The details
Paradise Engineers is designing the project for Iron Realty.
The nearly 7.4-acre property at 2002 Hwy. 95, Bastrop, which is currently vacant, is east of the Public Works Department and south of the Bastrop Youth Baseball and Softball Organization’s fields.
Some context
Developers did not need a zoning change from an employment center—a designation for a mix of development uses, including commercial, retail and office—to a planned development district—which allows for “more intense building types that provide more lifestyle choices”—to move forward with their plans, as previously reported by Community Impact.
However, James Cowey, Bastrop’s director of development services, told Bastrop City Council that Iron Realty sought a planned development district designation to better partner with the city.
“A planned development district allows us to work with the developers to come up with designs and standards,” Cowey said during an Oct. 1 town hall meeting. “They can’t deviate from that design, and through this process, we can address drainage, access, traffic, etc.”
Zooming in
Following concerns from local leaders and residents in October about an expected increase in traffic along Hwy. 95, city officials met with representatives from Paradise Engineers, The Goodman Corp. and the Texas Department of Transportation to discuss the launch of an overall traffic study.
The overall traffic study is analyzing Hwy. 95 from Mesquite Street to Hawthorne Street, according to city documents.
“The developer has begun the discussion with TxDOT and has received informal approval for right and left turn lanes into their development from Hwy. 95,” Cowey said in a Dec. 9 staff report.
He added that the developers will be responsible for extending Linden Street by approximately 56 feet to Hwy. 95.
The outlook
City officials will continue to work with representatives from Paradise Engineers, The Goodman Corp. and TxDOT.
“We're addressing the whole area as far as traffic,” Cowey said during the Dec. 9 meeting.
