Home Depot anchors Peñitas boom as city braces for retail, housing surge

Home Depot will open a 136,000-square-foot store in Peñitas as part of a wave of new shopping centers and housing developments that city officials say will transform the 6,400-resident community’s economy and tax base.

The two retail centers at Expressway 83 and 23rd Street could provide more than 200 jobs and access to goods previously only available in larger nearby cities, City Manager Beto Garza said.

“We’re going to have a tremendous amount of growth here in the next five years,” Garza said. “These projects are going to bring jobs, economic growth, tax money to the city, and it offers to extend more services and exciting new developments to our citizens.”

Peñitas Crossing Shopping Center

The new commercial subdivision by Palmco, known as the Peñitas Crossing Shopping Center, sits on the east side of 23rd Street. Confirmed tenants include Burlington, Ross Dress for Less, and Marshalls, all of which have filed construction permits with the state. Other retailers, such as Five Below and Rack Room Shoes, are also planned for the site.

Restaurants are part of the expansion as well. Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse are listed in city planning documents as proposed tenants, but they have not yet filed construction permits. Construction began in August and is expected to take 12 to 18 months.

Liberty Corners expansion

Peñitas saw its last retail boost in 2022 with the St. Ives development, known as Liberty Corners, which brought in Starbucks, Chick-fil-A, Wendy’s, and Take 5 Oil Change. That shopping center is expanding with a Stripes, McDonald’s, Texas National Bank, and Home Depot, according to Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation records.

Due to a nondisclosure agreement, Garza would not confirm the Home Depot by name but said the city plans to release details of the incoming “large box” store in late October or early November.

“That one big box that’s coming to the St. Ives site is going to rattle this side of the county,” Garza said. “Not only pulling a lot of retail and shopping there in the city of Peñitas from the surrounding areas and our residents, we’re gonna pull some customers from Starr County and Mexico. It’s very exciting.”

Community buzz

The Coming Soon RGV Facebook page announced Home Depot’s Peñitas location in June, prompting online buzz.

“Penitas gonna be taking all my money with all these new businesses lol,” user Ricky Casanova commented. “Saves the drive to Mission or McAllen ! [sic]”

“Flood gates have opened. That once quiet little town is going to boom with expansion over the next decade,” Facebook user Chris Garcia wrote. “Growth all across the [V]alley is a good thing.”

Housing and infrastructure growth

In addition to the growing commercial corridor in southwestern Hidalgo County, Garza said the city has more than 400 acres of single- and multifamily residential development in the works. Other major projects include the Tom Gill Road expansion and the Liberty Road project, which is being built with the Texas Department of Transportation and Precinct 3.

Garza, who grew up in Mission and began working for Peñitas in 2021, said he’s ecstatic to see the town expand.

“The city of Peñitas excels when it comes down to hard work and determination. That’s what the city of Peñitas is all about,” Garza said. “We can stand up with anybody and shine just as bright as the big cities. And that’s what’s gonna happen with all this development — the city of Peñitas will shine bigger and brighter than ever.”