A view of the entrance at Magnolia Market at the Silos in Waco, Texas.
Maria Halkias | The Dallas Morning News (TNS)
WACO, Texas — Chip and Joanna Gaines aren’t on the Fortune 500 list yet, but their corporation is big enough to need its own headquarters. Their staff moves into Magnolia’s downtown Waco headquarters this week.
The couple spent $20 million converting the former Waco Tribune-Herald building for their multifaceted entertainment, retail and real estate operations. The city kicked in $4.4 million in economic development dollars, according to published reports.
The 110,000-square-foot newspaper building was built in 1950 and housed the Tribune-Herald’s newsroom until last year when staff moved into a Waco office building.
Magnolia’s new headquarters is a 10-minute walk to the Magnolia Market at the Silos shopping district, which opened in 2015. The Gaineses expanded the district to include a church, a small baseball diamond, several shops, Magnolia Press coffee and the Silos Baking Co.
Magnolia Press coffee will operate in a mezzanine area and lounge. The redesign includes two breakrooms and 20 conference areas including a big one they’re calling the All Hands Meeting area that can hold 200 people.
