The future is bright in Leander's transit-oriented development (TOD) district, but financial hurdles must be cleared before the now-vacant area sees any activity, City Manager Kent Cagle told Leander City Council during a Jan. 3 planning session.

Council members met before their regularly scheduled meeting to discuss what steps to take on improving the TOD district surrounding the Capital Metro Park & Ride station on US 183.

The biggest hurdle for developers so far, Cagle said, has been securing lenders for mixed-use projects, which typically include a combination of residential, office and retail space. While such a concept is successful in more urban settings, financiers have been reluctant to invest in multifamily and mixed-use projects on the outskirts of the Austin metropolitan area, he said.

"We can't find development of this scope size scale anywhere in the United States that's been built in this kind of area," Cagle said. "We're suburbia. I'm not saying we can't do this—I'm not making excuses. I'm saying it has not been done."

But once banks begin embracing the city's plan to create a pedestrian-friendly, 2,300-acre development near the rail and bus station, Cagle said it is important the city has a plan in place to manage the development.

"There's a lot of land out there that will be worth more than $1 billion someday—billions probably—so the tone and direction we set is very important," he said.

More than likely, he said, the city will need to connect developers with financing and vice versa to make multiuse projects a reality in the TOD. One recent project proposal failed to advance past city staff because the plan did not match the urban standards Leander has set for its TOD, Cagle said.

Beyond the city's initial vision for the TOD, little branding is in place for the unnamed district. City staff presented council on July 21 with a rebranding effort called Legacy Landing, but Cagle said the concept did not catch on.

"That was pretty clear, so we need to go in a whole new direction," he said.

Despite a few suggested name proposals, including The Point and The Edge, Councilman David Siebold said he was reluctant to embrace any concept until one sticks out as the clear favorite. Until then, he said the city should better market the site.

"The people who would invest in this, unless they know what they're looking for, they won't know about it," Siebold said. "We have got to get that info out there to people who would be interested in investing in this."

Before deciding on any official name for the TOD, Mayor Chris Fielder said the council must first determine whether it wants to seek outside help to market the area. He also suggested creating a list of acceptable uses under the city SmartCode zoning, which is used specifically in the TOD district.

In the meantime, the council instructed city staff to compile information on the TOD district to use in an online promotional tool as part of Leander's website redevelopment project. Council is also expected to further address the TOD during its Jan. 12 retreat.