On June 23, the Hays County Commissioners Court voted to no longer consider Kyle Vista Park as a potential location for the approximately $65 million Eastside Campus administrative facility.
In addition to no longer considering the location, the commissioners voted to terminate a September 2025 memorandum of understanding, or MOU, with the city of Kyle in relation to the potential lease of the Kyle Vista Park property.
The big picture
Hays County and the city of Kyle previously entered into a memorandum of understanding to combine three county projects on one site: the Hays County Eastside Campus, a regional animal shelter and Kyle Vista Park.
While the animal shelter project will be unaffected by the commissioners’ June 23 action, the county will begin looking for a new location outside of the city’s jurisdiction to develop the three-story building facility.
“It's a very expensive project, and putting a very expensive project on leased land from the city of Kyle wasn't ideal,” Precinct 3 Commissioner Morgan Hammer said. “I think everyone kind of had that sentiment.”
The Eastside Campus development would house a total of 175 staff members and a variety of services on the east side of Hays County.
Hammer referenced the contention in the city of Kyle, noting that leadership has changed since the MOU was first adopted.
“I don't think we should rely on who's in those seats for if the project is going to go forward or is going to be favorable, so we decided to look at land on our own,” Hammer said.
Community feedback during the location consideration process played a large role in the decision to no longer consider Kyle Vista Park as well, Hammer said.
“I received multiple emails from various members of the community asking us to reconsider,” Hammer said. “That land used to be set aside for parks and open space, so we wanted to keep it that way. I'm always going to support that sentiment.”
The commissioners will no longer consider a location within the city limits of Kyle and will instead select land solely owned by the county for the development of the Eastside Campus.
The background
The Eastside Campus development will be funded through $100 million in certificates of obligation, issued by the commissioners Jan. 20 to fund the project and other office and administrative buildings, according to previous Community Impact reporting.
Hays County hosted an open house June 25 to share information on the development and gather feedback from community members.
