The roughly 60-acre site along Lohmans Crossing represents one of two developments needed to extend Main Street beyond its current dead end at Medical Drive. The extended roadway has been discussed numerous times at the city of Lakeway as a way to provide residents an alternative to driving RM 620. The extension requires two developments on open land to the west of The Oaks at Lakeway shopping center.
Beginning construction on one of the developments may kick start development on the other 36-acre site owned by Stratus Properties, said Bill Hayes, Legend Communities chief operating officer.
“We feel if we can get this going and started, that this is really one way to incentivize Stratus to be able to do whatever they are going to do to get Main Street built,” he said.
Hayes hosted the meeting and presented a set of draft renderings that the developer will use to pursue new zoning for the property, which if approved by the city of Lakeway, would entail a planned unit development, or PUD. Obtaining such an agreement officially would be a zoning change. In 2019, Lakeway City Council approved residential zoning for a 45-acre portion of the site and then followed up in 2020 to add commercial zoning for 11 acres along Lohmans Crossing.
Several iterations of the development have been publicly discussed since 2016 when the developer first stepped forward to buy the property. Early drafts for the project included the construction of civic centers, hotels and as many as 300 homes, but those plans met public opposition in 2018.The latest designs carry some previous ideas about public green space and combining commercial, retail and residential spaces. However, the latest ideas from Legend Communities also carry residential zoning changes for major portions of the property—ideas first raised in 2019 to reduce housing density. Hayes also said as proposed there would be a buffer between this new development and residents who live on Rolling Green Drive.
