The property, comprising 77.9 acres southwest of the intersection at 183A Toll and RM 2243, is only allowed to be developed with 35,000 square feet of commercial space until a PUD amendment is approved by the city, according to agenda documents.
Developers will have to resubmit a PUD amendment application if they wish to build more than 35,000 square feet of commercial space at the property moving forward.
What’s going on?
The vote mirrors action by the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission July 24. The commission recommended denial of the PUD amendment request, and members of the commission said they wished more information was made available about the project.
Council members echoed that sentiment Aug. 21.
“There’s just too much ambiguity with the project,” City Council member David McDonald told Community Impact.
He noted a lack of specific timelines in the amendment request, and he said he doesn’t like the idea of the project being able to pull from city water.
“There’s a lot of information, but when you look at the amendment they submitted, there was nothing concrete,” McDonald said.
Other council members had more reasons for their vote to deny.
“It wasn’t sustainable,” council member Michael Herrera said, noting he would like to see the project come back to council with more sustainable guidelines in place in the future.
How we got here
iLand Development Group’s letter of intent said the amendment was to update PUD language regarding phasing, the lagoon and hotel delivery, but it was the latest in a series of issues for the project.
An agreement to develop the land fell through after a different developer failed to uphold their end of the deal with the owner in 2018.
A new developer entered the picture in 2021, entering into a 380 agreement with the city that required completion of the lagoon by Dec. 31, 2023, according to previous reporting. If the December 2023 deadline was not met, additional development permits would not be issued until the PUD is amended.
A March 18, 2024, letter from the city of Leander to Leander Springs LLC notified the development of the termination of the 380 agreement.
In the letter, the city cited the developer’s failure to begin commercial construction by Dec. 31, 2023, as its reason for terminating the agreement.
Because the deadlines in the 380 agreement were not met, developers need City Council to approve a PUD amendment request if they wish to develop more than 35,000 square feet of commercial space at the property.
What else?
According to its website, Leander Springs could bring 275-450 hotel rooms and a 20,000-square-foot conference center to the city.
The project's future remains uncertain, but developers indicated at the Aug. 21 City Council meeting they would bring another application for the property to the city.
