The setup
Changes to Round Rock’s zoning, approved in October, expand the downtown boundaries, increase the density allowed on Mays Street and Round Rock Avenue, and permit taller buildings.
The taller building heights are allowed through a mixed-use designation, said Brad Dushkin, the city’s director of planning and development services.
“We’re really trying to have a targeted, very thoughtful approach to where that added density is going to go,” Dushkin said.
Taller building heights allow for developers to create greater density, he said, bringing more foot traffic to support existing and future customer-facing businesses.
“A lot of [shops and restaurants] won’t open up here unless you sort of have a density of people that are living here and visiting more regularly,” Dushkin said. “We’re trying to look at that goal and use our knowledge of downtown and of planning to help make that happen.”
The update comes as other projects to amenitize downtown are well underway.
The conditions
The city’s 2030 comprehensive plan outlines a goal to revitalize the downtown area into a destination that is pedestrian friendly.
City Manager Brooks Bennett said the city has achieved several aspects of the plan, such as expanding parking and adding sidewalks.
In a September hearing, Dushkin highlighted the city’s impact fee programs for water, wastewater and roadways, requiring developers to pay fees for more intense land use to help fund infrastructure.
What’s happening
Green fencing around the historic Round Rock water tower marks the city’s most recent project: Town Green.
Spanning from Liberty Avenue to Main Street, the park is a “total overhaul” of a historic part of downtown Round Rock, Parks and Recreation Director Rick Atkins said.
Designed to function as a central plaza or town square, the Town Green will bring a host of amenities to downtown, such as wooden deck seating, food truck parking and a renovation of the Johnson building to its historic state as a gas station, although in appearance only.
The project is expected to be completed around April.
Bennett said the Town Green represents a significant milestone in achieving goals outlined by the 2030 plan.
“Over 10 years ago, that was identified as a great location for a town green—just a good spot in the middle of the community for people to gather, grab a doughnut, come meet a neighbor and hang out downtown,” Bennett said.
What they’re saying
The updates to downtown’s zoning and future use of the area have received a mix of feedback from residents and business owners in the area.
Brent Campbell, a commercial real estate agent for Don Quick & Associates, who also owns a building on Main Street, said he has sold over 20 commercial properties in the downtown area. He has two major concerns about increasing density in downtown: water retention and parking.
Heather and Tommy Hill, owners of downtown crystal shop UnEarthed, said that while they are interested in the Town Green as a community resource and have enjoyed the appeal of the new library for families, they are less optimistic about increased density in downtown.
Dushkin said planning for these changes was targeted to allow for more density in strategic places along Mays Street and Round Rock Avenue, not in the largely residential neighborhood east of Lampasas Street and north of Liberty Avenue.
Place 5 City Council member Kristin Stevens said the rezoning is part of the overall vision council has for the future of downtown.
“These are going to be top-notch amenities that people are going to want to come and spend time at,” Stevens said. “As far as the rezoning, I’m definitely excited to see what these changes allow for in the community.”
Quote of note
“We want to be respectful of where the community has come from, but also know that to achieve some of these goals, such as restaurants and commerce, there have to be folks in the immediate area. To do that, you have to have some density,” said Bennett.
Going forward
Increased building heights pave the way for future development in downtown Round Rock, Dushkin said, but changes likely won’t happen overnight.
As it stands, much of the city is already zoned for taller buildings than what is constructed, Dushkin said.
“We’ll have multiple new parks before we have any tall buildings downtown,” Dushkin said. “We’ve allowed buildings up to eight stories tall in the western part of downtown for several years now. We still only have buildings that are three and four stories at most, really.”
While the Town Green is set to be completed in April, another park along Brushy Creek—formerly known as The Lawn and now dubbed The Flats—is in design stages.
More immediately, renovations at the Griffith Building and its adjacent paseo, or walkway, are expected to be completed this year.
