Austin | Domain/North Austin
 

North Burnet's future outlined
Austin Business Journal - 2:54 PM CDT Tuesday, March 20, 2007by A.J. Mistretta

It's an area of Austin dominated by a multitude of uses with no clear vision and poor transportation infrastructure. It's also a part of town that could boom in coming years with projects that have the potential to drastically reshape where many Austinites shop, work and live.

The 2,500-acre North Burnet/Gateway area--increasingly referred to as Austin's second downtown--along MoPac Expressway is the subject of a recently-completed study that provides a framework to help realize its untapped promise.

In the next three decades the area targeted in the new master plan could become home to 42,000 residential units and 13.2 million square feet of commercial space including office, retail and industrial, according to an executive summary. In its highest-density areas, buildings could reach a height of 30 stories, creating a significant second core in Austin convenient to the burgeoning northwest part of the region as well as downtown.

http://austin.bizjournals.com/austin...ml?jst=b_ln_hl

.........................

It's beginning to look a lot like Houston ........

Sorry, I still think this is all developer spin. Marketers wishing it to be true. It will be a suburban town center as best...... all separated by large highways. Not a second downtown. ( I will be glad to revisit this in 20 years with all of you.... it's a date.)

MichaelB - I hear what you are saying, but I think that we should give credit where it is due.
This area will change for the better. I really see some possibilities with what is going on.

I know what he's saying, though. It's still a retail development with a lot of space and amenities, not really an urban district - a neighborhood. Perhaps in time that will take hold, though, and we will see it become a true neighborhood which will truly be urban in character.

I think I may be stuck in what I consider a downtown. I get that. There is an energy and density and texture and depth that a "downtown" has. I look at mid-town in Atlanta as a "second" downtown. It has highrise and lowrise. Old neigborhood restaurant and new. Hotels,Offices, Housing, THeatre, museums..... parks (ok, kinda nearby)

I do think the Arbor/Domain area will continue to grow as a commercial center. And it will be a hub of retail. But the format of things around there is by and large suburban. It would take a lot of undoing for the region, in general, to undo what has been done in the last 15 years in the way of vast parking lots that separate developments, yes/no? It will even be interesting to see how the arboretum will progress now that there has been an exodus to the domain.

Do you think the area will infill with housing, offices, entertainment, culture, recreation, condos? Or just more retail and rentals..... all of which lacks some permanance?

If the city of Austin has its way, I think the Domain/Gateway districts will develop as you hope. As for offices, The Domain will consist of close to a million sq ft of offices when built-out (including a 175,000 sq ft office building nearing completion, near Macy's). Parks and a 5,000 seat ampitheater are planned for the eastern edge of the development. There are also early plans for 25-30+ story condo towers (probably 5-10 years down the road). Also, I spoke with one of the store managers, who indicates that the adjacent second phase, "Domain Crossing" will incorporate more of an entertainment component, including a bowling alley (Lucky Strike?) and arthouse cinema, among many others, as yet unnamed.

I do agree, its hard to 'create' a true urban texture from scratch, especially when mall developers like Simon are playing an integral role. I'm still very optimistic that The Domain will fulfill its potential!

As for the Arboretum... I think it will hold its own. Simon owns and manages both properties, and they certainly have a vested interest in keeping the Arboretum viable! The bigger impact has been on the non-simon properties nearby, such as Arboretum Crossing (which lost Circuit City and DSW to the Shops at Arbor Walk, and Great Hills Station, which lost Borders). The Arboretum/Gateway district is still a hot commodity, and most of the abandoned boxes should be backfilled soon. (Including a Target in the vacated Home Depot building, on Great Hills Trail).

Just a few things…

First, Simon Property Group does not own The Domain; Endeavor Real Estate Group does. Currently, they just manage the leasing for Phase I. However, I believe Endeavor sold the land for the Domain Crossing to Simon a year or two ago and thus, Simon may own and manage that property.

Additionally, as far as I know, Endeavor has not chosen to partner with Simon for Phase II of The Domain. Rumor has it that Endeavor will be teaming-up with another retail developer for the management/leasing of Phase II. At least that is what I heard several months ago.

Second, The Domain (Endeavor Real Estate Group's portion) will have over 3 million SF of office space when completely built-out (by 2017). In addition to the office space, the overall plan is to include 300+ hotel rooms, 3,000-4,000 residential units, a 7,000 seat amphitheatre, 1.6 million SF of retail, and a 10+ acre park. Again, this does not include the Domain Crossing (which is solely a Simon Property Group development). Plus, the office space being constructed across from Macy’s (in Building H) is actually 75,000 SF – not 175,000 SF.

