H-E-B 'Plus' will anchor new Pearland center

If you like H-E-B and you live in Pearland, you're going to love this: Developers announced yesterday that construction on a huge new retail center anchored by an oversized H-E-B will begin this fall at Highway 288 and FM 518. The 600,000-square-foot center will be adjacent to Shadow Creek Ranch, which you may remember from the billboards calling it the fastest-growing master-planned community in the "Houston-Pearland Metroplex." (Until we saw those ads, we thought the only "metroplex" around here was that one up north. You learn something new every day!)

Shadow Creek Ranch Town Center's star attraction will be the 142,000-square-foot H-E-B store, about twice the size of the chain's average supermarkets. The so-called "Plus Store" will feature groceries, general merchandise items and some things found at Central Market, like prepared foods and expanded produce, seafood and wine departments. There are already Plus Stores in Austin, San Antonio, Waco, Corpus Christi and San Juan.

Developers of the new center — just one of several planned or already under construction in Pearland — said they're talking with other potential tenants, including a sporting goods store, cafes and banks. The center is expected to open next summer.