MA Partners submitted this design for the Gin at the Co-Op property.[/caption]Hutto City Council selected a developer Thursday night for the proposed Gin at the Co-Op property development that will include 250,000 square feet of retail and office space, Hutto City Manager Odis Jones said.
“It will generate a work/plan environment often seen in town center lifestyle developments,” Jones said.
On Thursday, the City Council voted to enter negotiations with MA Partners of Austin to develop the 25-acre plot of city-owned land just west of downtown and north of Hwy. 79. Jones estimates the private investor will build $100 million in improvements, and the city will provide the land and $5 million in infrastructure upgrades.
The city expects construction to begin early in 2018. A business and industrial park is on tap to the northwest, along Innovation Boulevard.
“These were fantastic presentations made to the council,” Jones said of the three groups who were finalists for the project. “It was a tough decision for the City Council. Now we can address infrastructure needs in the area and build businesses that will go toward balancing our local economy.”
What we know about the preliminary plans submitted by MA Partners:
- Plans call for 20 total buildings, including two- and three-story office and retail space, restaurants, the city library and a parking garage.
- The proposal calls for an 800-seat theater building.
- The property would include city hall offices and a police department.
- There is a large event lawn, near one of three retaining ponds on the western border of the property.
- Another green space is found directly north of the Gin at the Co-Op.
"This project will follow our strategic plan,” Jones said.
Mayor Doug Gaul, after Thursday’s meeting, said the development will play an important part in the future of Hutto.
“We have talked about a lot of things over the years, and now we are starting to see them come to life,” Gaul said. “