Obviously, there will be further developments and redevelopments in the Gateway/N. Burnet neighborhood in the coming couple of decades. By roughly 2030, the City of Austin and the Gateway/N. Burnet neighborhood residents and business owners are envisioning the 2,243-acre (3.5 sq. mi) planning area to be one of high-density, mixed-use developments which will include as many as 82,000 residents (or 24,429 people/sq. mi.); 41,000 apartment, condo and town home units (0 single-family homes); and in excess of 51,500 jobs. Thus, the Arboretum will eventually feel the hurt as the center of commerce moves to its north and east… I wouldn’t be surprised if Simon, in the very near future, decides to sell their stake in the Arboretum. Its value will never be higher than it is today and as the Gateway/N. Burnet area develops, its sells price may reflect this new shift. The glory days of the once great Arboretum are pretty much over…

As always, Mopacs, you make good points......

You're right... I may have mixed up the sq-footage of this office building with the one proposed along Burnet Rd (which is in the 175k neighborhood). Transwestern lists the building at 125k sqft, which I take to include the 1st floor shops, and approx 90k of offices. I also understand that a local/regional law firm has leased a good chunk of that.
http://austin.transwestern.net/pdfassets/pdf_374.pdf

As for Simon... I was probably thinking of Domain Crossing with their stake in ownership. Thats a shame about The Arboretum. The setting is second to none, but competing for high-end tenants will be a challenge I'm sure. The nearby Gateway center had plans several years back of expanding, reconfiguring and adding more upscale/lifestyle retailers (Crate & Barrell, etc). I'm guessing much of that is out the window? This was perhaps prior to Simon purchasing the property. How do you see The Arboretum evolving over time?... re-tenanting with less upscale retailers or different uses altogether? Just curious... I guess there are a lot of variables that could play out.

I'm with MichaelB on the difference between a downtown and a retail destination. Apartments are as transient as the shoppers who come in by day and leave for their homes (neighborhoods) at night.

One of my major issues with the Domain is that it is a master plan. Very few "downtowns" were built in this way. The master plan is still synonymous with mall culture, even if the mall has been turned inside out and people pushed to the streets. Without a critical mass of homeownership in this area (which may actually happen) and the fragmentation of retail ownership (which won't) the Doman will never become a downtown.

Downtowns are both smooth and rough. They have shining facades and dark alleyways. They have crumbling edges and polished fronts. Some landowners are slumlords and others becons of civility.

Culture needs room to grow; a chance to make mistakes; a chance to express itself. It doesn't need building standards implemented by a master developer. A downtown has to have dicotomy to be reflective of the human condition - nobody is perfect so why do we seek utopian ideals in our building practices?

Good intentions or not, master planners fail to understand the subconscious importance of the seedy, smelly, dirty underbelly of a downtown. For them, the safe route is to seek profits from all gloss and no soul. Hummers. Lattes. Boob jobs. Jesus...

Another observation... the overal site plans show the large, sprawling 2-3 story IBM building (closest to the Burnet/Braker intersection) integrated into their 5-10+ year plans? I'm assuming IBM still owns and operates this structure?

EDIT: Here is a Massing/Conceptual Plan for The Domain. Notice the tall 25-30 floor tower in the center, and the existing retail center along Mopac, on the right-hand side of the image

From Nelsen Partner's website...
http://www.nelsenpartners.com/

http://images21.fotki.com/v755/photo...ualPlan-vi.jpg

Site Plan... Existing Domain retail complex at the bottom center, along Mopac, and the aforementioned IBM building at the top-right corner (light red):

http://images22.fotki.com/v754/photo...iteplan-vi.jpg

NO.... I agree with you. I think of That area as "Downtown Disney".,,, and that is fine for many folks. Truly. But it's like thinking you're really a rock star when it's only Karaoke. ( Or thinking it's "kerry-okey" when it is really Karaoke!) Just be honest about what it is.

And speaking of Jesus..... "God" forbid they actually develope a homeless population!

There will never be a homeless population, because it's all private property. That's why it could never truely be a 'second downtown'. When the streets in the domain are maintained by the city of Austin, then it could possibly be a 'second downtown'. But never if the streets remain private property.

Downtown? Uptown? Midtown?
 

