Roanoke City Council tabled the proposed Roanoke Ranch commercial development Tuesday, with the item set to return at its Nov. 17 meeting after reviewing a third concept plan for the 70.1-acre site along State Highway 114 and Briarwyck Parkway. The project has drawn heavy pushback from residents of the neighboring Briarwyck subdivision, who flooded the city with letters over signage, traffic and what kinds of businesses would be allowed to move in next door.
According to Community Impact, the development would include more than 50 acres of retail, seven pad sites and two industrial buildings, with the previously proposed multifamily housing component scrapped entirely. The retail footprint has grown considerably since the project was first pitched — the initial concept plan called for just 25 acres of retail, a figure that has now more than doubled in the latest version presented to council.
The Roanoke Planning and Zoning Commission had recommended approval of the project on Oct. 19 subject to 15 conditions, but the city council pared that list down to 13 during Tuesday's discussion, weighing changes to setbacks, signage rules, permitted business types and drive-thru restrictions before ultimately deciding to table the item rather than vote.
Developer Drops Multifamily Plans After Pushback
Pelican Industrial, the company behind Roanoke Ranch, removed the previously proposed multifamily housing portion of the project after feedback from council members and the Briarwyck Homeowners Association, per the same Community Impact report. Mayor Carl E. “Scooter” Gierisch Jr. said he was pleased the multifamily component had been dropped and praised the developer's willingness to work with the city and agree to requested changes.
David Brundage, who has lived in the Briarwyck subdivision for 12 years, said he objected to the multifamily housing component. He praised Austin Pipkin, Pelican Industrial's Texas market leader, for listening to residents' concerns and working with them on the revised plan, the report notes. Pipkin reviewed notes from the Oct. 19 meeting and outlined changes ahead of Tuesday's council presentation.
Residents Demand Walls, Tree Lines and Lighting Limits
The city reported receiving 142 letters from 105 residents about the planned development, with concerns centered on traffic, signage facing the residential subdivision and the types of businesses that would ultimately be allowed on site. David Thompson, a Ward 3 council member, also lives in the Briarwyck development.
Per the same account, residents asked for an 8-foot masonry wall and an 8-foot-tall evergreen tree line along the rear of the development, along with a formal lighting plan and a schedule outlining construction hours. They also pushed for no backlit signage facing the residential side and no standalone automotive businesses among the permitted uses.
The latest plan increased the setback from residents' properties from 50 feet to 65 feet, and it incorporates hooded curbs meant to direct semitruck traffic from both industrial parcels toward SH 114 rather than through neighborhood streets. An east-west road connecting Al Slaughter Parkway and Briarwyck Parkway is also planned to keep traffic off Bristol Street, according to the report. Council member Brian Darby said the recommendations under discussion would become binding standards written into the planned development rather than mere suggestions.
What's Actually Being Built
The retail portion would feature seven connected retail or junior-box spaces ranging from 5,000 to 37,200 square feet, along with two additional buildings measuring 14,500 square feet and 6,500 square feet, the article states. Seven pad sites are planned along the SH 114 frontage road between Al Slaughter Parkway and Briarwyck Parkway.
On the industrial side, the western warehouse would measure 88,000 square feet and the eastern building 98,000 square feet. The developer’s newest plan proposes replacing two of the four warehouse buildings with a row of shops; the separate resident vision, Roanoke Ranch, Reimagined, keeps the flex warehouse and light-industrial buildings in place.
Pelican Industrial has said its buildings would differ from the large distribution centers common at nearby AllianceTexas through lower clearance heights, shallower depths and more office space, combining flexible office and warehouse use. Finished-out building office space typically accounts for about 15% of a building, the company said, while larger-footprint warehouse office space usually runs between 5% and 8%.
A project overview posted by the developer, Eagle Nest Property Group, estimates more than 60,000 vehicles pass the site's interchange along SH 114 daily and lists a current schedule showing pads and site work delivered in fall 2027, with buildings following in summer 2028. The Roanoke Ranch, Reimagined site notes the public hearing on the project has been continued to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 17 — the date now set for council to take the matter back up.
