Josh McKay, Director and co-owner of Hill Country Indoor, addresses Bee Cave City Council regarding amendments made to the project's concept plan.[/caption]Developers requested council members approve an amendment to the project’s planned development district that would increase its maximum participant load from 198 members to 413 members—more than twice the amount originally approved in 2015—as well as add a four-story parking garage. The district is currently under construction on an 8.6-acre tract at the corner of Bee Cave Parkway and Skaggs Drive.
“It was unrealistic to think when this was approved there would be only 198 people there,” said Adrian Overstreet, the managing partner of a group that owns 20 acres of property near the project site.
He said with the additional parking spaces, the developers are avoiding members parking on adjacent residential streets and urged the City Council to approve the amendment.
However, Mayor Pro Tem Bill Goodwin said the city, desiring the project to succeed, has no choice but to approve the changes, including the parking garage. If the project fails, he questioned what Bee Cave would do with the empty building.
“City staff was extremely skeptical of the [project’s] occupancy loads at the time,” he said. “City Council ignored the staff advice at that point. I voted for this project but it was a vote I regret.
“The city needs to do what it can to make sure the business succeeds and the parking garage is part of this.”
Citing the increase in participants, City Council required the developers, including former pro baseball player Jeff Kent, to pay $65,000 as mitigation for the added traffic the facility will contribute to the intersections of Bee Cave Parkway and RR 620 as well as Bee Cave Parkway and West Highway 71.
The project will have a soft opening Sept. 1 and its 322-space parking garage is slated to be complete around Oct. 1, the project’s architect Jude Langle said.