While we are on this topic, pardon me if this is a stupid question, but where is what is considered uptown and midtown Austin. I think I had heard that the University of Texas area was the "midtown" area, but no talk of an uptown. Why would Austin call it a 2nd downtown? Is uptown and the Med Center in Houston considered 2nd and 3rd downtowns as well because they have high- and mid-rise buildings and areas of retail?

ah, good point.... again

Yeah, I live there (here) and I'm not sure. I have heard the area from the Capitol to UT refered as both Uptown and Midtown..... I usually call it midtown ..... but there doesn't seem to be any one consistant term. Technically, I believe (oh, gods of the forum correct me in my doubt) that up to MLK is considered the CBD. ( I know my taxes think we are!) I have also heard many folks call the area between downtown and UT the "Capitol complex".

I'll stick with Midtown.

It is...... complex. Somebody tell me where I liveeeeeee!!!!!!!!

Thats funny... I don't think there has ever been an agreed-upon label for areas north of the CBD. The terms midtown and uptown have been thrown around randomly for various areas of central and north-central Austin. For instance, I have heard many refer to the state Health and Human Services complex and "Triangle" area as midtown (centered around the confluence of Guadalupe and Lamar)... and some have referred to the urbanizing Burnet Road corridor as " Uptown" (and a few call it midtown!). I guess it could be worse....downtown Charlotte is referred to as "uptown Charlotte" by the locals. I'm sure there's a reason, but for the tourist I found it a bit perplexing :koko: :koko:

As for the Domain, I think rad707 makes a good point in reference to "fragmentation of retail ownership." As discussed earlier, the whole of the complex is owned by only 1 or 2 entities. No 'town center' developed by Simon properties will ever be a 'true' downtown (especially at street-level). In time, as (or if) lots are sold off to various groups, then you will find more variety in the individual developments , instead of a strictly 'Disney' facade.

I think we're all (including myself) getting caught up in the semantics of 'downtown'... I envision The Domain developing along the lines of an Atlantic Station (Atlanta), somewhere between a 'traditional' downtown, and a Las Colinas.

The aforementioned example of Atlantic Station, in Atlanta, GA.... a former brownfield (steel mill) site. Not exactly another downtown Atlanta, but not half bad either:

http://www.atlanticstation.com

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/...ic.xlarge1.jpg

http://www.raisethehammer.org/images...station_01.jpg

http://www.raisethehammer.org/images...station_02.jpg

http://www.raisethehammer.org/images...mmons_park.jpg

Now this would be nice... a real Grocery store (hell, the 'first' downtown Austin could use one too!):
http://www.raisethehammer.org/images...station_03.jpg

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g1...c_station1.jpg

http://www.raisethehammer.org/images...ion_map_sm.jpg

40+ story Novare condo tower on the way (Atlantic Residences):

http://www.novaregroup.com/images/po...o/atlantic.jpg

Photos from: http://www.raisethehammer.org/index.asp?id=305
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_Station

I agree... But, there's another thing we're forgetting here. This whole "second downtown" concept pertains to the entire Gateway/N. Burnet planning area; in which The Domain project makes up slightly less than 10% of the total area. It seems to me that some forumers are viewing The Domain as Austin's "second downtown." Which is not the case.

Furthermore, the initial rezoning of The Domain’s phase II has yet to be finalized; let alone the remaining 2,000 acres in the planning area. At the outset, The Domain is going to be limiting the height of its buildings to 308’. However, in the years to come, a taller building could come along in either The Domain or in another section of the planning area.

Your are right Goldenboot plus I don't like the term 2nd downtown. I don't think it makes much sense to call a place a 2nd downtown a city should only have one downtown, call it uptown or mid-town. The soon-to-be vacant Concordia area what about that. Screw the domain concentrate the growth in the the public area not private companies.

This whole thread is strange to me. I feel like the developers of this visionary project are catching flack.

Let's not lose sight of the fact that the area of "The Domain" - WAS/IS a very ratty industrial warehouse area.


I think some of the criticisms are not very well thought out. I am tickled pink with the projects that are moving forward in an otherwise unliveable part of town.

I agree, this is making great use out of an area of town that is far from aesthetically pleasing. In a city where large scale developments face frequent neighborhood opposition, the Burnet/Gateway planning area presents a unique opportunity that is largely immune from such forces. The area also encompasses the large swaths of industrial/warehouse complexes between Burnet and Metric. I'm sure a good chunk of that will see redevelopment over the next 10-20 years.

