BEAUMONT, Texas — The North End of Beaumont will soon see a new retail strip, apartments, and a grocery store.
A Beaumont businessman says he sees “plenty of potential” in the empty field next to Target. The North End is one of the older parts of town.
It doesn't have as many businesses as the West End, but thanks to a few natives, that's changing.
Southeast Texas native Joe Aref wants to see growth in his community.
“I believe the North End is still lacking,” Aref said.
So, he decided to purchase six acres of land right next to Target to bring more businesses to the Third Ward.
After three months spent negotiating and finalizing the deal, he plans to bring a retail strip and multi-family housing to this property.
“So I feel like it's needed here,” Aref said. “You know, this one has been vacant for plenty, plenty of time. So when it was something nice, that'll get put on the tax rolls and start generating revenue for the city.”
Aref said the next step is to handle logistics in order to break ground.
“Right now, the process is meeting with engineers doing all the paperwork, and submitting plans to the city,” Aref said.
Councilman Aj Turner said more businesses bring sales and property taxes.
“So Mr. Aref is actually adding to the value of Beaumont,” Turner said.
And Mr. Aref is not the only one.
Councilman Turner worked closely with a Port Arthur businessman to bring a 12,000-square-foot grocery store to the shopping center on Lucas Drive.
“In 2019 I had tried to get groceries in the north end due to the fact that it was stated it was a food desert,” Turner said.
La Morenita Meat Market will open its doors towards the end of summer.
“We have investors that live in our area, and invest in our community, I think that we can take more pride,” Turner said.
Back at Eastex Freeway where we asked Aref what people should expect.
“We want something that is going to be nice, different for the city,” Aref said. “Something real modern. that'll attract bigger franchises to want to be here on the north end and in Beaumont.”
Aref says he's expecting construction to begin towards the end of this year.
