The Four Points campus of 3M, 6801 River Place Blvd., Austin, is for sale, company spokesperson Lori Anderson said, and some local residents are optimistic their long-term efforts to increase safety for area children may come to fruition.

The company makes notepaper, tape, computer accessories, laminating systems and packaging products.

“3M is looking for a new workspace in the Austin, Texas, area to foster collaboration and innovation,” she said. “At the same time, we are exploring opportunities for a potential buyer of 3M’s Austin site.”

Although the company maintains a manufacturing facility in northwest Austin that is not included in the sale, the Four Points location largely staffs 3M’s electronics and energy business group, Anderson said. About 800 employees work at the site and will be moved to the new space once it is in operation, she said. Employees of the Four Points site were told last week the campus would be put up for sale, she said.

“We are in the early stages [of the offering] and will be working with business leaders within 3M to identify workspace needs,” Anderson said. “This process could take some time.”

The Four Points Traffic Committee posted notice of the 3M offering on its Facebook page Aug. 30, noting, “the possibilities are endless here.” The group’s stated focus is to protect the local “community, students and environment by planning and building a secondary access road from [Vandegrift High School/Four Points Middle School] to River Place [Boulevard]."

Vandegrift High and Four Points Middle are Leander ISD schools housed on a tract adjacent to 3M.

For years, the group, led by Four Points residents and individuals associated with the district’s board of trustees, has pursued the creation of an emergency access from the neighboring schools that currently have only one way out of the area in case of an emergency, including RR 2222, which is frequently congested. Much of the property surrounding the schools is within the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve, an area protected for endangered wildlife habitat, and therefore not available for access.

An easement with 3M was previously secured over part of the tract off Tech Trail to build a portion of the proposed 1-mile-long access road, said Pam Waggoner, vice president of the LISD board of trustees.

“The immediate concern is the easement we secured with 3M to build the road,” she said. “We must at a minimum make sure that is secure.

“I can’t help but feel excited that this gives us additional options, and I look forward to continuing to find out exactly what those are. I am realistic and realize money will be a factor and I have no idea if 3M will negotiate anything with us. They certainly do not have to," Waggoner said.