Any reality TV home and food fan knows about Fixer Upper and the Magnolia TV franchise. Joanne and Chip Gaines, the stars, have built a whole portfolio of programming, magazines, books, hotels, a cable network, and a vast shopping platform off of this franchise.
The physical set for this Gaines portfolio is Waco, Texas, halfway between Dallas and Austin. To an uncommon degree, the Gaines have framed the appeal of this enterprise around the housing stock, people, and culture of Waco. They have vigorously marketed Waco as a place to live and a place to visit. An important piece of this set is the legitimately beautiful campus of Baylor University. It is an exciting, upward-moving university with all of the accoutrements of big-time sports, a world-class medical center, and extensive campus amenities.
Of course, this effort to market Waco had to overcome a very troubled history including lynching, natural disasters, and the siege and tragedy of the Branch Davidians.
As a result of all of this effective marketing of place, Waco has become a destination in its own right. The magnet of this destination is Magnolia Silos, a multiplex of shopping, eating, and play, opened in 2015. The Silos are the centerpiece of a large development that includes furniture and home goods stores, restaurants, bakeries, food trucks, and lots of theme shops.
The “Magnolia Effect” in Waco has included vast increases in tourism, the proliferation of new restaurants and hotels, Airbnbs, and a dramatic bidding-up of commercial and residential real estate. A long-time resident of Waco we met described his “mixed feelings” about the upsurge that has happened, a sentiment that seems to be very widespread. Like gentrification, some local businesses have been priced out of their traditional locations, and property owners have experienced the mixed bag of higher property values, increased congestion, and higher property taxes.
What was remarkable to observe at Magnolia Silos was the anticipation, excitement, and joy of so many diverse people upon their arrival. In the middle of the grounds is a baseball field, where families gather and play pickup ball. This commercially-driven enterprise has become a modern destination and playground, mixing shopping with recreation. It is a private sector version of the parks, zoos, and museums of another era, all mixed up with sophisticated marketing and commerce.
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