behind the businesses, a complex of 238 apartments and 22 town houses is being built along Mid Cities Boulevard at Ice House Drive in the heart of the Home Town development. And along Northeast Loop 820 and up and down Davis Boulevard, construction and renovations are under way for more businesses.

"We're seeing some action," Mayor Oscar Trevino said. "I'm scared to say we're seeing a rebound, but we're seeing new businesses coming in."

City officials are hopeful that a $70 million City Hall complex planned for the former site of North Hills Mall will spur more development.

North Richland Hills was hit hard by the recession and changes in the marketplace.

HealthMarkets, long one of the city's largest employers, has trimmed about 400 jobs in recent years, leaving about 700 working at the company's headquarters. Dozens of businesses and stores have closed.

City sales tax revenues dropped about 8 percent from $17.4 million during the 2008 fiscal year to about $16 million during the 2009 fiscal year.

Since then, annual sales tax revenues have made a slow climb and are estimated to total $17.2 million during the current fiscal year. Trevino said the city expects to make some announcements about new businesses moving in during the next few months.

Students like their dogs

Ludwig Sawicki and his wife, Angie Doan, owners of Bite the Weenie, said they considered a site in Hurst near Harwood Road and Norwood Drive for their hot dog restaurant, but chose Home Town NRH because of all the potential customers nearby: from Birdville High School, Tarrant County College's Northeast Campus and apartments.

Since opening in April, they've also found that the area is home to many transplants from Chicago and New York who long for the all-natural, all-beef hot dogs they sell.

The quirky name has also helped. Sawicki said they didn't have much of a marketing budget, so they decided to be clever.

Doan said people take pictures of their restaurant and giggle almost every day. Adding to the humor is the Kumon math and reading center next door. So when people walk or drive by, they see Kumon, Bite the Weenie.

"Business overall has been pretty good," Sawicki said.

Next door, Ian Lyon, manager of Sweet Frog, said the business opened Oct. 6 after research showed decent demographics -- including median family income, age and other characteristics.

"It was well above average with the surrounding cities," Lyon said.

North Richland Hills is a classic middle-class city with a median household income of about $64,000, slightly above Tarrant County's $55,300. But the city also has a large population, 64,000, putting it third in Tarrant behind Fort Worth and Arlington.

The Home Town community includes a mix of upscale houses, apartments, businesses and city buildings, such as the library and recreation complex. The NRH {-2}0 Family Water Park is next door.

For years, the residential section took off while the business end was mixed.

'Flight to quality'

Compared to North Richland Hills, business growth along the major thoroughfares in Southlake and Grapevine remained strong throughout the recession, said Jeff Kittleson, a senior vice president with CBRE Dallas, a commercial real estate firm.

Some of those areas got stronger in what analysts called a "flight to quality" to the affluent cities, he said.

Neighborhood shopping areas, the kind that punctuate North Richland Hills, saw a drop in business as consumers pulled back on spending. Road construction caused by the expansion of Northeast Loop 820 added to the pain by blocking access to some stores.

In September, Floor and Décor Outlets of America announced plans to lease 89,262 square feet in the former Wal-Mart at Loop 820 and Rufe Snow Drive.

It's considered among the largest leases in North Texas this year. Kittleson said that by upgrading the building and using signs well, Floor and Décor can offset the problems caused by road construction.

People seem to be opening their wallets a little.

"In the last three years, we've had good leasing across the board," Kittleson said.

Recovery, but slow

Residential growth is also on the rebound. The number of new single-family homes in North Richland Hills is expected to reach 170 this year, more than triple the number recorded during the 2009 fiscal year.

Integrated Real Estate in Southlake has broken ground for an apartment complex in the Home Town district, with the expectation that units will be available beginning next summer, said Chris Kelly, vice president of construction. He said his company's research showed that demand exists for apartments in the area. Rents will start at about $775 to $800 a month for a 700-square-foot unit.

"We're trying to do a good market-rate community that would benefit the whole city," Kelly said.

Even with the activity, there's still a ways to go. More than a dozen storefronts remain empty in the Home Town business district, and there are pockets of empty buildings throughout the city.

So, while North Richland Hills officials have reason to be hopeful, the champagne corks have not popped just yet.

"We are seeing some positive signs of a recovery, but it's still fairly slow," City Manager Mark Hindman said.

Looking for comments?