On another note... what are the long-term prospects for the Arboretum Crossing shopping center (anchored by Dave & Busters)? I've always found that to be somewhat of an awkward location for a retail center, due to limited visibility and access from the freeways. The center has lost at least 4 anchors over the past few years, two of which moved across the street to Simon's Arbor Walk (circuit city and DSW). The adjacent Gateway Shopping center would seem fine for now, but I also wonder about its long-term prospects.

Long-term it is still fundamentally good real estate. Although it has some visibility issues, it is still at the intersection of 2 freeways and the demos are superb.
There are lots and lots of retailers that haven't even entered the market yet. And with Austin's retail occupancy at 95%- Big Box retailers don't have as many choices on where they can go as you think. I would be willing to bet that there will be LOI's working on the Circuit city and DSW spaces soon (if there aren't already)

It does matter when the only way to access these artifical areas is to have the availabile resources such as the automobile and mainly the money. These areas are excluding a large portion of the population of Austin.

Have you even bothered to look at the North Burnet/Gateway redevelopment website? The whole point of it is to tie together land-use and transportation planning, which includes elements such as commuter rail, pedestrian/bicycle accommodation, bus system integration, and even streetcars.

Thats good to hear... we do have a very strong retail market, and the Arboretum submarket has always been very desireable. Speaking of, is Target still on track to occupy the former Home Depot (Great Hills/183)? Nothing much seems to be happening at this time.

Ok, this is going off topic..Are there any prospects for the 12+ former Albertsons? I only know of one that has been filled (Fiesta Mart at 35/Stassney). I wonder if Ross snatched up any of the stores?

That is true... the city is playing a very active role in planning and redevelopment. As GoldenBoot mentioned, The Domain comprises a relatively small fraction of the planning area. If nothing else, the retail center can provide a jump-start and momentum toward the overall redevelopment process

I too heard that there is a target deal working at the former Homedepot.

Regarding Albertsons - I have heard a rumor that there is a Grocer looking to take 10 of the stores.(don't know who it is) More power to them.
I know I wouldn't want to go head-to-head with the 400LB Gorilla that is HEB.

From an email received...

......................


http://www.impactnewspaper.com/www/docs/195.1484


http://www.impactnewspaper.com/image...os/gateway.jpg

I crackplogged about this aspect, titled "The Great Interconnections Lie". In short, circulators are a huge disincentive for choice commuters; and a plan that relies on them to carry a non-trivial amount of the load is doomed to failure.

Do you think that the neighborhoods and the people reflect the development or does the development reflect the neighborhoods and the people?

I think that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

I bet if you were to survey the people who work and live in the Domain, they would probably tell you how much they love the neighborhood and it's amenities.

Southsidetx04 - Do you think that you are stretching here looking for a problem which doesn't exist????

Would I personally want to live in the Domain?? - NO - But that is MY choice.
The same way it is the choice of the people who live in the Domain neighborhood.

I can tell you from experience that leasing is no cakewalk!!!! If there isn't a demand for people to live in the Domain neighborhood - then they will fall on their ass.

Again- Do not lose sight of the fact that where the Domain sits Was/Is a ratty industrial office warehouse area. I am glad that Simon, Endeavor, etc.. are stepping up to create a quality development.

The look of the Domain "reminds" me of Disney World the way its built around looking real or feeling real but in reality everything is fake and at the end they really just want you to buy their stuff.

Are you saying the only people that matter is the people that can afford to shop and live there?
In terms of the Domain and the Domain itself, A quote from James Howard Kunstler " The true public realm then, for the sake of argument, is that portion of our everyday world which belongs to everybody and to which everybody would to have equal access most of the time. The public realm is therefore a set of real places possessing physical form".

I agree with TDoss. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Some people may prefer living and hanging out in places far remote from what the Domain offers, and some people prefer "Disney World." And . . . so what? Does it bother people that much that a place like the Domain exists? It serves it purpose for the people that like it. Those that don't like need not visit it. And, duh, of course in the end they really just want you to buy their stuff. Otherwise, what's the point in its development? There are plenty of "real" places left in Austin that all of us can enjoy as well. Or, are you saying that Austinites have to choose between "Disney World" or the "real world"?

Perhaps some clarity from a South Austinite could help here.

Austin doesn't extend beyond Anderson. Anything further north is Dallas.

Everyone down here knows that.

In the case of the Arboretum and Domain districts, I would definitely agree.. Yuppie districts ..vs.. Quintessential Austin. But as I've stated, I like The Domain and what it has to offer. Time will tell what happens, but for now, whats built is an upscale mall in the form of a town center. It serves its purpose.

