In the next few months, the north side of Hennessey will change in a big way. Scott Hajek is not wasting any time developing the land he owns north of Hennessey called the Parks Addition.
Hajek said, “this is probably the largest commercial development Hennessey has seen since the 60’s oil boom.”
Hajek said, “The Parks Addition is named after William Parks who was the owner of the first bar in Hennessey, called The Farmers Place. Shortly after the land run, Parks used the profits from the bar to buy the land on the north edge of town.”
Later the land was owned by George and Elva Hawks. Hajek’s grandfather, father, and then Scott, rented it to farm. Scott then had the opportunity to purchase the land and started to make plans to develop it.
One major stumbling block was the lack of sewer access north of Hwy 51. It took many years, but the Town of Hennessey, with the help of grant money, built out the needed lift station to connect this area into the city sewer system.
The new roads have been laid out and will be paved this spring.
Several buildings are currently under construction on the property, including Hennessey Processing, Chisholm Oil & Gas office, and this past week, the Family Dollar store has started construction on the frame of their new store.
The biggest project yet is the new Howdy Plaza truck stop. Groundwork started this week on the triangle-shaped property on the west side of Hwy 81. This will be a large facility with room for about 50 trucks and several restaurants. The property was purchased from Hajek and is being developed by Jay Ruiz from Crescent.
Hajek recently purchased 139 acres at public auction ½ mile north of Hennessey on the west side of Hwy 81 and will also develop it. Hajek said he is actively pursuing businesses to develop these properties.
The Parks Addition is in Hennessey city limits and will add to the tax base.
