The Oaks at Lakeway set to start construction this year

Lakeway's new 250,000-square-foot downtown center, The Oaks at Lakeway, is slated to begin construction mid-2014 and open mid-2015, said Stratus Properties CEO and developer Beau Armstrong.

On Jan. 8, Lakeway's zoning and planning commission unanimously recommended approval of the site's proposed Planned Unit Development.

The anchor of the $70 million build at RR 620 and Glen Heather Drive—H-E-B—will encompass around 100,000 square feet, Armstrong said. Economists project the downtown center will represent $1 million in sales tax annually, he said.

The Oaks at Lakeway will include smaller buildings to meet the city's desire for more of a downtown center feel as opposed to a strip mall, he said. Restaurants will be designed with outdoor seating. The site will have a green space, a pond, trails and will be golf cart–accessible, he said.

The PUD plan does not include the movie theater shown on prior plans.

"Our goal is still to incorporate a theater but tenants have not been determined yet," said Bury Project Director Melissa Neslund.

Armstrong said his company focuses on local businesses as tenants, with an estimated 75 percent of Stratus' centers leased to area companies.

He said he hoped to extend Glen Heather Drive, under Lakeway Municipal Utility District's control, to connect with Lohmans Crossing.

"The grand plan is to get the traffic off [RR] 620," Armstrong said. "That back way should prove to be a relief."

The proposed PUD gives the City an option to buy a rear tract to develop an event center and/or park.