'Fixer Upper': Chip and Joanna turn Waco into hot spot
With the success of HGTV's 'Fixer Upper', Waco, Texas has seen a huge tourism boom thanks Chip and Joanna Gaines' popularity
Though Chip and Joanna Gaines are temporarily off the airwaves, they’re hard at work “fixing up” their Waco, Tex., hometown. The home-improvement power couple has invested $10.4 million to expand their retail wonderland.
Earlier this week, news broke of the Gaines’ plan to expand their “retail village” at Magnolia Market at the Silos, with construction already underway, according to The Waco Tribune-Herald.
Workers weld on the back portion of the new Magnolia Coffee Shop and furniture showroom part of a $10.4 million expansion of Magnolia Market at the Silos. (Rod Aydelotte/Waco Tribune-Herald via AP)
The update will feature a relocated historic church, more shops, gardens, a whiffle ball field, and a splash pad designed around a “green lawn” on the 4.9-acre site, Southern Living reports. The entire project is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
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A film crew arrives at an old historic church that will be relocated and renovated to be the the new Magnolia Coffee Shop and furniture showroom, part of a $10.4 million expansion of Magnolia Market at the Silos. (Rod Aydelotte/Waco Tribune-Herald via AP)
The proposal submitted to the city envisions the project as an "economic catalyst" for the city of Waco.
While ambitious, the Gaines’ construction plans for the overhaul are simply feeding commercial demand. A whopping 2.7 million tourists visited the city of Waco in 2018, with 1.6 million visiting Magnolia Market, which draws roughly 30,000 tourists per week.
Workers brick in a portion of the new Magnolia Coffee Shop and furniture showroom part of a $10.4 million expansion of Magnolia Market at the Silos. (Rod Aydelotte/Waco Tribune-Herald via AP)
If you’re not lucky enough to hop on a plane for a quick jaunt to Texas, however, Chip and Jo will be back on television soon enough.
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Though Chip and Joanna Gaines are temporarily off the airwaves, they’re hard at work “fixing up” their Waco, Tex., hometown. (Getty)
This spring, Discovery, Inc., and Magnolia announced that the couple's upcoming cable network will replace Discovery's DIY Network and is slated to be unveiled in the summer of 2020.
The yet-to-be-named channel, which is currently hooked to more than 52 million homes in America, will feature long-form programming on topics such as community, home, garden, food, wellness and design – and, of course, re-runs of “Fixer Upper.”
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.