Real Estate Photographer in Cedar Park, TX

Cedar Park is booming and national chains are noticing.

The latest retailer to take interest is Trader Joe’s. The grocer is planning to build a $5.7 million store in the suburb about 20 miles north of Austin, according to a filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.

The 12,000-square-foot store will be located on FM 1431 at the southwest corner of Whitestone Boulevard and Arrow Point Drive.

In March, the Cedar Park City Council unanimously approved a plan to rezone that land for business and retail use. Trader Joe’s will eventually share space on the 7.79-acre plot with three other “office/showroom/warehouse buildings totaling about 51,500 square feet,” according to city documents.

Construction is slated to begin in January, the filing said. The project is expected to be completed by October 2027.

Cedar Park’s rapid commercial growth is reflective of its position in the North Austin tech corridor, home to major employers such as Dell Technologies Inc. in nearby Round Rock, Apple’s massive North Austin campus, and Samsung’s expanding chip operations in Taylor.

The city is also home to Firefly Aerospace, a the rapidly growing space and defense company that has drawn national attention with its rocket launches and lunar lander projects. These economic anchors have fueled a wave of development across Williamson County, turning Cedar Park into one of the fastest-growing cities in Texas.

California-based Trader Joe’s operates more than 600 stores nationwide but only 21 of those are in Texas. The Cedar Park store will be the company’s fifth in the Austin area once a new Bee Cave store opens at 12812 Shops Parkway later this year.

Current stores in Austin:

New stores are also being planned in San Antonio, Kingwood, McKinney and Cypress.

CEDAR PARK, Texas – The Texas Stars, American Hockey League affiliate of the NHL’s Dallas Stars, opened training camp Wednesday ahead of the 2025-26 season. The initial training camp roster consists of 35 players, including 19 forwards, 13 defensemen and three goaltenders.

2025 Texas Stars Training Camp Roster

Forwards (19): Francesco Arcuri (NHL), Jack Becker (AHL), Sean Chisholm (AHL), Daniyal Dzhanhiyev (TO), Justin Ertel (NHL), Cross Hanas (TO), Emil Hemming (NHL), Robbie Holmes (TO), Kole Lind (NHL), Angus MacDonell (NHL), Liam Malmquist (TO), Ayrton Martino (NHL), Curtis McKenzie (AHL), Mason Nevers (TO), Kaleb Pearson (AHL), Harrison Scott (NHL), Matthew Seminoff (NHL), Artem Shlaine (AHL), Antonio Stranges (NHL)

Defensemen (13): Jeff Baum (TO), Tommy Bergsland (AHL), Tristan Bertucci (NHL), Jake Boltmann (TO), Kyle Capobianco (NHL), Aidan Hreschuk (AHL), Michael Karow (AHL), Christian Kyrou (NHL), Kyle Looft (AHL), Eric Parker (TO), Connor Punnett (NHL), Trey Taylor (NHL),Gavin White (NHL)

Goaltenders (3): Ben Kraws (NHL), Arno Tiefensee (NHL), Nolan Maier (TO)

(NHL) – National Hockey League contract

(AHL) – American Hockey League contract

(TO) – Training Camp tryout

Download a PDF copy of the Texas Stars Training Camp Roster

Nineteen different players who played at least one game for Texas during the 2024-25 season were on the ice for the first day of training camp, including 11 forwards, seven defensemen and one goaltender.

Veteran forward Curtis McKenzie returns for his 13^th professional season and 10^th in the Stars organization. The 34-year-old captained Texas in each of the past four seasons and ranks second in team history in games played (495), points (372), goals (153) and assists (219), while holding the team records for penalty minutes (632) and power play goals (55).

Several key contributors from the Stars’ Western Conference Finals run last spring are back with a wealth of experience, including forwards Kole Lind and Antonio Stranges, and defensemen Kyle Capobianco and Michael Karow.

Goaltender Ben Kraws enters his second pro season after appearing in a handful of games for Texas last year and enjoying a successful rookie campaign with the ECHL’s Idaho Steelheads.

Eight players received invitations to Cedar Park on training camp tryouts, including Jeff Baum, Jake Boltmann, Cross Hanas, Robbie Holmes, Nolan Maier, Liam Malmquist, Mason Nevers, Eric Parker.

More players could be added to the AHL training camp roster from Dallas in the coming days as the NHL club continues to reduce its roster to the 23-player maximum by opening night.

The Texas Stars open the 2025-26 season on Friday, Oct. 10 at 7:00 p.m. against the Grand Rapids Griffins at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park. Season tickets and individual tickets are on sale now. For more information, call (512) GO-STARS (467-8277) or visit TexasStars.com.

