Residents heard for the first time Tuesday night two new development proposals being pitched for a 24-acre plot of land owned by the city of Austin off McKalla Place that is also being eyed for a Major League Soccer stadium. The Gracywoods Neighborhood Association, located northeast of the site at 10414 McKalla Place, Austin, hosted the two development groups to pitch their ideas to residents and council members Leslie Pool and Alison Alter, who both attended to learn more about the concepts. “In the spirit of fairness and transparency we decided that yes we would continue our plans to talk about the McKalla site and give anyone the opportunity to share with us what they believe is the best use for that parcel of land,” Gracywoods neighborhood President Francoise Luca said. The city owns the property at McKalla that is now being pursued by Precourt Sports Ventures to relocate its Columbus Crew soccer team and build a 20,000-seat stadium. On Friday, the city released its report on the viability of a stadium on the site, and PSV submitted its official proposal. “I think that this site needs some sort of master plan and some competitive bidding process,” Luca said. “Hopefully after what you see tonight we can open the discussion for more ideas and [what would be] the best use of that tract of land.” Austin-based Capella Capital Partners is pitching a mixed-used project that would include 1,500 apartment units, 800,000 square feet of office space, 120,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space s, 6 acres of green space, a MetroRail station and structured parking. Capella Managing Partner Neil Francois said his firm first became interested in the McKalla site alsmot four years ago when the company was approached to develop an adjacent 3-acre parcel of land. Capella announced plans last week for its North Gateway Plaza to have a 22-story multifamily high-rise and 11-story office building, both of which include seven floors of parking. Francois said Capella met with city officials, including former City Manager Marc Ott, numerous times and that the city had planned on released a request for proposals for McKalla last year. He also said the city told them the land was valued at $29.5 million, although other reports indicate the site is valued closer to $8 million. “We feel like overall this is a higher and better use than a soccer stadium,” Capella Chief Financial Officer Scott Moxham said. A group local developers lead by John Chen, Marcus Whitfield and Vista Planning has also pitched a mixed-use site that would include housing for a range of income levels, including affordable housings, as well as studios for artists, grocery store, wellness hub, educational workforce, green space and a rail station. “In this area would also target pushing for a certain part of the property to have nonprofits or community-related businesses so it’s not a large corporate development,” Chen said. He said the development group came together after learning of the city’s interest to develop the McKalla site and wanting to respond to community needs and incorporate affordable housing and support the creative community. “We think this is a site where we would want to make sure the neighborhoods and community are involved,” Chen said.