Brushy Creek Rd. - Parmer Lane to 183A Toll

Brushy Creek Rd. - Parmer Lane to 183A Toll

Saturday, 07 April 2007

Brushy Creek Road

This month’s corridor highlights the mix of development taking place along Brushy Creek Road between Parmer Lane and 183A Toll.

Brushy Creek Road began a significant transition with the opening of Parmer Lane and now joins FM 1431 and New Hope Road as one of Cedar Park’s three primary east/west corridors.

According to Duane Smith, director of planning and community development for Cedar Park, Brushy Creek Road carried approximately 12,000 cars each day last year. It is the primary outlet for five major residential subdivisions, three parks, and three Leander ISD schools.

The road will also be home to a major employer once BMC Millworks completes construction on their lumber yard this year.

History

H1 — Between 1885 and 1887, 50,000 tons of granite were hauled to Austin to be used in the construction of the State Capitol building. During that time, a train carrying granite blocks from a quarry in Burnet lost its load as it crossed Brushy Creek. The large blocks were too heavy to hoist back up to the train so they were left behind and remain under the train trestle today.

H2 — Cox Elementary was named after Charlotte Ann Cox, a former school teacher who taught in Leander ISD for more than 24 years and died of cancer in 1999. Mrs. Cox taught at Faubion Elementary, the Giddens Sixth GradeSchool, and at both Leander andCedar Park middle schools.

Residential Real Estate

R1 — Construction on Verde Brushy Creek Apartments, a 272-unit complex on 14.3 acres, began last December. The complex is expected to be complete in the second quarter of 2008.

R2 — Portrait Homes is building the Silver Oak Townhomes at 700 Mandarin Flyway. The property will include 22 buildings with 82 units ranging in size from 1,325 to 2,464 sq. ft. The townhouses are expected to be completed by Fall 2008.

Commercial Property

C1 — The BMC Lumber Yard is relocating from north Austin to a new 18-acre site. Site work began in December and the lumber yard is scheduled to be complete at the end of this year with a move-in target at the end of 2007 or early 2008.

Future Land Use

F1 — The Brushy Creek Recreation Park is scheduled to open this fall. The park will have baseball/softball fields, hike and bike trails, picnic tables, benches and a pavilion. Phase II will include additional fields, a playscape and a disc golf course.

F2 — A 2.5 mile extension of the Williamson County Regional Trail is currently in the planning phase. This section of the trail will begin at the Brushy Creek Lake Park just east of Parmer Lane, run through the Brushy Creek Recreation Park and ultimately end at the Twin Lakes Park in Cedar Park. A construction timeline has not been established.

F3 — A total of 362 acres on Brushy Creek Rd. are part of the city’s Development Reserve, which means it has not been assigned a particular zoning classification but is being reserved for future development.

Transportation Update

T1 — Brushy Creek Road will be improved to a four lane divided roadway with raised median, curb and gutters, sidewalks and street lighting. The project will also include a traffic signal at Brushy Creek Road and Lynnwood Drive. Construction is dependent upon the timeline for the TxDOT review and oversight process, but is estimated to begin in April 2008 and end in September 2009. The total project cost is approximately $8 million with $3.4 million in federal funds and $4.6 million from a combination of the city’s General Obligation bond funds and the 4B Development Corporation.

T2 — BMC Drive is currently under construction with an expected completion in early July.