Aubrey is set to have a Walmart at the corner of Spring Hill Road and U.S. 377 in 2029.
The Aubrey Municipal Development District worked with the developer to bring the retailer to the city.
'This project represents a significant investment in Aubrey, brings a major retail anchor store to the community and supports long-term economic development along the U.S. 377 corridor,' City Manager Charles Kreidler said at the March 26 council meeting.
The location will be at the northeast corner of the intersection and will serve as the anchor for the retail development at that corner.
The council had approved the agreement as 'Project Anchor' in January, Kreidler said.
'Since that time, staff has worked closely with the Highpointe commercial developer and Walmart Incorporated to execute the agreement that will provide a strong economic benefit to the city, while incorporating performance-based protections under the agreement,' he said.
The store will be at least 150,000 square feet and must make a 'minimum of a $40 million private investment,' and 'create and maintain at least 200 full-time equivalent jobs' to satisfy the deal.
It must also be ready to open by Dec. 31, 2029.
'Walmart will be responsible for construction of a regional collector road, which is a critical infrastructure component for this area,' Kreidler added, which will go from east of Aubrey High School to U.S. 377 at De Moye Lane.
Walmart's benefits include $5.5 million from the city for the project and $2.5 million from the Aubrey MDD in the form of sales tax reimbursement for 10 years, known as a Chapter 380 agreement, similar to ones in place in Frisco, Melissa and Celina.
'These incentives are funded only from new revenue generated by Walmart, while ensuring that both the city and the … municipal development district retain a portion of the sales tax to support ongoing services and future growth,' Kreidler said. 'If the project does not perform, the incentives are not paid.'
The council also accepted its Fiscal Year 2025 audit, which was a clean, unmodified audit.
Roger Tovar, a CPA with Whitley Penn, shared the evaluation of the audit with the council.
'The modified opinion, … some people call it a clean opinion, … is the high- est level of assurance that you can obtain on a financial statement audit, and obviously that's the best opinion you can get on a financial statement audit,' Tovar said. 'We did issue an unmodified opinion on your financial statements.'
The firm also did the required testing on the city's financial controls because it does 'receive federal funding,' Tovar said.
'We have no significant deficiencies or material weaknesses to report for financial reporting,' he added. 'We also have no instances of noncompliance and no instances of fraud that we became aware of during the audit.'
He also shared that the city had 'a huge increase in your current assets' as well as to long-term liabilities.
'Most of that was driven by just having more cash, more investments, due to the issuance of your bonds,' Tovar said.
He also said the city has enough in reserves to operate for 265 days if an emergency arose.
'Typically anywhere between 60 and 120 days is considered to be healthy,' Tovar said.
The council also voted to approve a bid of $45,700 with Plummer Associates for the Rockhill Street Well Corrosivity Engineer Report and to approve the AMDD's Targeted Improvement Grants for $30,000 per grant with a cap of $200,000 without having to come back to council for individual approvals.