Photo Credit: Logan Foust

Whether it was a response from last year or last week, Vandegrift delivered Friday.

Twelve months after losing to rival Cedar Park in a wild 49-46 shootout and seven days following a 41-14 blowout loss to Dripping Springs — games that both Vandegrift coach Drew Sanders and Vipers wide receiver Brock Chilton said the team took “personally” — the Vipers dominated the second half with 21 straight points to take a convincing 35-14 win over the Timberwolves at Monroe Stadium.

“We didn’t want to feel that feeling again of losing to Cedar Park,” said Chilton, who hauled in 11 passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns. “Being at their place (last year) and seeing them celebrate like it was their Super Bowl … and it only being Week 2, we took that as momentum for the rest of the season.”

The two defeats represent Vandegrift’s only losses in the last calendar year. The Vipers won 14 straight games on the way to the Class 6A Division II state title following the loss to the Timberwolves a year ago. With high expectations entering this fal, the defending champs were unexpectedly hammered last week by the Tigers.

Sanders said it was important to get the Dripping Springs game out of their minds.

“We’re a very proud program, so that was an embarrassing loss last week,” said Sanders, who has led the Vipers to seven straight district titles. “We’ve never overwhelmed people with our athleticism here. What we’ve overwhelmed them with is our execution and effort. And we didn’t have that last week. … We got back to work, and it started with practicing hard and practicing in a specific way.”

Here are some more key takeaways from the game that was the biggest matchup in Week 2 of the Austin-area high school football season:

Vandegrift's defense excelled

Though Chilton, quarterback Miles Teodecki and the Vandegrift offense were impressive, the Vipers’ defense had the performance of the game in the second half. After giving up 120 yards rushing to Cedar Park star running back Trae Hill in the first half, Vandegrift clamped down after the break and yielded only one first down and less than 50 yards.

Sanders noted that the new rule of allowing teams to review film at halftime helped the Vipers make some key adjustments.

“We were wrong on one of the run plays they were running,” he said. “It was nice to see the exact blocking scheme, so we changed some things, and that was key in stopping their run.”

Vandegrift’s pass defense was just as suffocating. The Vipers allowed just 65 yards through the air the entire contest and sacked Timberwolves quarterback David Cooper three times in the second half.

“We have such a young defense,” Sanders said. “We replaced nine of 11 starters, and so these guys are just figuring it out. Last week at (Dripping Springs) in front of 10,000 people was a lot of these guys’ first start, and obviously we didn’t handle it very well. I’m proud of our ability to come back focused.”

Brock Chilton is the real deal

If Chilton wasn’t thought of as one of the better wideouts in the Austin area before Friday, he should be now. With Vandegrift’s other standout wide receiver, Gavin Koester, out for the year with a torn ACL suffered last week, Chilton still managed to constantly get open despite receiving a lot of attention from the Timberwolves’ secondary.

“It’s great to have a big game against Cedar Park, but we have to carry it on to the next week,” Chilton said. “It sucks that Koester is hurt. He’s one of the greatest wide receivers I’ve ever played with, but we’ve got guys who are always going to be able to step into roles and start.”

Despite recording 47 catches for 904 yards and 12 touchdowns a year ago, Chilton may have flown under the radar in the preseason. He missed nearly all of the Vipers’ final three playoff games with an injury, but Sanders knows how crucial he is to Vandegrift’s offense.

“Brock had an amazing night,” he said. “He was who he needed to be. We need him to be that every single week. We need to go to him even when he’s double-covered.”

Besides talent and modesty, another thing Chilton has going for him is playing with Teodecki. The Kansas State commit didn’t put up eye-popping numbers, throwing for 207 yards and two touchdowns — part of that was due to a Vipers ground game that produced 141 yards — but he was pinpoint in his passes.

“Miles was throwing darts,” Sanders said. “Cedar Park wasn’t giving us the deep ball, so we were trying to get the underneath stuff, skinny posts, glances and things like that.”

District 25-6A play beckons

Despite the season being less than nine days old, Vandegrift (1-1) should be ready for district play.

Being in the rugged nine-team District 25-6A, the Vipers start district play next week when they host Stony Point. Chilton, though, thinks the team is more than ready for the games that really count.

“That’s why we chose two quality opponents to play at the beginning of the season,” he said. “We don’t go and try and pad stats and confidence. We choose two really good teams in Dripping Springs and Cedar Park to go get into that mode for district, because district is the most important part of the (regular season).”

