During the Aug. 8 Lakeway City Building Commission meeting, architects of the proposed town center provided commission members and guests with the first renderings of the site's buildings and streets.

The town center concept will be anchored by H-E-B and a movie theater, Enviroplan Architects owner Gary Payne said. H-E-B recently acquired five additional acres adjacent to the site and the grocer's current 86,000-square-foot concept design may increase to 90,000- or 95,000-square-feet with the added acreage, he said.

The theater may be 40,000-square-feet and the largest office building in the center may be 18,000-square-feet, Payne said.

The area will be highlighted by shaded sidewalks, landscaped thoroughfares, green spaces, cart and bike paths and possibly a pedestrian bridge, he said.

Payne said the center's Main Street is planned to have 20-foot sidewalks on both sides of the thoroughfare, including a 10-foot covered walk zone with benches and landscaping. The proposed sidewalks are about 8- to 10-feet wider than normal shopping center sidewalks, he said. Parking will be angled behind the landscape area, he said.

The plan is to leave many of the onsite trees and possibly add additional trees, said Melissa Neslund, Bury+Partners associate/project director.

A mile-long trail will buffer the area and connect to Glen Heather Drive, with the ultimate goal of connecting to Lohmans Crossing Road, Neslund said.

The center will also have a gas station and, most likely, a 4- or 5-story hotel of the "Aloft" or "W" type, Payne said. All of the buildings will be single-story except for possibly some two-story endcaps that may be reserved for restaurant builds. Multi-story structures are also a possibility for the area's proposed assisted living or independent living concept, he said.

There are no parking garages on the site, he said.

Payne and Neslund requested that commissioners consider a variance from the city's requirement that no buildings have flat roofs. Payne said other projects, including a Rollingwood shopping center, did not have a gable roof and this project will have 3- to 4-foot parapets around the roof line.

"We think we can give you plenty of movement so you're not looking at a strip center with flat roofs," Payne said.

Payne said a flat roof gives the designers the flexibility of putting the air conditioning units on the roof as opposed to the ground. He said because of the topography, there are no residents or buildings in the area that could have a view of the rooftops.

"Gabled roofs are more expensive," Payne said. "There is a finite amount of money that can be spent on buildings."

He said he was limited to $80 per square foot for each buildings finish and could allocate more money elsewhere without being required to add metal roofs to the site.

"We are requesting something different from your code but not something lesser than your code [requires]," Neslund said of the roof design proposal.

Neslund said the entire project will be Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, or LEED, certified with each building earning the LEED designation as well. The build may be the largest LEED certified project in Texas, she said.

Neslund said the firms intend to submit a formal plan to Lakeway by Sept. 4 with a comprehensive presentation to the city's Zoning and Planning Commission on that date. If the Commission is in agreement, the plan can be presented to the Lakeway City Council later in September.

"It's a nice project," Payne said. "I think Lakeway will be better for it. It will provide a lot of good services it needs."