Bealls is coming to Jasper. Construction is underway, and the doors are expected to open Fall 2026. For a community that has watched one JEDCO-backed project after another fall short — broken contracts, dissolved LLCs, unrecovered public funds — this one could be different.
For Jasper residents, another shopping option in town is a straightforward win — and no one should lose sight of that. But being a citizen means carrying two responsibilities at once. One is being a customer. The other is paying attention to how public money is spent on your behalf and whether the officials managing it are holding anyone to the agreements they signed. JEDCO has a history of not doing that. The contracts exist. The accountability never comes.
JEDCO has a chance here to break the cycle. Not just to cut a check and move on, but to hold every line of this contract to the contract — the jobs, the wages, the timeline, all of it. The community is watching. The recently signed contract has not been made public, but before the ribbon cutting, Jasper deserves to know exactly what was promised, who is benefiting, and what happens if those promises go unmet.
Here is how we got here.
It Started With an Empty Building
The old Bealls location — later rebranded Stage — closed before 2020. The 28,000-square-foot space sat vacant ever since, accumulating damage while the building’s owner, Phelan Investments — the family investment firm of Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan — made no meaningful effort to maintain it.
The broker who presented the deal to the JEDCO board said it plainly: “Five years ago the ceiling was fine. Now it’s not. The floor was fine, now it’s not. There was a roof leak that caused damage. The humidity. Just a multitude of things that created more damage than there was five years ago.” He also noted that vagrants had moved into the vacant center.
That deterioration is why the renovation costs grew. It is also why public money is now part of the equation.
The Bealls conversation began at the July 22, 2025 JEDCO board meeting, when a board member updated the board about the project he had been working on.
A motion was made, seconded, and voted on — without any discussion of whether a Type A EDC has legal authority to fund a retail project at all. The letter of intent passed. Ronnie Sample voted no.
When the floor was opened for any further discussion, Sample spoke up. He asked why JEDCO was contributing public money to a shopping center that should be able to pay for itself. Board member Ky Griffin responded directly: “You’re being foolish.”
Board member Tressie Morgan, drawing on her own business experience with the Phelan family, offered what she intended as reassurance: Phelan Investments had already made their money many times over. They would do nothing to help Jasper grow. They did not care whether the building sat empty. Her point was that JEDCO needed to step in because the landlord wouldn’t.
But that argument deserves a second look. If a private property owner has no interest in maintaining his building or investing in this community — why is the public filling that gap? And if this building belonged to anyone other than a Texas House Speaker’s family investment firm, would the board have moved this quickly to make the numbers work?
Sample pressed further. He pointed to the Jewel Bistro — a restaurant that had already received JEDCO funding and closed — and asked what happens if Bealls doesn’t perform. “We have contracts,” came the response. The board president echoed it. Sample was not satisfied. “That’s all you got is a piece of paper,” he said. “They ain’t got to pay you back, right…Marvin?”
Board member Marvin McDonald replied: “Good chance they may not pay back. I put it that way.”
The vote was already done. But would the discussion have changed anything? The exchange that followed suggests not. These are not uninformed people. They PRIDE themselves on being experienced business leaders who understand contracts, risk, and due diligence. What the conversation reveals is not ignorance — it is priority. They were not looking for red flags. They were looking for a path forward, and a non-binding letter of intent was enough to give them one. That same logic has driven JEDCO’s failed decision-making for years.
By October, the renovation estimate had come down to $826,000, the employee count had grown to 18, and JEDCO’s contribution had been set at $160,000.
The Money
Total renovation budget: $826,000.
Bealls — the Florida-based retailer, a separate and distinct company from the old Texas Bealls that became Stage — is putting in approximately $440,000. That covers their buildout, inventory preparation, and pre-opening operations. Phelan Investments is contributing $360,000, though that number did not come easily. The landlord’s original offer was $160,000. Getting him to more than double that took years of negotiation.
JEDCO is covering the remaining $160,000.
The broker was direct about what that public money means: “That $160,000 honestly just makes it look to where we could do it versus we can’t do it. It’s that tight of a deal. If this money is not granted, Bealls can’t come to town.”
The public is not supplementing a deal that already works. The public is the difference between a deal that happens and one that doesn’t — bridging the gap between what a private retailer can afford and what a private building owner, who let his property deteriorate for five years, is willing to spend.
What Was Promised and What Was Approved
At the October 3 meeting, Bealls presented a commitment of 18 employees once the store opens — three managers during the construction phase, then 15 sales staff at wages starting around $15 an hour. Board President Bill Grant pressed for a wage floor to be written into the final contract. The Bealls representative indicated that could be incorporated. The lease with the landlord runs ten years with five 5-year renewal options — a potential 35-year commitment to the Jasper market.
A second tenant is also in the picture. Shoe Department, a brand under Shoe Show — a privately held chain with more than 1,200 stores in 48 states — is interested in opening approximately 9,000 square feet next door. But they will not come without Bealls as an anchor. Bealls first, then the shoe store.
Questions were raised about whether JEDCO — organized as a Type A corporation primarily designed to fund industrial and primary jobs — was even the appropriate vehicle for a retail deal like this. A public hearing was suggested. City council involvement was recommended. Those concerns were acknowledged, set aside, and the board moved to a vote.
Whether those terms made it into the final signed agreement, the public does not yet know. JEDCO has not released the contract.
Board President Bill Grant acknowledged the contradiction in his own words. He said on the record that he personally does not believe JEDCO should be funding retail ventures — that JEDCO’s focus should be manufacturing and industrial development that generates real payroll. He supported the motion anyway. In his words, the prior board’s letter of intent was a commitment he felt honor-bound to keep.
That is worth sitting with. The new board president backed a project he does not personally believe in, to honor a non-binding letter issued by a board that is no longer in place. A letter of intent carries no legal obligation — that is the very definition of the document. Yet here it was treated as sacred, while binding contracts with companies such as Provalus among others were never enforced.
In Jasper, it seems, the documents that bind no one are the ones that get honored.
The board approved the funding. Ronnie Sample voted no — as he had in July.
Watch the Receipts
Bealls is a real company. It has been in business since 1905. It is debt-free, fourth-generation family owned, and has a Texas distribution center that signals genuine market commitment. This is not a fly-by-night LLC with no assets to its name.
But the community has heard promising presentations before. It has seen letters of intent treated as sacred and contracts treated as suggestions. It has watched public money leave and accountability never arrive.
The difference this time has to be enforcement. The jobs must be documented. The wages must be verified. The timeline must be held. If Bealls does not perform, JEDCO must be willing to do what it has never been willing to do — act on it.
Many in Jasper are genuinely looking forward to Fall 2026. For shoppers, a Bealls coming back to town is a good thing — and that matters. Whether it turns out to be a good deal for JEDCO is a separate question, and the answer will be up to them.