Planned Unit Development in Round Rock
Round Rock City Council approved an amendment to add high-density family land use to a planned unit development anticipated to bring 1,200 housing units to the Kenney Fort Boulevard Area.
The PUD currently encompases 47.94 acres of land.
Approval came during a May 12 City Council meeting, where a public hearing for the change drew no speakers. Council members also voted unanimously to dispense with a second reading of the amendment.
City documents show the project will completely enclose parking in an attached structure and orient front entrances toward the planned Kenney Fort Blvd. A three-lane collector roadway will also be constructed by the property within the Westview Drive right-of-way along the site boundary, but direct access will be along Kenney Fort Blvd. The city-owned roadway is currently under construction.
When completed, the development will be one of the largest multifamily housing developments in the city.
Space: 47.94 acres
Timeline: TBD
Light industrial development in Hutto
A 117.64-acre tract of land near the northeast corner of SH 130 and US 79 in Hutto is slated for future light industrial use.
At a May 19 meeting, Hutto City Council approved three ordinances annexing the tract into the city, zoning it for light industrial use and updating the future land use map to reflect the new usage.
Called the Ironwood Tract, the land was part of Hutto's extraterritorial jurisdiction prior to annexation.
Amanada Brown, a representative for engineering consulting firm Kimley-Horn, said developer Ironwood Realty Partners plans to use the land for a business park.
Brown described Ironwood as a "speculative developer," meaning its developments consist of storage and warehouse buildings designed for tenants to move into quickly.
"One of the things that comes with that is that these buildings are typically more beautiful [and] landscaped because they have to be marketable to tenants," Brown said.
Because of the nature of the development, Brown said Ironwood has no specific tenants in mind at this time. However, she said Ironwood typically targets Fortune 500 companies, and tenants in its other developments include General Motors and Restoration Hardware.
Brown said while the development is likely to bring an influx of truck traffic to the surrounding area, Ironwood is happy to work with the city on future improvements to nearby roads such as Alliance Boulevard.
"We are all aligned with wanting to make sure that that transportation network works for us and for the city," Brown said.
Space: 117.64 acres
Timeline: TBD
Planned unit development in Hutto
City officials approved the rezoning and annexation of 31.17 acres of property near CR 110 and CR 112 in the Round Rock extraterritorial jurisdiction, or ETJ, during a City Council meeting April 28.
The unzoned property was zoned to a planned unit development, and is set to be developed into a housing development made up of detatched single-family housing units and townhomes.
City documents state there will be a maximum of 40 detatched units in the development, with no more than five units attached per building. The property will be a privately managed rental community, which Planning and Development Services Director Brad Wiseman said during the April 26 packet briefing helps to meet one of the strategic goals of the 2030 Comprehensive Plan to provide housing for "missing middle" housing.
"It is one of these projects that provides another diverse housing option for folks in Round Rock," Wiseman said. "It does provide a focus to be able to rent a single-family home or a townhouse type of unit and have all the amenities and and none of the maintenance that typically comes with single-family home ownership."
While there was a public hearing held for the rezoning and annexation request, no speakers addressed the council. However, three speakers shared concerns about stormwater runoff, additional traffic and views from their property when the request was heard by the city's planning and zoning commission.
"Views of their property obviously would change; there's no getting around that," Wiseman said. "It won't be an open pasture. There will be a few hundred homes built on the property."
Wiseman said concerns about the development's amenity center being too close to existing homes were also shared by residents.
In response to concerns from nearby property owners, the applicant revised plans to require a 250-foot setback from the southern property line for the pool and surrounding decking or patio area, according to city documents.
Space: 31.17 acres
Timeline: TBD
Townhome development in Round Rock
Round Rock officials rezoned a new housing development south of the city's downtown area to a planned unit development.
The project was previously zoned for single family, commercial and light industrial use, but officials unanimously approved the change during a May 12 city council meeting.
The proposed project is known as the Arte PUD by developer W.B. Property Group, according to city documents.
During an April Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, the commission voted 3-4 against approval following complaints from residents of the immediate area.
At the May 12 council meeting, Planning and Development Services Director Brad Wiseman said the location is in line with the city's strategic goal of adding 1,000 new housing units within a quarter mile of Main Street.
"They're just outside their quarter mile downtown from Main Street," Wiseman said. "The goal of that policy is to drive more retail-type uses as opposed to office and nightlife."
Plans for the project include a maximum of 410 urban multifamily units and 19 townhomes.
A maximum building height of six stories is planned for one multifamily structure, and a maximum height of five stories is planned for a second structure.
Access to the development will be along E. Logan and S. Mays Streets, according to city information.
City documents also state the developer held multiple meetings with nearby residents who expressed many concerns to the commission, including the height of the structures and traffic impact on the area, as well as frustration with developer W.B. Property Group.
Residents expressed similar concerns during the May 12 council meeting and asked questions centered on foot traffic increasing behind the existing community.
Residents also expressed concern regarding the addition of a new housing development in conjunction with increases in crime.
At the same meeting, Round Rock resident Morgan Day asked city officials to consider finding a project that better fit the area before approving the rezoning request.
Day mentioned the project's failure to pass at P&Z and suggested that the developer might pivot to make the project more townhome-focused. She specified that a different development might be better suited for the property.
"We all know we're in a housing crisis," Day said. "Obviously housing is important to get on the ground. There's something in my mind that still makes this feel like a square peg in a round hole. I know we need density. My heart really feels like it should be something more in [the] townhouse [designation]."
David Weinstein, a representative for W.B. Property Group, addressed some of the residents' concerns during the May 12 meeting.
Current plans include some type of fencing to curb foot traffic behind existing homes, he said.
Additionally, Amanda Swor, a senior project manager with Drenner Group, a land use firm working in partnership with the developer, said the project will also feature the use of rainwater to irrigate landscaping.
Space: 11.25 acres
Timeline: TBD
Multifamily development in Hutto
An approximately 30.6-acre tract of land on CR 138 is now zoned for multifamily use.
Hutto City Council approved planned unit development zoning for the tract a May 5 meeting.
The land, previously part of a larger single-family tract, will eventually be cut off from the larger tract by Williamson County's ongoing Southeast Loop road project.
Developer Empire Group plans to use the land for a multifamily development called Village at Hutto Station.
The development will contain up to 300 one-, two- and three-bedroom units, according to a city presentation. The units will all be one story and will be a mix of attached and detached.
"It'll look really similar to a single-family neighborhood; there will be detached garages; there will be landscaping similar to a single-family neighborhood, but it will be a for-rent project," Development Services Director Ashley Lumpkin said.
Empire Group representative Bryan Freel said rent will start around $1,600 for one-bedroom units, $2,000 for two-bedroom units and $2,200 for three-bedroom units.
Council members stressed the importance of Southeast Loop for managing traffic from Village at Hutto Station and other nearby developments that would otherwise go to CR 138.
"138 is essentially one lane," Council Member Krystal Kinsey said. "I can't even imagine trying to drive down that one-lane road with all these apartment complexes coming online."
However, Freel said it would likely be at least 18 months before the development delivers units—well past the first segment of Southeast Loop's expected completion in early 2023.
Space: 30.6 acres
Timeline: Summer 2022-Spring 2023
