Development at former McAllen Civic Center site begins to take shape; see plans

About a decade after the longtime McAllen Civic Center was demolished, construction began on a new mixed-use development known as McAllen City Center. 

But it took the land changing hands and an economic incentive agreement to move the project forward. Previous plans for Shops at Solana by McAllen Retail Developers, a partnership between mall developer Simon Property Group and Dallas-based Provident Realty Advisors, fell through. 

In 2023, the 13-acre property near Lindburg Avenue and South 10th Street, adjacent to Expressway 83, was sold for an undisclosed price to McAllen CityCenter Ltd, a company affiliated with McAllen-based Castle Hospitality and led by Michael Fallek. 

But the site has a significant limiting factor: none of the bars or restaurants operating inside the La Plaza Mall or the Rio Grande Valley Premium Retail Outlets can be duplicated at McAllen City Center, according to a deed restriction on the property, records show. 

Movie theaters are also prohibited. Retail leases of fashion brands smaller than 20,000 square feet, already located at any regional shopping center owned by Simon Property Group, are also not permitted. A list of nearly two dozen restaurants is also expressly prohibited in the deed restriction, from Pluckers Wing Bar to Ruth’s Chris Steak House. 

In 2024, McAllen City Center inked an economic incentive deal with the city of McAllen to spend $50 million on the site’s redevelopment by Jan. 1, 2026. In exchange, the city would grant the developer 25% of sales taxes generated from the project for 10 years and reimburse its property taxes for the first five years — starting with 100% reimbursement as a grant in the first year. 

It was not immediately clear whether the economic incentive agreement terms had been met, since development has begun but not been completed. 

Now, the first phase of the project will be a two-story, 32,000-square-foot multi-tenant building at the northeast corner of the 13-acre property, near Lindburg Avenue and South 10th Street, adjacent to Expressway 83. 

“All underground infrastructure is now, by and large, complete, and our construction team is working to complete all development work for the new McAllen City Center,” Fallek recently told the Rio Grande Valley Business Journal in an email. “We are working to finalize leases now for the majority of the space in the new building, and we hope to be in a position to make announcements in the next month or two.” 

There were two named tenants in the master plan shared by Fallek, but it’s unclear when those projects will be completed. 

For example, an $18 million Courtyard by Marriott with 134 guest rooms and meeting space was expected to be built at McAllen City Center by November 2025, according to Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation records. 

By December 2025, there were plans for a $5 million restaurant, Portillo’s, a Chicago-style quick-service restaurant with an outdoor patio. But there are no buildings on the property yet. 

Fallek did not respond to questions about the hotel’s status on the site, but it still appears in promotional material. 

“We also continue to have meaningful conversations with other potential tenants for other spaces and buildings in the commercial center,” Fallek said.