Yeah, I kinda understood where he was going, my sarcasm was weak without emoticons. [missing winky emoticon] I lived on William Cannon 20 years ago when it was considered "North San Antonio" and when North and South Austinites were stilling having the tug-of-war contests at town lake with wine (north) and Lone Star beer (south). I still get a chuckle when I hear "Hell, I don't go north of the river." Still, fact of the matter is that Austin has developed beyond these artificial city limits. People need to accept it and move on.

There's "disney world" development in South Dallas that can be enjoyed and there's also the "real" development in North San Antonio at Slaughter and I-35 that can be enjoyed. There, now we can all be happy. :D

Hear, hear.

North Austin - yuppies.
South Austin - hippies, myself included :haha:

I kid, I kid. North Austin is fine, and South Austin has started getting more "North Austinesque" developments lately. While I am in the camp of the old Austinites, (born and raised in South Austin), and proud of it, I'm totally cool with more development, even modern stuff. ;) I really just hope that whatever does come along is good quality stuff and affordable to people.

Yuck to both of those, but do pour a tall glass of whatever foreign beer you have. Particularly English or German if you have it. :)

I thought you were born in SA?

Heh, I was. I don't know why I said that. :koko:

My folks had a family friend who was a doctor so they went to San Antonio to have me. I've always been proud of the fact that I was born there. I feel like having been born in San Antonio and growing up in Austin and calling it home, two of the most important cities in Texas history, that it's made me love Texas even more. That's also why I can't stand the fueds between Austin and San Antonio whenever they come up. I don't want to take sides.

Haha, can't get an inconsistency past an attorney.

Extensive article from this month's NW Austin Community Impact newspaper. Includes interesting rendering of North Burnet Rd, near 183:

http://www.impactnewspaper.com/www/docs/226.1576

New zoning increases density

North Austin neighborhood target of growth
By Rachel Youens


http://www.impactnewspaper.com/image.../Picture_1.png

In the next 20 years, the Austin population will nearly double in size, and those 1.5 million people are all going to need a place to live. Since the Austin city limits aren’t getting any bigger, city officials recognize their only choices are to grow taller and denser, and their eyes are set on Northwest Austin for a bold style of zoning that could put 20-story buildings along the streets you drive every day.

This 2,300 square acre area, known as the North Burnet/Gateway Neighborhood Planning Area, is bordered by Metric Boulevard to the east, MoPac to the west and US 183 to the south.

“The North Burnet/Gateway neighborhood is a huge area the size of downtown, the state office complex and UT planning areas combined,” Planning and Zoning Director Molly Scarbrough said. “It’s also an area where two rail lines come into pretty close proximity, half a mile to a mile of one another. There are really only two other areas in Austin where that happens.”


Neighborhood planning

Since 1996, the city has used the neighborhood planning process to take input from residents and developers in creating zoning, land use maps and building standards. The neighborhood plan is then reviewed by the planning commission and adopted by the city council as an amendment to the city plan.


The planning for the North Burnet/Gateway neighborhood, technically two neighborhoods lumped together, began in February 2002. For most neighborhood plans, the process is small and starts with community input and ends with simple zoning. For North Burnet/Gateway, the planning and zoning department saw the unique public transit, land and road features of the area and decided to do something bigger. They hired a consulting firm to look at the viability of the neighborhood being redeveloped to shoulder Austin’s growth.

This neighborhood is larger than any other in the city, but besides simply size and transportation access, planning and zoning has a number of reasons it has chosen this area for what one consultant calls a “second downtown.”

All the right elements

The North Burnet/Gateway neighborhood uses the term “neighborhood” lightly. The area holds commercial developments such as the Arboretum and Gateway shopping centers, and industrial areas like IBM and UT’s Pickle Research campus, but no single-family residences, only apartments.

The 2000 census showed 4,800 residents, an extremely low population density compared to other neighborhoods such as the North Austin Civic Association neighborhood, the one closest to North Burnet/ Gateway, with 22,000 residents. This means development there is less likely to disturb existing homeowners.

The bulk of North Burnet/Gateway also lies just outside the Edwards Aquifer Recharge zone, making it less
environmentally sensitive. For a well developed area, this neighborhood still has a large amount of vacant land and publicly-held land that serve as ideal catalyst sites for introducing a new style of development.

A new type of zoning for north Austin

After a community vision meeting in July 2006, the consultants took residents’ suggestions and went to the drawing board. When they presented their draft plans to the public March 24, renderings showed tall buildings, townhouses and mixed-use developments similar to the Domain.

