Round Rock adopted in August a facilities master plan that is intended to guide the city’s use of infrastructure and facilities throughout its projected build-out. Chad McDowell, Round Rock General Services director, called the master plan “priceless” for a growing city. “This document [...] literally plans the future of Round Rock’s infrastructure for city buildings and city personnel,” McDowell said. “We can now budget all the way into our future up to build-out—200,000 to 250,000 [residents] depending on what we annex.” Steve Parshall, lead facility planner for municipal planning firm HOK, which created the plan for the city, said at an Aug. 13 City Council meeting that the firm looked at citywide assets and properties to determine departments’ needs and best fits. McDowell said the document not only looks at building use but also which departments will go where. “We’re securing land today for that so that 20 years down the road we don’t say, ‘Whoops, what are we going to do?’” he said. “That’s the most important thing.” McDowell said the city is planning to build the recommended additions and improvements in a “step-by-step” approach.  

Luther Peterson complex

Parshall said HOK gave special focus to the city’s Luther Peterson complex in north Round Rock off Sunrise Road. McDowell said the Luther Peterson complex is the first site to be expanded under the master plan. He said currently the city’s utilities, transportation and general services department have expansion needs. Currently those departments are housed within several buildings throughout the city. “Utilities has older buildings and infrastructure that we need to either dump a bunch of money into or go build them something new,” he said. “The transportation department and utility support are [in Luther Peterson] in one building, and the building is blowing up. We don’t even have enough parking.” McDowell said the first phase of Luther Peterson will be finding space for the workers by building atop soccer fields near the site. After constructing the new building the utility department will move into the new building. McDowell said with the space freed up by moving utilities the transportation department will move all its staff into one building. “Right now we have people everywhere around the city, and it’s really hard to coordinate when you have that going on,” McDowell said. “Having everyone in one spot is going to be great.” The fiscal year 2015-16 budget includes the renovations to the Luther Peterson complex. Phase 2 of the Luther Peterson expansion will occur in about five years and further expand the new building at Luther Peterson, McDowell said. In Phase 2, the transportation department will move in with utilities in the newly expanded building. General service, facilities maintenance and eventually a vehicle shop will be built on the premises, he said. The plan outlines a Phase 3, which will further expand the space at a later date. McDowell said the city needs to acquire a small portion of land for the expansion, but the city jointly owns most of the land it needs with the school district.

Parks and downtown

Under the facilities master plan, the parks and recreation department will move its facilities to Old Settlers Park from its current location downtown. Under the plan, the parks department would expand its current facilities at the park as well as potentially build a new space that includes a guest area and office space. The McConico building in downtown Round Rock currently houses the parks and recreation and planning departments and the Municipal Court. Under the plan, the McConico building would also be renovated, and a new building nearby could be constructed to house either municipal courts or planning. The chamber of commerce could also move to a new building in the same plaza, according to the master plan.

Moving forward

McDowell said with the multi million-dollar price tag of potentially building several new buildings, doing so would probably require a bond election at some point in the future. McDowell said the master plan is designed so that the city does not have begin any one phase at a particular time. The first phase of the  Luther Peterson expansion is planned for 2016, but other steps will happen as the city grows. “It’s like playing a chess game and knowing every step of the game,” he said. “That’s what’s great about the plan.”