Round Rock master-planned community may open in 2014

Although they received little attention from the public, two ordinances and a resolution passed at the July 25 Round Rock City Council meeting carry the potential to usher in a new era of housing and business development in the northeastern quadrant of the city.

Approved unanimously by the council, the three agenda items entailed the annexation of more than 412 acres of unincorporated land along University Boulevard in east Round Rock, established special zoning standards on the land and set up a development agreement to allow the construction of hundreds of homes with expected prices ranging from $200,000–$500,000.

If the development moves forward as planned, the city could see the first of more than 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 Communities, 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."

New addition

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—tentatively referred to as Avery North—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.

Setting the table

Even before Taylor Morrison approached the city about developing the Avery North property, city officials said plans were in place to build new water and wastewater infrastructure along the east University Boulevard corridor.

According to Round Rock Utility Director Michael Thane, when the Paloma Lakes MUD was being built north of Hwy. 79 in the mid-2000s, the city worked out an agreement with the developer to install oversized water lines. The intent, Thane said, was to eventually extend those lines north to University Boulevard into areas that lacked the infrastructure needed to support housing and businesses.

"Most cities don't do this because it takes a lot of money," Thane said. "We saw the opportunity here, and we felt it was important to make this happen.

"The vision [is] to help Round Rock continue to grow and prosper and attract businesses and industry that help fuel our economy. By us stepping out there and extending the utility infrastructure, it's going to help the entire city grow."

The city is currently working to have the water and wastewater lines running to the Avery North development by October 2014. Thane said the water lines project is expected to cost the city $6 million–$8 million—an expense he predicts will be recouped by the $5,962 impact fee the city will charge Taylor Morrison for each new home it builds in the development.

"We want new growth to pay for itself," he said.

Domino effects

The potential ripple effects of the Avery North community are being recognized by a variety of stakeholders, including the school district and neighboring developments.

For Round Rock ISD, the addition of as many as 1,200 new homes translates into potentially hundreds of new students. Ramiro Flores, RRISD deputy superintendent of business administration, said the district has already held internal discussions regarding the development. Once the new homes are occupied, the district will study the enrollment and capacity at local schools—including Caldwell Heights, Teravista and Union Hill elementary schools—and determine if the school zones need to be redistricted or if portable classrooms to accommodate the new students need to be added, he said.

"Once they start developing, we have to pay more attention to what is the game plan for [new] students," Flores said. "Most of our schools in that section are pretty much full. One of the goals would be that we start looking in that area ... for another elementary."

RRISD has already purchased approximately 108 acres of land at the northeast intersection of A.W. Grimes Boulevard and Kiphen Road for the district's sixth high school. Pending the outcome of future bond elections, the district hopes to have the high school open by 2019, RRISD Superintendent Steve Flores said at a Round Rock Chamber of Commerce luncheon Oct. 22.

John Avery, whose family owns hundreds of acres of land in northeast Round Rock, believes the additional homes could help spur development at the nearby 1,200-acre Avery Centre mixed-use development—which includes the Texas State University, Texas A&M Health Science Center, Austin Community College–Round Rock and Seton Medical Center campuses. Avery, however, said his family is being selective about which businesses they will allow to come in to Avery Centre.

"We are going to try and get away from fast-food and convenience stores," Avery said. "We would like to have employers that want training [of employees] at the schools, and we would like to have the biotech industry that would partner with the hospitals and the colleges somebody who wants to take advantage of what the hospital and colleges have created."

Regarding future housing developments in Avery Centre, Avery said he would like to avoid the single-family lots planned for the Avery North and Teravista developments and focus on building denser residential units similar to downtown areas in large cities.

"We envision a walkable community where you live and play in the same place you are employed," he said. "We think it would work for professors or technicians at the hospital. The goal is not to be in and out of your car."

Land swap

A final—and key—component of the Avery North development deal entails the city of Georgetown releasing approximately 94 acres of land to the city of Round Rock. Taylor Morrison would like to include the Georgetown property—which it plans to purchase from the Averys—as the northernmost section of the new development. Unlike the neighboring Teravista community, however, Taylor Morrison does not want its development divided between Round Rock's and Georgetown's jurisdictions.

"We were certainly receptive to working with Taylor Morrison ... to allow them to proceed with their project but still protect the interests of Georgetown," Georgetown Planning Director Andrew Spurgin said.

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 and the Averys have agreed not to develop properties on the MoKan 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 will introduce an ordinance approving 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."