The Domain has become a test case for what planning and zoning wants to do with the area, but while mixed-use may be the wave of the future, it is plagued by outdated zoning laws.

“The Domain case is interesting because they came in and they had to jump through a lot of hoops to do the kind of development that they’re doing. The zoning system isn’t set up for that, and we haven’t made it easy for them,” Scarbrough said. “Even though we as a community are supporting this kind of development, our rules and regulations were created in the past without this type of development in mind.”

Consequently, this neighborhood plan will be the first in north Austin to use a zoning overlay, a type of zoning more commonly used in areas such as Town Lake and the Capitol building.

“A zoning overlay creates a sense of place. There’s a vision to a particular area that we’re trying to achieve,” Neighborhood Planning and Zoning Department Director Greg Guernsey said. “In the University neighborhoods of West Campus, a zoning overlay allowed higher buildings. In some respects that’s kind of what’s being suggested here.”

Unlike traditional zoning, where a specific purpose is assigned to a specific piece of property such as residential or commercial, the zoning overlay allows multiple uses to exist simultaneously and assigns general zoning subdistricts over large areas.

“What we’re trying to do is create the type of regulatory environments to facilitate [the Domain’s] type of development without everyone jumping through the hoops,” Scarbrough said.

Neighborhood concerns

While the North Burnet/Gateway Neighborhood has no single-family homes, the outlying areas are filled with residential neighborhoods.

“The area would benefit from zone overlay and there are a lot of positives to the plan. But my neighborhood’s concern is when you put in a zone overlay where you could add tens of thousands of people, you need to consider traffic impact not just within the boundaries of the plan but on the people immediately outside the plan as well,” said Milwood Neighborhood Association president Dustin Lanier. “What happens to the Duval exit [impacts the] quality of life in Milwood.”

The draft does include some new road construction and offsets the high density with strict building codes requiring tall buildings to be set back allowing light into the street. Construction over a certain height would require developers to contribute to greenspace or drainage.

“The thought of bringing potentially 80,000 new residents in this area in 30 years is scary,” Scarbrough said. “But the key here is a) in thirty years and b) the regulatory framework that we’re creating could accommodate that. It doesn’t mean that every building is going to be 20 stories, most likely they’re not.”

While Lanier is a supporter of public transportation and dense living, he wants to make sure that the quality of life in the city doesn’t compromise the quality of life in his neighborhood.

“If Duval Road is not well planned, and is set up to be one of the main mouths to the “second downtown,” it will reduce the value of our properties, and raise the daily agitation level of everyone trying to get home,” Lanier said.

“Conversely, if it is planned for, and we can still get home without waiting and waiting, we have a lot to look forward to in what the Domain and North Burnet/Gateway will bring.”

---------------------------------------------

EDIT: Link to full PDF April edition of above Community Impact Newspaper. Includes addtional materials/graphics

http://www.impactnewspaper.com/image...rch%201-20.pdf

Associated Blog from Blogspot.com, via Community Impact NP

http://www.northburnetgateway.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Interview: Molly Scarbrough

Molly Scarbrough a senior planner with the city's Neighborhood Planning and Zoning Department, heading up the North Burnet/Gateway plan.

Contact Molly at:
molly.scarbrough@ci.austin.tx.us
(512) 974-3515

What is the North Burnet Gateway redevelopment in short?
A plan to redevelop a lot of the existing light industrial warehouse and retail uses in the area now into a more vibrant mixed-use neighborhood. The plan really seems to accommodate a lot more residents in the area and particularly because our region is expected to double in population in the next twenty years. This plan hopes to capture, or at least accommodate, that growth in a much more urban, mixed-use fashion.

Why here and why now?
Why now, we’re expecting pop to double in twenty years, so the city is faced with that in general and why here because it’s an area that’s served by potentially two future passenger rail lines the first being the capital metro rail line, which will open in 2008, a commuter rail from Leander to downtown and then potentially also an Austin San Antonio commuter rail. Now that rail isn’t funded yet but a lot of people are talking about planning for it in the future. This area is an area where those two rail lines come into pretty close proximity, half a mile to a mile of one another, and there are really only two other areas of Austin where that happens and that is near downtown where the rail line goes to Seaholm, and the rail line goes to the convention center. And the other is at the Robbinson ranch area. So it’s a good place to capitalize on that, and the potential circulator transit which sort of spurs of that which capital metro will use to get people to and from he stations. Not only will we have the rail lines we’ll also have rapid bus lines running through the area.

