Portions of Hergotz and Edwin lanes could be removed to clear the way for "Project Toaster" planned in East Austin's 2,600-acre Dog's Head area. (Ben Thompson/Community Impact)
Editor's note: This story was updated July 13 with additional information from Austin Development Services.
Preparations for the first major addition to the recently annexed Dog's Head are underway, while local leaders ready to adopt a long-term public financing plan for upgrades across the more than 4-square-mile East Austin megasite.
A range of mixed-use development is possible across the Dog's Head after city officials' initial vote for a long-term deal this spring. Overall plans have yet to be detailed by Endeavor Real Estate Group, but local governments are moving quickly through their reviews this summer in anticipation of securing the area's first major industrial tenant.
A 300-acre portion of the Dog's Head is currently being cleared for "Project Toaster," an advanced manufacturing site from an unidentified Fortune 100 company. The company is deciding between the Dog's Head and a location in another state, according to attorney and Endeavor representative Richard Suttle, and speedy city approvals could cement the project in Austin.
Initial grading activity is already taking place around the Project Toaster property, and Austin could soon approve the vacations of two public roadways in its limits. City transportation planners are also outlining a wider long-range vision for mobility infrastructure in the Dog's Head including a new street grid and several bridges crossing the Colorado River.
The specifics
Endeavor is seeking to remove two existing portions of Hergotz and Edwin lanes within Project Toaster's boundaries. Right-of-way vacation requests for several acres of those streets were considered by the Urban Transportation Commission July 7, they will also be reviewed by the Planning Commission before final council consideration scheduled for late July.
Removing what are now public streets would help facilitate Project Toaster's construction, Suttle said, and Endeavor's conceptual Dog's Head street plan features new, larger roadways that'd surround the project in the future.
"What you see is all these roads will connect, and we’ll have a grid, it just has to get around the 300-acre site," he told commissioners. "We’ll still have a grid to the north and to the south and to the east and to the west."
It's not yet clear what Project Toaster will include. It's not tied to military or data center uses, Suttle said, and isn't a Tesla initiative—although the proposed road grid features a new bridge over the Colorado connecting to the company's Giga Texas factory. Suttle also said Project Toaster, and overall development in the Dog's Head, will improve on current conditions after decades of industrial mining activities.
Conceptual road placements around the Dog's Head include a new street grid and several bridges across the Colorado River. (Courtesy city of Austin)
City staff reported no issues with the right-of-way vacations on Edwin and Hergotz lanes, aside from concerns about turnaround space for vehicles at the newly created dead-end roads which are now being addressed, according to Austin Development Services.
According to Suttle, neither Austin Energy or Austin Water view the proposed project as a drain local resources. He said it won't be a major power user and that wastewater impacts will be "minimal" aside from on-site facilities like bathrooms.
"The net environmental impact will be positive because we’re filling in the holes with clean fill, this particular manufacturer is not a smokestack industry, not a water user, not a discharger," he said. "The way we look at it is, everything that can happen out here is a net positive when you’re putting the land back together."
More information about Project Toaster could be revealed in late July once local officials sign off on the Dog's Head tax financing plans. If the project falls through, Suttle said the area could still be developed with any number of uses in the future.
What else
As development takes place around the Dog's Head, the city is also planning for growing transportation needs that'd come with thousands of new residents, commercial space and other additions like Project Toaster.
Revisions to the Austin Strategic Mobility Plan, or ASMP, are now in the works in anticipation of future development across the largely vacant portion of East Austin. Suttle said the limited roadway vacation process on Edwin and Hergotz lanes represents the beginning of more lengthy discussions about transportation in the Dog's Head.
“This is where the conversation starts," he said July 7.
The city and development team are now refining the conceptual roadway plan presented in May, according to Austin Development Services. The street grid concept was a "starting point" for Austin's evaluation of the plan. spokesperson Maggie Holman said, and ASMP amendments could be presented for a public hearing in October.
"City transportation staff have worked closely with the development team on the proposed road and bridge alignments, street classifications, and bicycle, pedestrian, and transit infrastructure," Holman said. "Staff are currently working with the development team to identify and evaluate potential refinements and determine what amendments to the [ASMP] may be appropriate based on technical analysis, City policies, and project objectives."
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