TOD Planning in Austin

On Wednesday November 28th at 11:45, Sonya Lopez, Senior Planner for the City of Austin will update the RCD Committee on the efforts of the TOD Station Area Planning process that has been ongoing during 2007.

Areas to be discussed include MLK, Lamar-Justin Lane and Plaza Saltillo. We look forward to seeing everyone at the Center for Architecture.

Creating a 3D Planning Tool for Austin

Come and join the RCD Committee on shaping the new planning initiative for Central Texas. Details to follow.

Next Week with the RCD Committee

On Friday May 18th, Envision Central Texas (ECT) held its annual Community Stewardship Awards where the following projects received recognition for their impact on the Central Texas Region:

New Development: MacMora Cottages

Redevelopment: Rehabilitation of Historic Buildings in Downtown San Marcos

Pioneer: Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas

Public Planning and Policy: 2006 City of Austin Bond Program

Raising Public Awareness: Discovering the Colorado - A Vision for the Austin-Bastrop River Corridor

Next Wednesday (May 30th), the RCD Committee will be hosting Diane Miller, Assistant Director for Envision Central Texas, who will get us up to speed on some of the latest activities and developments of ECT and how we as a community can continue to stay involved. Join us at our monthly meeting at 11:45 at the AIA offices. Looking forward to seeing you all soon.

The Tools Provided by Planning

As mentioned in Richard Florida's "Rise of the Creative Class", consumers have clearly and consistently shown an awareness and preference for the organic nature and originality of a place. With a trend for synergy between "lifestyle centers" and revitalized plans for urban growth and redevelopment, opportunities to allow redevelopment to occur in ways which reinforce the real character of a place should be cultivated and understanding market preferences is key.

Governing.com recently picked up on D.C.'s planning efforts that illustrated this dynamic.

http://governing.typepad.com/13thfloor/2007/05/yuppies_want_ca.html

urbanaustin.org

A local production company, Terra Incognita, has put together a remarkable resource for the design and development community. Using wikipedia technology this website acts as a community portal which projects can be uploaded and shown in context with other upcoming area development. Check out http://www.urbanaustin.org/ for more info.

This effort parallels some of the opportunities available through Google Earth where considerable progress has been made to tie the software and the 3D model of the City that it can generate to local planning and development information. The hope is that with project information updated in real time by the community as a whole, the users can make decisions with a greater general awareness for what the future area context might ultimately be.

Our next committee meeting will touch on these planning resources and how they can aid architects, planners and the region as a whole.

2002 Corridor Study

While looking through available planning documents on the City of Austin website a couple weeks ago, I came across the "NEW" designation for a planning study on 2222. Witnessing but not participating in the traffic on 2222 nearly everyday, my curiousity was peeked and I dove into several documents and tons of useful growth scenarios searching for clues as to what was to come. Disappointment settled in when my eyes drifted to the date of the effort....2002. Lots of information, potential solutions, but apparently no implementation and obviously a cause without a Champion.

Today's Statesman article stressed the symptoms and the ill effects of congestion. Though land use was not the emphasis of the story, the 2002 2222 Corridor Study looked directly at the disconnection of land use combined with low density development as the real criminal in this affair. The Statesman pointed to the lack of funding to increase Corridor capacity as the looming crisis. Possibly if funds are available, they should be put to a broader range of uses with respect to 2222 development. The 5 year old 2222 Corridor Study made this point for us to consider:

Traffic problems may not necessarily be solved with new public investments for roadway expansions, however. This solution, is usually short-lived, as the expanded capacity enables more low density development to be built out at a greater distance and an even greater degree of land use segregation. In 1993 road improvements were made to FM 2222. The improvements included widening the road to five lanes west of Loop 360 and adding additional traffic lights at entrances to major subdivisions. Traffic volume increased dramatically following the new construction and the improvements failed to improve congestion in the Corridor.

The Statesman Article by Kate Miller Morton

http://www.statesman.com/search/content/news/stories/local/03/17/172222.html

The 2222 Corridor Study

ftp://coageoid01.ci.austin.tx.us/GIS-Data/planning/trans/corridorstudy2222

Join Us Wednesday, March 28th, at the Center

"Growth on the Fringe" will be our March committee meeting as we invite James Fisher, Adminstrator for the City of Bee Cave, to take part in our roundtable discussion. Mr. Fisher has had an active leadership role in the evolving Hill Country Galleria as well as considerable tangential growth in this expanding community. We look forward to the critical topic of looking at how the surrounding cities of Austin define their shape, amenities, services and identity in the region.