Secondly it currently has no single-family residence in it, it’s a huge area the size of downtown Austin, the state office complex and UT combined. It’s a pretty huge area that doesn’t accommodate almost any resident at all, a few apartment complexes.

Are the people living in these dense housing developments likely to be single people and retiring couples?
Honestly at first that would probably be true just because of the market and it’s just a new type of development in this area. I believe that over time that’s going to change. The reason I saw “at first it’s going to be like that” is because it’s part of the Austin mentality that if you have a family with children, you want a single family house, I think that mentality is going to take a while to shift. So I don’t think it’s that it can’t be accommodated, I don’t know that the market is there now, however our plan encourages and I think there are several places for town homes, residential uses, things that are a little more dense. Mixed use but maybe a little more family oriented. As Austin grows and people begin thinking about Austin in a more urban fashion I think the demand for that kind of housing is going to increase.

UT stand out from the rest of the development like an island. What will become of this land?
So UT owns the main Pickle research campus, the shops at arbor walk and they also own this western tract. That’s mostly vacant right now, the MCC building is there.

We’ve had a lot of discussions with UT through this plan, asking them what they want to do with that land, and they really don’t know. Because they don’t know and don’t’ have a real solid plan for the area at this time they don’t want to commit to any plans through our planning process. What we were able to uncover in the planning process is that most likely in the future the main pickle campus will remain for UT purposes. That seems pretty set, nothing is set in stone, but it seems pretty certain that this area will not be opened up for private development. Obviously the shops at arbor walk have opened for private dev and the western tract was one of those that they didn’t really have plans for yet and they were hesitant to commit it to our planning process and they wanted to make it clear that they don’t have any plans to redevelop it at this time, but it seems a little more likely that that’s in the realm of possibility for that. Before they make any plans it has to go through their board of regents, facilities management team, etc. etc. So there’s no plans for that now, but just like they sold off the shops at Arbor Walk it has potential to do that, so we wanted ot have a plan in place in case they did. UT had a master plan made a few years ago and it was never adopted, it was really an exciting plan because it was a much more urban environment.

Even with these rail lines going through there’s still not a direct connection between this campus and the other. Although a walk from the rail station to the edge of the pickle campus will would be about 15 minutes, there will be buses that connect that station to the campus and that will connect the two campuses.

How has the Domain project influenced the North Burnet/Gateway project?
For us the Domain has been a nice market reality, because they are seeing demands for office, for high-rise residential, for commercial retail. It’s kind of nice because a lot of times we plan things and hope we’re planning it right. The Domain case is interesting because they came in and they had to jump through a lot of hoops to do the kind of development that they’re doing, the zoning system isn’t set up for that. They were able to do it because they have a really large piece of land, and well established developers that know the system in and out and have been able to finagle their way through our system, which we haven’t made it easy for them even though we as a community are supporting this kind of development it’s just that our rules and regulations were developed in the past without this in mind.

What we’re trying to do is create the type of regulatory environments to facilitate that type of development without everyone jumping through the hoops so that you get smaller developers and property owners who an do this kind of development that can do it without having to hire a law firm just to get through the zoning system.

What reaction are you hearing from the community?
We’re getting a wide range of reaction, some people very supportive because they support the idea of accommodating growth, recognizing that the city can’t keep sprawling out and that we need to start densifying in areas and this is a good place to do it. Because there are no single family residences and some natural and unnatural buffers around the area created by the highways and the creeks other commercial industrial projects. A lot of people say ‘you know we’ve got to accommodate growth’, this is a good place to do it without disrupting single-family residential neighborhoods. We get a lot of support for that, then we have some people concerned about traffic, we have some existing business owners in the area worried what zoning changes will mean to them, regardless of zoning changes the city has an overall non-conforming use policy which means that if you have existing biz and you stay in same building footprint and don’t make any major changes you can stay in the same business from here on out no matter how zoning changes. No one is getting pushed out. Really effects redevelopment as things change over time.

A lot of people excited about creating a neighborhood in this area because it really not a neighborhood now, parks and open space, industrial land that has been largely ignored the environment and trying to uncover it again. It’s not going to go back to a completely natural state, that’s not the point of this plan, but in bringing in urban development and new business parks and open space are going to be key.

Can you explain the idea of the Gateway shopping center build-out your consultants developed?
Consultants did a really interesting study, the study showed that you could leave the existing buildings where they are, take the surface parking and replace it with structured parking garages at key locations, you could infill development and it’s got a pretty good potential street network already built in. You could infill residential development here and then leave the existing buildings where they are. Then over time as the life of the buildings expires after ten or fifteen years, development can slowly grow higher.

