Bass Pro Shops will open a 72,000-square-foot store in Abilene as the anchor tenant of an $80 million retail development along Interstate 20, a project that underscores the city’s recent population and investment growth in West Texas.
Dallas-based Wallace Ventures announced that the outdoor retailer will occupy roughly 10 acres within Rainy Creek, a planned 35-acre commercial project near I-20 and East Ambler Avenue, close to Abilene Christian University. The Bass Pro Shops store will serve as the centerpiece of the development and is expected to help draw regional shoppers from across West Texas.
In a written statement, Bass Pro Shops founder and CEO Johnny Morris said the Abilene location will supply customers with gear for activities across the region, including fishing and camping at Abilene State Park and kayaking at Lake Fort Phantom.
Wallace Ventures develops commercial, industrial, hospitality and multifamily projects in 11 states and reports more than $1.5 billion in completed developments. The company is also a partner in the $3 billion Frisco Railhead project in North Texas, which includes plans for a 16- to 18-story hotel.
Chief executive Jordan Wallace said recent large-scale investments in and around Abilene helped attract Bass Pro Shops to the site. He cited the city’s position along the I-20 corridor and compared its growth trajectory to the I-35 and I-45 corridors over the past decade and a half.
Abilene has added several major projects in recent years. Those include the Stargate data center project, a Great Lakes Cheese Co. manufacturing facility and a $1.6 billion modernization program at Dyess Air Force Base tied to the incoming B-21 Raider stealth bomber.
Population growth has accompanied those investments. U.S. Census Bureau estimates show Abilene’s population rose about 4.4% between 2020 and 2024, from roughly 125,000 residents to more than 130,500.
Development in the broader area is also accelerating. About 35 miles from Abilene, Denver-based Vantage Data Centers has announced a planned 1.4-gigawatt data center campus valued at $25 billion.
Plans for Rainy Creek call for more than 200,000 additional square feet of space beyond the Bass Pro Shops store. Early site concepts include two mid-size retail boxes, a fitness or gym tenant and five restaurant sites. Wallace Ventures has not yet identified additional tenants, and a formal construction schedule has not been released.
Dallas-based Hodges Architecture is designing the Rainy Creek project. Wallace Ventures said the development aims to serve both local residents and travelers along I-20, with Bass Pro Shops expected to be a primary driver of traffic. Project materials estimate that the completed development could attract about 1 million visitors annually.
