Hutto officials plan to begin renovations in December on the south gin building at the city's iconic co-op site on Hwy. 79.

The city will turn the gin building into an open-air event center available to the community. Renovating the gin building is one portion of a master plan to turn the co-op site into a mixed-use urban development with parkland, retail shops, residential space and a new municipal complex, among other amenities.

Assistant City Manager Micah Grau previously said construction on the site could be key to bringing in private developers, which are expected to develop aspects of the project such as the retail and residential development.

Hutto budgeted about $754,000 in fiscal year 2014–15 for the gin building and co-op site improvements. The city has been working on developing the 20-acre co-op site since it bought the land in 2003, Grau said.