Burlington is staking its claim in one of Bastrop's busiest retail corridors, with plans filed for a $3.3 million store at Burleson Crossing East. The 22,520-square-foot building is set to rise at 655 State Highway 71 W., joining a stretch of new development that already includes a grocery store, a steakhouse and a breakfast chain.
According to Community Impact Newspaper, construction on the Burlington store is expected to begin Nov. 9, 2026, and run through Sept. 1, 2027, per a filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. The outlet, which first reported in May that Burlington planned a store in the development, noted the timeline is subject to change. Burlington is a discount retailer known for selling clothing for women, men and children, along with shoes, accessories, beauty products and home decor.
Community Impact reported it reached out to Burlington officials for more information on the project but had received no response by press time. The outlet said it plans to publish additional details as they become available.
A Fast-Filling Shopping Center on SH 71
Burlington's planned store adds another name to the growing roster at Burleson Crossing East, which is also set to welcome Dick's Sporting Goods, per the same Community Impact report. That sporting goods retailer is separately planning a 55,000-square-foot location in the development, with construction scheduled to begin in December 2026 and wrap up by December 2027, according to What Now Austin.
Sprouts Farmers Market has already staked out ground in the same shopping center. The grocer announced it would open a new Bastrop store at 655 Hwy. 71, Suite 101, according to a Sprouts Farmers Market press release. The Bastrop Economic Development Corporation had earlier reported that Sprouts began construction on a 23,349-square-foot, $6 million store in the development, though a project description from W.E. O'Neil Construction lists the Sprouts building at 23,256 square feet — a discrepancy that hasn't been reconciled in available records. That same W.E. O'Neil project page describes Burleson Crossing East Phase 1 as a multi-phase retail development spanning a nine-acre site that also includes a 16,384-square-foot PetSmart.
Jobs and Tax Revenue on the Line
The stakes for Bastrop go beyond new storefronts. Burleson Crossing East is planned as a two-phase development anticipated to create more than 300 jobs, according to Community Impact's coverage of the Bastrop City Council. The council also approved a new frontage-road turn lane from Highway 71 onto Ed Burleson Road to serve the development as traffic into the corridor increases.
Estimates of the development's fiscal impact have varied. One Community Impact report said the project is expected to add more than $1.425 million in ad valorem and sales tax revenue to the city's General Fund upon completion, while a separate Community Impact report put the figure at an estimated $1.4 million annually in property and sales taxes. Either way, city officials are counting on the corridor to be a significant revenue driver.
Part of a Broader Growth Wave
Burleson Crossing East is just one piece of a larger building boom in Bastrop. About 500 acres of retail, dining, medical and other uses are planned within a three-mile stretch of the city, with three developments — Sendero, Burleson Crossing East and Bastrop West — all in various stages of construction, per Community Impact. The Bastrop Economic Development Corporation has separately reported that the city had 43 commercial and retail projects underway, covering 150 acres and more than $89 million in construction costs, as Bastrop's population has grown 32% since the 2020 census to nearly 13,000 residents.
Burlington's Bastrop plans also fit into the chain's wider national expansion. The company said in March it planned to open 110 net new stores during its current fiscal year, along with a new distribution center in Savannah, Georgia, according to Fox Business. The retailer added 20 stores in September across states including Texas, and USA Today reported the chain is opening 12 more stores across eight states in October.
