Georgetown may cede land for Avery North development in Round Rock

Foremost among the concessions Georgetown is seeking in exchange for releasing the land is the preservation of a 2-mile stretch of the long-defunct MoKan railroad line that runs through the Avery North property and farther south into the Avery Centre development. The city wants to reserve the MoKan right of way as a possible corridor for the proposed Lone Star commuter rail line that would run from Georgetown to San Antonio. Taylor Morrison has agreed not to develop properties on the MoKan right of way if Georgetown releases its land to Round Rock for the housing project.

Georgetown City Council has already held two public discussions about releasing the property and introduced an ordinance to approve the deal at its Nov. 12 meeting.

"I think there are still a lot of future studies that need to occur for the railroad, so we are not even sure if the train would go there," Spurgin said. "But we don't want to lose it today for a bunch of Taylor Morrison homes if we might need it in the future."

In addition to the MoKan right of way, Georgetown officials also requested Taylor Morrison and the city of Round Rock cooperate with future plans to widen Westinghouse Road east of A.W. Grimes Boulevard.

"Round Rock doesn't currently have planning up to Westinghouse," Spurgin said. "We wanted to make sure in the transition from one authority to another we didn't lose what we would be requiring."

Future housing

If the Avery North development moves forward as planned, the city of Round Rock could see the first of about 1,200 residential units go up for sale near the northeast corner of A.W. Grimes and University boulevards before the end of 2014.

"Our plan is to bring another large master-plan community to the city of Round Rock," said Adib Khoury, vice president of land resources for Taylor Morrison, which will be the exclusive project developer and builder. "We see the success of Teravista out there and communities like Paloma Lake. We are just very excited about that location."

The project, however, is likely to have a far greater effect than simply increasing the number of homes in Round Rock. According to city officials, the Taylor Morrison development could mark the first ripple in a new wave of construction along one of Round Rock's last undeveloped corridors—the 2.5-mile stretch of University Boulevard between A.W. Grimes and SH 130.

"When you look at a map of Round Rock, it is real clear to tell where the future development is going to go—it is northeast," Round Rock City Manager Steve Norwood said. "[The city] is only going to get bigger."

Development strategy

The proposed Taylor Morrison development is also unique in what it will not become a municipal utility district, or MUD.

MUDs offer financial advantages to developers by providing funding through state-approved bonds for utility infrastructure and roads. The bonds are repaid through homeowners' property taxes and thereby substantially reduce developers' upfront costs. Because they remain their own taxing entities and are not incorporated, MUDs—such as Teravista, Brushy Creek and Paloma Lakes—also save cities the expense of providing utility services, as well as police and fire protection.

For the past two decades, as Round Rock and its unincorporated areas experienced rapid population growth, MUDs have been the primary tool for kick-starting new housing developments, especially in areas outside the city limits that do not have utilities in place. However, in the case of the new Taylor Morrison community, Round Rock officials decided the costs of running new utilities into the development and providing municipal services was worth the ability to regulate building standards.

"There are studies that say houses are a drain on services but commercial/industrial is a [revenue] gain—and that is true. But there is something to be said for having control over what goes in an area, whereas with MUDs we really don't," Norwood said. "If we have the ability to [provide utilities to an area], then we are going to annex it and stop this proliferation of MUDs."

Norwood said the city's long-term strategy is to continue annexing the land adjacent to University Boulevard and not allow more MUDs to develop. According to Khoury, Taylor Morrison was also on board with developing the Avery North tract within the city's limits to attract future homebuyers.

"For the consumer, the advantage of having city-provided utilities is usually a lower tax rate," Khoury said.