I-35 Makeover Announcement

The design competion winner for the underside of I-35 between 6th and 8th was unveiled this week. Community leaders have been seeking creative solutions to mend the fracture in Austin that the elevated interstate caused decades ago. Kotera Reed's concept of gentle curves using light structures creates an opportunity to increase the safety of the covered intersections while not overdesigning for what could potentially be removed for a future "Buried" I-35 through the heart of downtown. Once SH130 is complete, apparently TX-DOT will have greater flexibility in their planning for the potentially massive construction project.

http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid%3A453485

Unfortunate Award

Renowned author James Kunstler bestowed his Eyesore of the Month (not just for Texas) for February to this Austin site. Just across from the Capital Complex, this Child Care Center stands rather ghostly at one of Austin's busiest intersections, 15th and Lavaca. Among a host of questions, "If you could give this facility and the children inside one thing, what would it be?".

http://www.kunstler.com/eyesore_200702.html

Stepping up to the Plate

It's going to take every person in the community to help. This is so big, it's going to take every person and brain cell in Austin. So just let us get our arms around the vehicles and mechanisms for how to do this first."

Toby Futrell on the Mayor's Austin Climate Protection Plan (ACPP)

One of the most important aspects of the mayor's initiative is that every cause needs a leader, a champion. Without such, great ideas can be mired in planning or worse...go unplanned. The Mayor's role in the U.S. Conference of Mayors speaks to the positive effects of sharing our successses with other leaders or learning from those who have walked down similar paths. The same can be said for the role of planners, designers, local authorities and citizens in how we continue to shape this region. The sharing of information and acting upon well thought out plans can make bold and great visions a reality.

How Cool Is Austin?
With a deep, collective breath, the city rolls out a world-class – but as yet unproven – climate-protection plan
Katherine Gregor, AUSTIN CHRONICLE

"It's a moral challenge for us as human beings to step up." Mayor Will Wynn is blunt when he talks about the global climate change crisis and the new Austin Climate Protection Plan. Embodied in a resolution adopted unanimously by City Council in February, the plan states no less lofty a goal than to "make Austin the leading city in the nation" in the fight against global warming. The mayor asserts that he, the council, and the city manager are fully engaged and "very serious collectively" about reducing Austin's greenhouse-gas emissions. Such leadership is critical at the city level, the council resolution states, because "the federal government has failed to enact meaningful responses to reverse the threat of global warming."

In his office last week, Wynn spoke at length about the Climate Protection Plan, with an infectious passion that made it evident the 45-year-old mayor has found his bliss. "I am so optimistic and energized and motivated!" said Wynn. "Shame on us, as a city and as a community, if we don't step up as a model for saving the planet."

It's not every day a mayor gets to be Superman and save the world. But is Austin's new plan really that good? And is it achievable? "My overall take is that Austin's ambitious plan really is among the best in the nation, along with Seattle, Portland, and Santa Monica," said Glen Brand, in the Portland, Maine, office of the Sierra Club's Global Warming & Energy...I think it's the single most comprehensive global warming plan of any city in the U.S.," said Jim Marston, director of the energy program for Environmental Defense in Austin. "It's put a spring in my step!"

"This goes beyond what any city in America has done for outlining a vision and aggressive goals," echoed his colleague Colin Rowan. "Is it achievable? Well, even if we miss the most aggressive goals a bit, we'll have improved things far more than we would have if we didn't set the bar this high."

for more information...
http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid%3A453478

Intel Implosion

Looking out over the Austin Skyline from the 13th floor at 100 Congress last week, I enjoyed a different perspective on the growth and change of Downtown. Amidst the construction and few completed additions, the remains of the Intel Shell huddled together as a symbol of the tech bust. Many in Austin will forget its presence and reminder that times due change (for better and worse). Here's some clips of the "instant change" which is a rare moment in the fabric of a city.

http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/News/?oid=oid%3A450337

Afffordability at Mueller; Builders announced.

From David Weekly Homes at http://www.muelleraustin.com/weekly_371.html...one of the several affordable models on display. Design is part of City of Austin Smart Housing program.

House is just under 1300 sf and lots are 37 ft. wide.

Story from KVUE below:


The old Mueller airport site will house everything from the new Dell Children's Medical Center to a new elementary school to 4,600 homes and apartments.

Six builders were named Monday to build homes at the old Robert Mueller Airport site.
The first 320 homes are part of what's called the Mueller Pioneer Program, and they're in such high demand that money and interest may not be enough to buy one.

Developers will hold a kind of lottery to determine which buyers end up in the first phase of the project.

Ten thousand people will eventually be living at the site and 10,000 others will be working there once the project is complete. Phase one home sites will be priced from $120,000 to $600,000, with most of those home in the $200,000 to $450,0000 range.

An important aspect of the redevelopment is affordability. Developers say it's important to include affordable homes so the working class community feels they are not being left out of the homebuilding process.

The businesses that are locating at Mueller also need to know that nearby homes are in reach.

