Dave & Buster's opens at Post Oak Mall on Oct. 26. The project cost $12.8 million and fills 31,000 square feet in the space Conn's left in 2024. It's opening during the same season that College Station is asking what the whole mall, and Harvey Road around it, should become.
Those two tracks look separate, but they're heading the same way. The leases signed this year favor eating, playing and spending an afternoon, and that matches what people told the city's planners they want from the mall. For anyone in Emerald Forest, which the neighborhood HOA places at State Highway 6 and Emerald Parkway, the shopping center up the freeway at Harvey Road is changing faster than the plan for it.
Six Storefronts Changed Hands Over One Summer
Here's how the mall's 2026 turnover went, in order:
- May: Manchu Wok closed in the food court.
- July 18: Vans closed after nearly 15 years in Suite 2028.
- July 19: Wacked Out Weiner closed its mall location in Unit 4038.
- Early September: Oliver's Boutique moved into the old Vans space. It sells clothing and accessories and also runs as a bakery.
- Sept. 6: Asia Wok opened in the food court where Manchu Wok used to be.
- Oct. 26: Dave & Buster's opens at 1502 Harvey Road, Suite 100.
Look at what came in. A sneaker store's space now holds a shop where you can also buy baked goods. A food court counter went dark for a few months and reopened with a new operator. The former Conn's space became a place built around "Eat, Drink, Play," with half-price games on Sundays and Wednesdays. Construction on that space started earlier this year and added a new service yard, so this was a major build-out, not a quick refresh.
The anchors haven't changed. CBL, the mall's owner, still lists Dillard's Women's & Kids, Dillard's Men's & Home, Murdoch's Ranch & Home Supply and JCP. CBL's property news section says "no recent news." So no ownership change or big redevelopment announcement is behind this summer's turnover. It happened one lease at a time.
What People Told the City About the Mall
While those leases were being signed, the city ran its first round of public input on the Harvey District Plan. The planning area covers Harvey Road from Texas Avenue to State Highway 6 and is bounded by Dominik Drive, University Oaks, the Wolf Pen Creek Trail, Holleman Drive and the northern edge of Wolf Pen Creek Park. Planners split it into four subareas: Post Oak Hub, Oakside, Trailside and Texas Hub. WTAW reported that Post Oak Mall is one of the study's subareas.
Principal Planner Heather Wade published the city's summary of that input on Sept. 22. Of the 265 people who finished the community survey, 52% rated the district fair and 34% rated it poor or very poor. The condition of Post Oak Mall was among the concerns people raised most often, along with aging buildings, vacant properties and large parking lots.
Participants didn't ask for a teardown. The summary says they generally wanted "thoughtful reinvestment" that keeps the businesses, natural features and places people already value. Their ideas for the mall itself:
- Renovate and reactivate the existing mall
- Add mixed-use development
- Bring in more restaurants and entertainment
- Create community or event space
- Reduce the large areas of surface parking
- Improve connections to Wolf Pen Creek
The city added a clear caveat: these ideas "do not reflect agreement on a single future for the mall." Still, "restaurants and entertainment" is on that list, and a restaurant and arcade is set to open in the former Conn's space about five weeks after the summary came out. In the same survey, 59% of respondents said they'd like the district to become a mixed-use destination.
The Macy's Box Is the Next Piece
The most-watched vacancy at the mall is the former Macy's building. At a May 18 workshop, city staff named the Macy's site as their preferred location for a future recreation center out of three options. Community Impact later reported that the council agreed the rec center should go in the long-vacant Macy's building, but no formal action was taken.
That makes it a direction, not a decision. The project would need voter approval, and the city was considering a bond vote as early as 2027. If it moves forward, a public recreation center would give the mall the "community or event space" that survey respondents listed. That would be the city doing the same kind of reuse that Dave & Buster's just did with Conn's.
Council member Bob Yancy suggested future plans could build on nearby investments at Wolf Pen Creek and possibly create new entertainment destinations in the corridor. Wolf Pen Creek is already busy this fall. Food Truck Wednesdays run there every second and fourth Wednesday from 5 to 8 p.m. through Nov. 11. Farmers Fest 2026 comes to the Wolf Pen Creek Amphitheater at 1015 Colgate Drive on Oct. 16, starting at 5 p.m., with Dylan Gossett, The Jack Wharff Band and Buffalo Traffic Jam. Better connections between the mall and Wolf Pen Creek were on the participants' list, and the same summary says missing sidewalks, uncomfortable crossings and gaps between destinations came up often.
Why Harvey Road Gets This Much Attention
City data presented to the council in late May shows why. Harvey Road carries up to 25,000 vehicles a day, and businesses in the corridor recorded more than 15 million visits in 2025. Much of the corridor was built between the 1970s and 1990s, and the city's Comprehensive Plan has listed it as a redevelopment priority since at least 2009.
So the city has known about this corridor for 17 years, and plenty of people already come to it. The plan's job is to give those visits more reasons to stay. Wade described the goal as "a framework that supports reinvestment, connectivity, economic vitality and a stronger sense of place."
The Calendar From Here
The opening date is set. The plan is still taking input. Here's what's coming up:
| When | What | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Oct. 13, 2026 | Working Group Meeting 3, on mobility and connectivity | Scheduled |
| Oct. 26, 2026 | Dave & Buster's opens at 1502 Harvey Road | Announced |
| Nov. 10, 2026 | Working Group Meeting 4, on character, public realm, parks, trails and subareas | Scheduled |
| Dec. 8, 2026 | Working Group Meeting 5 | Scheduled |
| Nov. 2026 to Jan. 2027 | Scenario workshop, online scenario explorer, draft plan open house | No dates or venues posted yet |
| Feb. to Apr. 2027 | Planning & Zoning and City Council hearings, final adoption | Projected |
The community survey is closed. The city's plan page still links to an online idea and comment form. The full Harvey District Plan page has the schedule and the "What We Heard" summaries from the open house, workshops and pop-up events. The Nov. 10 meeting is the one to watch if the mall's ties to Wolf Pen Creek and its public spaces matter to you, since those topics are on that agenda.
By the time the draft plan reaches an open house this winter, Dave & Buster's will have been open for weeks. Planners will have real foot traffic to look at for the kind of tenant people said they wanted.
If you live near Harvey Road and wonder how the mall's changes might affect your plans, whether you're thinking about selling, buying nearby or holding a rental in the corridor, Northgate Realty Group watches these city meetings so you don't have to. Give us a call and we'll talk through what the Harvey District Plan could mean for your street, in English or Spanish. Whoop!
