Fidelis Wins Piece of Hutto Cottonwood Tract

The northeast Austin suburb of Hutto is taking another swing at developing its Cottonwood tract after years of false starts, lawsuits and broken negotiations.

The Hutto Economic Development Corporation voted Wednesday to enter into a purchase-and-sale agreement with Fidelis Realty Partners for roughly 58 acres of the 250-acre Cottonwood property northeast of Austin, according to city officials.

The Austin Business Journal reported that Fidelis plans to develop the site into “Cottonwood Marketplace,” a retail-focused project with shopping, dining and entertainment components aimed at serving the fast-growing suburb.

City officials framed the deal as a long-awaited win for a site that has become one of the region’s more tangled economic development puzzles.

The agreement marks a reset for the property after the city’s relationship with Houston-based Midway unraveled last year. Midway had been selected in 2023 to oversee development of the broader site, which at one point was envisioned as the future headquarters for youth baseball company Perfect Game before that project relocated to Cedar Park, according to the outlet.

But after years of delays and negotiations, the Hutto EDC voted to stop talks with Midway over what officials described as a lack of progress. The breakup escalated into litigation, with Midway later filing a lawsuit seeking more than $300 million in damages. The case remains active, and the city recently moved to shift it into Texas’ business court system.

Unlike earlier plans that handed control of the full tract to a single master developer, Hutto now appears to be dividing the site among specialized developers, according to the publication. Bellaire, Texas-based Fidelis, whose portfolio is heavily weighted toward retail, is taking on only a portion of the property, potentially leaving openings for future multifamily, commercial and mixed-use developers.

Fidelis has developed retail projects across Texas and has worked with tenants including H-E-B, Kroger, Ross and Dick’s Sporting Goods. The company has also pursued other Central Texas projects, including Georgetown’s Crossway Business Park and a previously proposed mixed-use development in Hutto called Huggins Crossing.

— Eric Weilbacher