Mineral Wells Area News

By Amy Bearden

Randy Nix, lead investor and developer of the downtown Mineral Wells renaissance spoke to a room full of eager listeners at the Chamber of Commerce’s most recent Friday Forum Series held at Holiday Hills Country Club.

It was just a few years ago that Nix gave a crowd of chamber members a call to action to find their passions for the community of Mineral Wells and act on it. There is no doubt many people listened and took the charge seriously.

“Early on we identified some things that we needed to address and slowly but surely those things are getting fixed. The boarded up buildings are no more,” said Nix. “As I walk downtown, I realize there are more than 40 new businesses in the area in the last three years. Twenty new businesses in 2021 alone in the downtown area with another 15-20 likely next year.”

Nix told the crowd that those new 20 businesses are not only supporting their families but employing fifty people who are in turn supporting their families.

“There is your job creation that we needed and there is one of the benefits of this downtown development,” he said.

Nix talked about the criticism he and others received as this renaissance began and that some naysayers wanted to know what all this development and tourism was going do for the rest of the town. He pointed to the job creation that has occurred already and the taxation that goes along with these new businesses that goes back into the community. Nix told the group that former City Manager Lance Howerton once said the criticism would stop with just a few victories in this vision. Nix says that is certainly happening.

“This city has had a few wins and the negative voices have been silenced and I don’t think it’s going to rise again because we are going to continue to have wins. But we still have a long way to go. The locals see the changes and are proud, but if you are an outsider from Dallas/Ft. Worth with an expectation of a resort destination that we are starting to build ourselves as, we’re still not there,” said Nix. “Thats ok. We’re still building.”

Nix pointed to the Crazy Water Plaza that he and wife Misty created as a public benefit corporation and told the crowd to go see it and enjoy the six businesses that are now operating inside there and creating a statement for the downtown area.

“Go check it out and you will see how we are going to continue to build on the tourism in this downtown.”

Nix says the development of the Crazy Water initial phase is completed and they are ready to begin the next step, which is developing the spas.

“The investment board is looking at what it is going to cost to finish out the basement and put in the Crazy Water spas and the bathhouses to what it used to be, and we are possibly moving forward with that. The local architect has drawn up the plans and we hope to put that out to bid,” said Nix.

Their goal is to have those completed by the end of 2022 Nix said ambitiously to a loud eruption of applause in the room. He also said this next evolution would in no way step on the toes of the already existing Crazy Water Bath House.

“This is big and Scott and Carol Elder, who are already a vendor in the Crazy Water Plaza, will be partnering in this and you will continue to see the synergy among the people of this community to move these plans forward,” said Nix.

Nix also told the crowd they are looking to open a “speakeasy” with a vision of a bowling alley and a game room that once existed in the basement to be reopened as well. The space would take up about one-third of the basement of the Crazy Water and Nix says while it won’t be open in 2022, the plans are being put in place with beautiful intent.

“Any good business plan is simply that. It’s a plan and you have to be able to evolve with that and make changes with any new information and changes that are happening,” he said referring to the Crazy Water plans that have changed time and time again as the project developed.

An Airbnb style was the original plan for the Crazy Water as investors did not want to interfere and compete with the already enormous project happening at the Baker Hotel. Nix said when Covid-19 happened, banks would absolutely not finance hospitality, so the plans for the Crazy shifted to an apartment style venue. Every room at the Crazy is equipped with kitchens and can stand alone as apartments, because early on in the project, that is the only way financing could occur, according to Nix.

The bank funding the Crazy Water project eventually relaxed their requirements, allowing for two floors of apartments, two floors for Airbnb and a flex floor of rooms, depending on the demand needed at the time. Nix said there has now been another shift in the plans.

“Jeff Triggers of La Corsha Hospitality is the hotelier for the Baker Hotel, and now the plans are to allow him and his team to manage the Crazy Water Plaza, too. He will be taking over and operate the Crazy Water Plaza as a full service hotel,” said Nix.

The Crazy Water Plaza success has proven that the concept of rooms for overnight stays are currently needed downtown and because the Baker is still three years away, there is a need for a full service hotel now, according to Nix, and Triggers will oversee the latest shift of the Crazy Water to a full blown hotel.

“Jeff Triggers is the perfect one to integrate all the things that are going on. There is just this perfect synergy happening. Anybody that thought there was this push-pull and there was no cooperation between the Baker and downtown are absolutely wrong and this will put all of that to rest,” said Nix. “All of us are about evolving downtown to support tourism.”

Nix went on to tell forum members that there is still so much that needs to occur outside of the hotels to make Mineral Wells thrive again. He mentioned a number of other businesses that are in the works for this year which include a high-end vintage toy store geared toward creating experiences for kids. He also mentioned Outfitters 76067 that will be modeled around the existing concept of the flagship Market 76067, but be geared towards the outdoors. Also, an open-air market is planned for the old Davidson Hardware (Seaman) building and the Ritz theatre will be turned into an overnight movie theater venue for private events. These were just a few he mentioned.

When Nix finished his update of the downtown progress, Chamber of Commerce President David May told the crowd that change is here.

“There are things happening. The word is out about Mineral Wells,” said May.