"We're looking for mixed income, diversity, various income levels being able to sustain homeownership in a community, and I think Mueller's been able to capture that," said Joyce McDonald, of Frameworks. McDonald said the average family of four would have to make $56,900 in order to afford homes in the development. The homes will be mixed throughout and not segregated by price. The master plan was approved in 2000.

"The walkability and the livability is going to be outrageously positive," said Will Wynn, Austin mayor, on KVUE News' Monday with the Mayor segment. "The question is no longer if Austin grows but how will we grow, and I think the Mueller plan is going to be part of that solution." The development includes hike and bike trails, a lake, retail and business. The Dell Children's Medical Center is also located at the Mueller site, and construction is already well underway.

06:16 PM CST on Monday, March 5, 2007
By CLARA TUMA KVUE News

more at http://www.kvue.com/news/local/stories/030507kvuemuellerhomes-cb.1fc60652.html

February 28th Committee Meeting: RG4N

We kicked off our RCD Roundtable Series for 2007 with Paige Hill, president of Responsible Growth for Northcross (RG4N). Our discussion centered on several interesting aspects of this group’s efforts to alert citizens and policy makers of the role that a community, both residents and business owners, should be playing when major development (or redevelopment) efforts are underway. The conversation was not a “Wal-Mart or No Wal-Mart” debate, rather it keyed on the realities of what we should be creating in our neighborhoods and how our neighborhood is much more than a white picket fence and a grill in the backyard. Our concept of neighborhood should be expanded to include the services that we need and want to fulfill our total lifestyle.

RG4N and groups like them are often looking to developers to help them recreate the sense of place and public ownership that has all but disappeared by focusing our planning around the automobile for the last 60 years. These are opportunities for partnerships in development. In addition, the City of Austin is trying to make it easier for developers to vertically and horizontally mix uses as well as focus on a successful pedestrian environment. However, healthy and long lasting projects are not free and can be significantly more expensive to the developer to build. Therefore the community needs to be open to the developer's ideas on how the community can be responsibly renewed while the developer's efforts remain financially viable.

The RCD committee thanks Paige Hill for reminding us how much the whole community, not just design professionals, cares about how our public space can be shaped for everyone’s benefit.

The RCD committee thanks Paige Hill for her time and we look forward to continuing the discussion on the role of neighborhoods in helping shape the whole community.

For more information on RG4N, visit their website at http://www.rg4n.org/

Chamber Pushes for Comprehensive Transportation Plan

This week the Greater Chamber announced...

Chamber Launches "Take On Traffic" Initiative The Chamber announced its "Take On Traffic" campaign this week to help members and the public gain a clear understanding of the Central Texas transportation crisis and the need for a comprehensive transportation plan. The campaign will provide information on the available tools used to address congestion and ways to make a difference. Throughout 2007, members will receive electronic Take On Traffic updates from the Chamber. Take On Traffic is a coalition of concerned citizens from across the region, led by the Austin Chamber of Commerce and chaired by dedicated Chamber volunteer Gary Farmer and is focused on one goal: promoting a comprehensive regional transportation plan that changes the course of our future in Central Texas. Visit http://www.imakenews.com/eletra/go.cfm?z=grtraustinchamber%2C165198%2Cb235GW3c%2C1212253%2Cb94TPK7 for more information

Long Awaited Waller Creek Agreement

Austin and Travis County ready to unite on Waller Creek tunnel
Cost-sharing deal will revive dormant tunnel plans.

By Kate AlexanderAMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFFFriday, February 23, 2007

The Waller Creek tunnel, stymied for almost a decade by rising costs, is back on track now that Travis County appears ready to help Austin pay for the $124 million flood control project.
Travis County commissioners gave the city's latest financing proposal a friendly reception at a nonvoting session Thursday, which left Austin City Council Members Sheryl Cole and Betty Dunkerley optimistic that a partnership will be forged in the coming weeks.

Commissioner Gerald Daugherty said it was a no-brainer for the county to participate.
"It is such a good deal, you go: 'Are you serious?' " Daugherty quipped. "It is a pretty sweet project for us." To win the county's participation, Austin made the commissioners a risk-free offer. The two entities would create a taxing district along the downtown Waller Creek corridor to pay for the tunnel, which is expected to foster economic growth in the area.

Property owners within the district will pay the same tax rate as everyone else in the city. But once the Waller Creek Tax Increment Finance district is created, much of the new property tax revenue from that area will be dedicated to paying off the debt used to build and operate the tunnel.

Over 20 years, Austin will put all of the new property tax revenue from the district toward the project, and Travis County will contribute half of its take from the area. The other half of the county tax money, estimated to be almost $61 million over the duration, will go to its general operating fund. That money pays for the criminal justice system, roads and other basic functions.

