The Holdsworth Center is planned for an 8.8 acre site of a larger 44 acre waterfront tract in West Austin.[/caption]Although the center will not be geared specifically to teachers, staffers from six school districts at a time will be invited to attend the institute, she said. Applications from the first group of districts are being reviewed, she said.
The center has been working with local neighbors to discuss its planned unit development, or PUD, that will define the zoning and restrictions governing the tract’s development, Rogers said.
“The PUD application is being filed with the city of Austin March 1,” she said.
The property is zoned residential and would need to be reclassified to move forward with the project, Rogers said. The timeline depends on the length of time needed to complete the PUD process, but the center hopes to begin construction in early 2018, she said, with an estimated opening date in 2021.
By housing center participants on site, Rogers said the traffic impact should be minimized. Construction of the center will be “within current environmental guidelines,” she said.
The center is named for the mother of Charles Butt, the chairman and CEO of H-E-B who donated $100 million to the project.
Its architecture will feature a nature retreat atmosphere, Rogers said. The center has had interest from Austin City Council members as well as neighbors who have requested whether the facility can be used by other nonprofit groups, she said.
“We’re open to that,” Rogers said. “We’d like the center to benefit the local community as well as the state.”
