The comments came during a public hearing about the proposed rezoning for the Kenney Fort PUD property from a business park to planned use development, or PUD. No other speakers offered comments during the public hearing.
Rebecca Leonard of Austin-based planning and development firm Lionheart, said the piece of property adjacent to Kenney Fort Boulevard and the Kenney Fort PUD property is owned by Kalahari, presenting a struggle for development of the PUD.
“The land in between us and Kenney Fort is tied up in the Kalahari resort, and so we've been working around that and trying to figure out solutions,” Leonard said.
Leonard said the development is planned to incorporate the existing trail along Brushy Creek, connecting into the greenbelt.
“We envision a lot of mobility in and out of sight through that bike trail,” Leonard said.
She also said the developers have been looking at examples such as Trinity Grove in Dallas and the Hill Country Galleria for this type of mixed-use development in terms of performance and working within tight boundaries.
Brad Wiseman, Round Rock director of planning and development, said at the Aug. 10 packet briefing that the property had previously been considered by UPS for a facility and that the 2030 comprehensive plan allowed for the area to be rezoned to a PUD. The 110.54 acres of property that will be subject to rezoning at a future meeting were annexed in 2011 when Kenney Fort Boulevard was created, Wiseman said.
The property does not have access to Palm Valley Boulevard due to proximity to the Union Pacific rail line nearby, according to Wiseman. There will also be four types of private roadways with a public roadway running in a loop through the development.
A new land use category has been created specifically to fit the needs of developers for this project: the maker space. This zoning outlines the use of structures for office, small-scale artisan, food and bakery “startup spaces,” Wiseman said.
The hearing was requested by the developers, Wiseman said, as they are in the process of closing on the property. Council took no action, as the hearing was not accompanied by a resolution.
