Lorena: $2.5M sewer line to economic growth

​​LORENA – Construction has started on a $2.5 million sanitary sewer trunk line that will allow for the development of about 300 acres in Lorena along Interstate 35.

The sewer line will stretch three miles along I-35 in Lorena and is expected to attract hundreds of homes, retail, restaurants and office space to an undeveloped 300-acre area.

Retail development is expected to start in the area served by the line as early as next year, and housing development is expected to follow by 2020, said Lorena Mayor Pro Tem Bill Coleman, who is also chairman of the Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) No. 1 East board of directors.

By 2036, the initial phase of the TIRZ is expected to attract more than 367 new homes, 85 acres of new retail and restaurant development and 320,000 sf of office and light industrial development to the area.