About

Creating opportunities for Investment in downtown Belton, Texas. Imagine Belton serves as a guide for future growth and development in the Downtown, striving to capitalize on the unique feature of the plan area.

In April 2021, the Belton Economic Development Corporation (BEDC) engaged Covey Landscape Architects to provide concepts and materials for a marketing plan for the greater Downtown, Belton area. This exercise required extensive data collection to assess the plan area’s physical and environmental conditions and the corresponding opportunities and constraints. An Advisory Committee was launched to help guide the planning process and ultimately the vision for this plan. The Committee was made up of stakeholders, elected and appointed officials, downtown business owners, City of Belton staff, and BEDC staff.

In April 2022, the Imagine Belton was presented, in its final format, to the BEDC Board of Directors. Given the City of Belton’s participation in the plan development, a joint meeting of the BEDC Board, Belton City Council, and TIRZ Board was held to present the plan and determine support. Imagine Belton was well received by all including the Bell County representatives and a joint resolution supporting the initiative was adopted by the City of Belton, Bell County Commissioners Court, and BEDC Board of Directors.

Imagine Belton is a work in progress, as the City of Belton has recently engaged Covey Landscape Architects to create a downtown overlay and development guidelines for the plan area. This is vital for development to occur as per the plan and will streamline the process for future investment in downtown Belton.

Subdistricts

Dividing the plan area into subdistricts allows each unique area to better define its role within Downtown and for recommendations to respond to their corresponding issues. The six subdistricts were determined based on delineation of streets, land uses, and character considerations. Each subdistrict has key projects and land use recommendations that are intended to guide future development in the area. Together, these subdistricts create a cohesive and connected Downtown.

Effectively what is the core of Downtown Belton, the Central Downtown subdistrict is what most people think of when referencing Downtown Belton. This area is home to a variety of businesses, government agencies, dining and shopping. The eastern portion of the subdistrict deals with some of the more prominent flooding issues affecting Downtown.

The fields subdistrict is just north of Central Downtown and home to a number of Belton ISD properties, churches, businesses and residential homes. There are few large tracts of undeveloped or underdeveloped property that is responsible for the subdistrict’s name sake.

The South Main subdistrict is the first impression visitors see when arriving into Downtown from the south with access from both I-14 and I-35. The street is predominately commercial, but the sub-categories of uses varies from neighborhood supporting to auto-oriented businesses.

With the exception of commercial located along the north side of 6th Avenue, the North 6th subdistrict is a largely residential neighborhood. These homes include both stately and historically significant structures, small single-family homes, and a few smaller apartments.

Residential, park space, and public buildings define the West 2nd subdistrict. Nolan Creek and the corresponding Nolan Creek Trail make up the eastern boundary.

The University Heights subdistrict is comprised of a significant amount of land that is part of UMHB. The north bank of Nolan Creek has a large bluff spanned with large lot single-family homes.