In a community with an overwhelming number of college students, Lake Walk Town Center is geared towards fulfilling the needs of Bryan-College Station residents outside of academia.
Class of ‘86 graduates Spencer Clements and David Segers gained ownership of the Traditions Club in Bryan in 2009, and Lake Walk Town Center was formed as an evolution of this project. Lake Walk Town Center features The Stella Hotel, Lake Atlas, P.O.V. Coffeehouse, MatureWell Lifestyle Center and will be the future home to additional retail and restaurant options.
The Stella Hotel functions as the anchor for the Lake Walk development, as opposed to more traditional approach using a department store. Various community events have been centered around the hotel, including concert series.
“We looked at bringing in other hotel developers, and we talked to a few,” Clements said. “But at the end of the day, we just decided to do it ourselves. We wanted to deliver the hotel that we felt the community needed. We felt like we knew the community- we live here, we’ve been working here almost nine years, and we wanted the ability to bring a custom experience to Bryan/College Station.”
Clements explained that every design component of the development was purposeful, from streetscape and landscape to lighting. The area has hosted events put on by A&M departments, but is meant to provide distance from the commotion of campus.
“We want out of town visitors to be blown away by what this community has to offer. When they return to their home city, home state, or home country, we want them to say nothing but great things about Bryan-College Station,” Clements said. “The idea is that we’ll have a culture of high-tech businesses here in town that you can graduate from A&M, and stay in Bryan/College Station to work if you want to.”
Lake Atlas serves as the first and only body of water available for open-water competitive swimming events. Segers said bringing health and wellness to Lake Walk is of high importance to him. He has been a part of planning events including breast cancer walks, a triathlon, and a marathon.
“One of our tenants is CHI Joseph, with their MatureWell building, which focuses on wellness for people ages fifty-five and up,” Segers said. “We thought it was important to add that aspect to our community, and we’ve created events to focus on it.”
Lake Walk will continue development with office space, greater food options and eventually a new hotel. Segers and Clements hope to provide a central location for the professional population in B-CS.
“Every day we come across somebody who is amazed this facility is out here,” Segers said. “I think it’ll be the focal point of non-students. There’s lots of offerings out there for the students, but this is a little bit out of the way of the university. It gives folks who have graduated, but are still in the community, a place to call home.”
Peggy Trott, general manager at The Stella, works with Clements and Seger to implement new programs at Lake Walk. Trott said the aim of this new town center as including all members of the community, and those visiting.
“We look forward to the future growth. We think that the more restaurants out there, the more people will be able to experience the area,” Trott said. “We believe what we’re doing for the center is bringing people into college station that may not have been here before. They’re going to see an elevated experience.”