It was an interesting study because a lot of people see this area and they say ;oh but it’s already built out’ but the fact is Home Depot has moved across MoPac, DSW has moved across MoPac, whole foods is going to move across MoPac. By no means is Gateway in a decline, I don’t want to imply tat at all, but the fact is that things change over time and people are appealed by the new domain development, and shops find it more appealing too. So it amy be that the owners of Gateway say “hey, how can we do this” and there a way to do it without reconstructing, extensively, what’s there already.

What would you like people to know about the North/Burnet Gateway plan?
What people are concerned about, and I think it might be over-inflated concern, is traffic, you will always hear that at planning meetings. Because the thought of bringing potentially 80,000 new residents in this area in 30 years. The key here is a) in 30 years and b) is the regulatory framework that we’re creating could accommodate that, it doesn’t mean that every building is going to be twenty stories most likely it’s not. You see downtown where there is no height limit right now and you see a total mix of heights of buildings and that’s just how things evolve over time.

I don’t want people to be too scared by that number but the other thing is that the traffic, yes there will be more people here they’ll also have much greater access to transit, they’ll be able to walk to places instead of getting in their car instead of everyone funneling into the street. There will be some attraction for people to come to this area, but I don’t know if it’s going to be that much greater than what is already here. People are already coming to gateway shopping center, they’re already coming to the Domain.

We’re not proposing Disney world here, people will be attracted to live and work in this area, but it’s not going to be every development as a huge retail destination. Yes some people will want to drive to the Domain and they’ll want to drive to work, but is there are a reason for them to drive through these neighborhoods to get somewhere else: probably not. So there will be a little increase in traffic, like on Duval and Braker, but I don’t anticipate a whole 80,000 people are going to flood the residential neighborhood. The numbers seem scary but if you think about traffic patterns people trying to get from one destination to another, I don’t anticipate that throughway (in neighborhoods) as much as people fear.



Posted by ImpactNews at 2:26 PM 1 comments

And another, from March '07

http://www.northburnetgateway.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

What is the North Burnet Gateway Redevelopment?


http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u...s/Picture3.png
WHAT:
The City of Austin is planning to rezone and set the bar for a new type of mixed-use growth in this North Austin area of town that would possibly turn it into a high-rise, metropolitan district.The North Burnet Gateway neighborhood district is larger than both the Robert Mueller redevelopment and the Downtown Central Business district. Through rezoning and transportation planning the city hopes to eventually turn this area into a pedestrian friendly transit oriented development that would incorporate 30-story buildings right next to bike paths.

WHERE:
The North Burnet Gateway Planning Area is located in the north part of Austin's Urban Core. The boundaries for the planning area are Walnut Creek on the north, Metric Boulevard on the east, US 183 (Research Boulevard) on the south and west, and Loop 1 (Mopac) on the west.

WHY:
This 2,300 acre area of North Austin originated as an industrial district that was home to IBM, The University of Texas' JJ Pickle research facility and other large business developments. Over time shopping centers such as Gateway and the Aboretum have helped the area grow to support retail as well as office. With a unique location along MoPac, US 183 and Braker Lane and a future stop of the MetroRail commuter line the North Burnet Gateway stands to become a major transit hub. This area of town is also far less ecologically sensitive and is primarily outside of the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone.

HOW:
Last summer the neighborhood planning and zoning department took community input during a week-long workshop. They used this input along with help from consultants to create a draft plan that includes zoning, subdistricts, road projects and areas targeted for development. The city presented this draft to citizens March 24 for feedback at a public meeting which all businesses and homeowners in the affected area were invited to. The city is still taking feedback until April 14. The next step is for the plan to be completed and then submitted to the city's boards and subcommittees before adoption by the city council.

WHO:
The City of Austin has hired Carter+Burgess as the prime consultant for the North Burnet/Gateway Plan. The Carter+Burgess team includes Land Design Studio, HDR Engineering, WHM Transportation Engineering, GMSA Management, Estilo Communications, and Raymond Chan & Associates.

WHEN:
Most of the plan's initiatives aim to take effect over the next 20 to 30 years.




Posted by ImpactNews at 1:06 PM 0 comments

Pardon my flood of posts, but here is a supplemental graphic, captured from the PDF version of the aforementioned article:

http://www.impactnewspaper.com/image...rch%201-20.pdf

http://images5.fotki.com/v84/photos/...Gateway-vi.jpg

^ Wow.

Oh my.