Vandergrift vs Cedar Park stats

Vandegrift: RB Justin Moore rushed for 63 yards and 2 TDs; RB Sam Brown ran for 50 yards and a TD.

Cedar Park: Hill finished with 140 yards and 2 TDs on the ground.

Burlington is planning to host a grand opening for its new location in Cedar Park on Sept. 12. (Courtesy Burlington Stores)

Clothing retailer Burlington is coming to Cedar Park’s Lakeline Plaza in September and is donating to a local elementary school to mark the occasion.

Burlington will host a grand opening event for its new Cedar Park location Sept. 12. To commemorate the opening, the store will be donating $5,000 to Reed Elementary School, as part of a nationwide initiative hosted by AdoptAClassroom, a nonprofit that provides supplies to underfunded schools.

“Our goal is to continue to offer area residents low prices on brand-name merchandise for the entire family and home,” said Michael O’Sullivan, CEO of Burlington Stores, in a news release. “We’re continuing to expand our footprint across the country and are excited to be opening a new store in Cedar Park. We look forward to giving local customers the chance to discover big savings on a wide range of products.”

What they offer

The store offers a wide range of designer clothing at reduced prices, including clothing, jackets, home decor, beauty supplies, pet care and more. Burlington has more than 1,115 stores nationwide. The Cedar Park branch will be the company’s 131st location in Texas, according to a news release.

What else?

Following the grand opening, the Cedar Park branch will be holding a promotion where the first 100 customers ages 18 and up will receive a $10 bonus card to be used toward their purchase.

Steve is the editor of the Cedar Park-Far Northwest Austin and Leander-Liberty Hill editions of Community Impact. Steve earned his journalism degree from Western Washington University, and moved to Austin in 2022. In his free time, Steve is an actor, writer, and podcast host, and lives in Austin with his fiancé and their three pets.

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Cedar Park City Council on Aug. 28 voted to deny a future land use plan amendment request from the owner of a 1-acre property adjacent to the Woods at Carriage Hills neighborhood after neighbors of the property expressed concerns.

Abhiram Garapati, who owns the lot at 1701 Bagdad Road, requested the future land use designation for his lot be switched from local office/retail/commercial to regional office/retail/commercial.

Andreina Davila-Quintero, the city’s assistant director of development services, said the request was in the interest of rezoning the property so food trucks and other businesses could operate past 10 p.m. on a lot that backs up to people’s homes. She said Garapati also wanted to run a car rental service on the property.

What’s going on?

Garapati expressed his frustration with the current zoning restrictions imposed by the city on his property.

“It’s not fair [for us] to be curtailed or restricted in any way,” he said, noting he wanted to have maximum flexibility in how he uses the property.

Council member Kevin Harris said land owners must follow what the city outlines as permitted uses.

“The reason why you’re in a neighborhood business zoning is because you’re in a neighborhood, and we don’t want the intensity that comes with being general business,” he said.

Harris also said he was unaware that the applicant wished to operate a car rental service; he initially thought this was just in the interest of operating later hours.

“I’m a small-business owner,” Garapati responded. “Your rules suck. Your regulations suck. I’m going through hell as a businessman.”

What they’re saying

Multiple neighbors spoke at the meeting.

Resident Lauren Magnante said she and her husband bought their home on Hillary Cove, which is adjacent to the property, in 2023. The same year, Garapati bought his lot and started making changes, she said.

“Had we known this property was going to be converted ... into a commercial site, we never would have purchased this home,” she said. “Our lives have been impacted, and our neighborhood has been going through a lot.”

Other neighbors echoed her concerns and said the business is already operating past 10 p.m. regularly.

What else?

Council member Anne Duffy expressed her frustration with the applicant, stating that the way he had treated city staff was unacceptable.

“We support small business, but what we don’t support, sir, is anyone interfering, threatening people at their homes, interrupting their safe haven,” she said. “And you, sir, don’t live in Cedar Park. You live in Steiner Ranch, which is in Austin, so at the end of your day, you can go home while the rest of these businesses that you’ve allowed on this property continue on, and they pay you rent, and that’s fantastic, but that does not coincide with the vision that we have in our city.”

Garapati said it’s unfortunate that he is next to people’s homes, but he is still going to run a business.

“First of all, let me tell you, since we bought the property, it’s a commercial property. There will be commercial activity,” he said.

Sam Schaffer covers city governments in Cedar Park, Leander and Liberty Hill. You'll see him at city council meetings for each city -- feel free to say hi and bring up any topics you want the paper to know about. Before working at Community Impact, Sam cut his teeth at various outlets in Virginia, where he moved after growing up in Florida.

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