If construction costs rise or the expected development does not happen, Austin will cover the gap. The city will pay for the last 10 years of the 30-year debt alone. "This project is important enough for us to get done that we're willing to take that risk," said John Stephens, the city's chief financial officer.

Austin voters approved $25 million in bonds to build the tunnel in 1998, but that amount proved far too small. Since that time, the project design and its financing have been repeatedly reconfigured to find a solution. It appears the stars have now aligned. As downtown undergoes a renaissance, the blighted Waller Creek corridor will be ripe for development. That development can then pay for the tunnel to control the flooding. Without the tunnel, more than 40 buildings and countless people would be threatened in the event of a 100-year flood, which has a 1 percent chance of occurring in any year. In January, emergency workers had to rescue a man trapped in the rushing waters of Waller Creek. He had jumped in to save a woman who was swept away.

With the tunnel, the water level could be controlled to ensure a clean, constant flow and provide an amenity similar to San Antonio's River Walk, city officials say. The plan does not include money for trails or other infrastructure along the creek. The changed composition of the commissioners court also opened the door for the deal. Karen Sonleitner, the county's most vocal tunnel skeptic, lost her re-election bid. Her successor, Commissioner Sarah Eckhardt, endorsed the project and the partnership. "This seems to be the best and frankly only" option, Eckhardt said.
kalexander@statesman.com; 445-3618

The Dawn of North Downtown

THE DOMAIN

By Shonda NovakAMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Breakfast at Tiffany's won't be out of the question for residents at the Domain, where 390 luxury apartments are side-by-side with the most upscale retail in Central Texas.

Domain dwellers will be able to live upstairs from the famous jeweler and down the street from Neiman Marcus and Macy's. They'll be able to window-shop after hours at other new-to-Austin stores including Louis Vuitton and Barney's Co-Op. They will be able to walk to the Oakville Grocery to pick up a gallon of milk or a $200 bottle of wine, or grab a late-night dinner at restaurants including McCormick & Schmick's, Jasper's and Kona Grill.

Apartments and townhouses are in six buildings; the tallest has four floors of apartments above two levels of shops. One of the larger units has 1,164 square feet plus a balcony. The Domain is on North MoPac Boulevard (Loop 1) between Braker Lane and Burnet Road and has already attracted some renters.

Rents in the development range from $1,030 a month for a one-bedroom apartment with 678 square feet to $2,430 a month for a one-bedroom loft, though 10 percent of the units have been reserved at below-market rents for people in lower income levels. That was part of the deal developers made with the city.

Such high-style living comes at a price: Rents start at $1,030 a month for a one-bedroom apartment with 678 square feet. The highest-priced units are in the block next to Neiman Marcus. One unit in that section, above Tiffany, with 1,164 square feet plus a balcony, will rent for $2,285 a month. The most expensive unit is a one-bedroom, one-bathroom loft that will rent for $2,430 a month. Open-air developments that blend retail, residential, office and other uses are cropping up across the country, but the Domain is the first in Central Texas, said Kent Collins, a partner with Centro Partners LLC, the local developer involved in the $30 million residential portion. "This is by far the largest, most complex mixed-use project in Austin with residences on top of retail," Collins said. "Nowhere else is there 700,000 square feet of world-class retail with innovative apartments above."

Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group Inc. and Austin-based Endeavor Real Estate Group are developing the retail part of the Domain, which opens March 9. The $245 million center is on North MoPac Boulevard (Loop 1) between Braker Lane and Burnet Road. The apartments and townhouses are in six buildings with brick, limestone, and sage- and butter-yellow stucco exteriors; the tallest building has four floors of apartments above two levels of shops.

Columbus Realty Partners Ltd. is the lead developer on the residential portion; its partners are Simon and GE Asset Management, the investment arm of General Electric Co. Leasing agent Lincoln Property Co. has signed up 17 tenants, and the first few have moved in. Under a tax incentives package the city approved in 2003, the developers agreed to reserve 10 percent of the units at below-market rents for people in certain income ranges. Rents will range from $630 to $747 a month for people who earn $27,000 to $32,000 a year. That makes them affordable to people such as Mando Perez, who learned he was eligible when he started working in the Domain leasing office. "I jumped on it," said Perez, whose commute will be an elevator ride down to the leasing office. "It allows you to live at a place you normally wouldn't be able to afford." Perez is looking forward to living, working and shopping in one place. "You can do it all in your own little area," he said. "It's like a city within a city." Jason Pickard, who sells new homes for Gehan Homes in Round Rock, stopped by the leasing office last week to take a look. The Domain seems like "fine and fun living," he said. His commute would be easier with the recent opening of the Texas 45 tollway. The Domain also includes 90,000 square feet of offices and eventually is expected to have a hotel and movie theater.
snovak@statesman.com; 445-3856