Despite plans for a mixed-use development featuring multifamily and single-family residences alongside a commercial center, the Olander pink farmhouse will be preserved on the property.
The overview
The development agreement integrates the Orlander Farm property into the city's jurisdiction, while maintaining Jonah Water as the water supplier, rather than the city.
Council members expressed support for the annexation, citing the increased regulatory authority it provides the city over home development.
“I know that there are some concerns within the community of losing all of our farmland,” Place 4 council member Peter Gordon said. “If we don't approve this, [the developers] would just go to the county and probably do it anyway. This way, at least we can have some say into what's going on there.”
Concept plans divide the property into parcels that offer different housing options, including:
- 106 homes on the single-family parcel
- 222 multifamily build-to-rent homes
- Roughly 800 apartment units
- 122 for-sale townhomes
Various council members continued to voice approval for the development agreement, noting the impact fees and taxes associated with the property will help improve infrastructure in this area, as the roads and traffic are a repeated topic of concern from the community.
Also of note
Part of the agreement dictates the Olander Homestead and roughly 1 acre of land will be donated to the Luken Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to serving impoverished children and families in Haiti.
The Luken Foundation, founded in Hutto in 2016, will use the farmhouse as the organization’s headquarters. The pink house will be relocated on the property but retain its pink coloring.
“This donation is expected to significantly enrich the cultural landscape of Hutto by preserving the heritage of the historic home, ... providing a sense of place and continuity for the community,” city documents state.
