HEB redevelopment: Why Hurst, Euless and Bedford are part of North Texas’ next growth story
EULESS, Texas — In North Texas, growth is often measured by how far it stretches.
New neighborhoods rise on the outer edges of the Metroplex. New highways carve paths farther north and west. New developments pop up in places that, not long ago, felt far removed from the region’s center.
But in Hurst-Euless-Bedford, HEB for short, the story unfolding now is different.
The Mid-Cities are not the next far-flung frontier of North Texas growth. Instead, leaders and business owners say the area is in the middle of a moment driven not by sprawl, but by reinvestment, location and a community betting on itself.
“In H-E-B, it’s all about redevelopment,” said Mary Frazier, president and CEO of the HEB Chamber of Commerce. “Our cities are investing in the property in the city and doing private-public partnerships.”
That approach is showing up across the area.
Primark is set to open a new store at Northeast Mall on April 30. New housing is coming in. Major construction is underway at both Trinity and L. D. Bell high schools. And later this summer, the Mid-Cities are expected to get a long-awaited addition: an H-E-B grocery store.
“We finally got an H-E-B in H-E-B,” Frazier said.
The phrase is catchy, but the point behind it is serious. H-E-B has a reputation for being selective about where it builds, and Frazier said the company’s investment reflects the advantages local officials have long promoted: a central location between Dallas and Fort Worth, access to DFW International Airport, an established customer base and a strong school district. They see it as proof the Mid-Cities remain a draw in one of the fastest-growing regions in the country.
“The three cities work together with the school district, with the chamber, with the hospital,” Frazier said. “I think that’s our secret sauce.”
Asked what the grocer’s decision says about the area, Frazier answered plainly: “It says what a good location we are.”
That case for the Mid-Cities is easy to make from a boardroom or a chamber event. It’s also visible from a pizza shop in Euless.
Arsim Lushaj’s family owns Lushaj Pizza, a longtime neighborhood staple next to Trinity High School and less than five minutes from the future H-E-B site.
His family’s history in the area goes back years to when they first moved to North Texas from New York.
“We actually had our first location off of Bedford-Euless Road called Joe’s Pizza,” Lushaj said. “We were there for quite some time. Then my dad opened this up in about 2004.”
From the restaurant, he has watched the area change piece by piece.
“You get to see everything in real time,” Lushaj said. “You get to really just take it all in.”
For him, the activity nearby is not just a sign of investment. It is something more personal: a sign that the area still has room to grow and that businesses like his can grow with it.
“It gives us hope for the future. It really does,” Lushaj said. “It means that this area is going to develop more. That means, God willing, we’ll be here for another 22 years.”
While much of North Texas keeps expanding outward, Hurst, Euless and Bedford are showing that growth can also come through renewal.