Open road to open land

Open road to open land

Written by Shannon Colletti and Christi Covington Sunday, 07 October 2007

Toll anticipated as eastern catalyst for commercial growth

When a new segment of SH 130, or Toll 130, opened from Hwy. 290 to Hwy. 71 last month, it gave cities in north Travis and Williamson counties direct access to the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, and potentially, to increased commerce.

“Anybody who’s ever driven IH 35 in rush hour would gladly seek an alternative,” Round Rock Mayor Nyle Maxwell said, “and 130 provides that alternative.”

As residents in Pflugerville, Round Rock, Hutto and Georgetown try using the toll road, city officials are in various stages of planning for their portions of the corridor. The four cities have around 20 miles combined along the stretch.

Pflugerville staff has prepared infrastructure to support growth, and has begun rezoning the land for commercial uses.

“This is extremely important,” said Charles Simon, Pflugerville Community Development Corporation director. “Pflugerville has never had major frontage on a highway — ever.”

The one-mile segment of the toll road in Round Rock is in the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction, and until it becomes part of the city limits, officials cannot truly put the wheels in motion.

Hutto officials recognize the importance of the land along Toll 130 and have strict land-use guidelines in place for when the land is annexed.

Mark Thomas, Georgetown’s economic development director, said the city is well aware of the significance that the IH 35 and Toll 130 intersection holds.

The way of the toll

HUTTO

Before Toll 130 opened late last year, the only major road in Hutto was Hwy. 79. Reaching the city by automobile often meant taking IH 35 to Hwy. 79 and heading east.

Toll 130 has changed all that by giving motorists the choice between taking IH 35 or a north/south toll road — with significantly less traffic — several miles east of it.

Hutto officials realized that the addition of a major north/south thoroughfare carried great implications for the city. People could come and go more freely. Existing businesses could take care of their needs, such as transporting goods, much faster. New businesses would be attracted by the newfound ease of travel.

“State Highway 130 is a major impact on our residents, our future development and especially any future industrial or commercial properties that are looking at Hutto,” City Manager Ed Broussard said.

Now that the third segment of Toll 130 is open, Hutto residents and visitors also recognize its value in traveling to and from the airport much faster.

Although most of the land bordering the 5.75 miles of toll road in Hutto is farmland, the city council passed an ordinance in April establishing the Gateway Overlay District, which identifies the policies and guidelines for developing the area along the toll road corridor.

“We’ve been planning for it in the future,” said Matthew Lewis, community development director, about the toll road. “When those areas along the SH 130 corridor come into our area, they have to do a planned unit development with us. We have ultimate control over the growth area so that we can get the desired uses and look that we’re going for as well.”

The overlay district is composed of areas within city limits as well as within the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction. Lewis said any existing development in the area was placed outside of the overlay district. He also said that the city’s land use plan has the area along the corridor identified as mixed-use development, which is what they are encouraging.

The only definite project planned off Toll 130 so far is a 466-acre, mixed-use development known as the Crossings of Carmel Creek, which is set to break ground sometime next year.

Toll 130 was a major factor in bringing the Crossings to Hutto, Broussard said. The toll road has been open less than a year, and Broussard said officials have seen “a progressive increase” in the number of prospects looking to develop within a few miles of it.

GEORGETOWN

A unique part of Toll 130 has its place in Georgetown — it is the only juncture where the toll road and IH 35 connect.

“That’s a critical intersection,” said Mark Thomas, Georgetown economic development director, “and I think that could lead to development because you can access two different highways from a location in Georgetown.”

Although no projects are officially planned for that area yet, city planner Jordan Maddox said the city expects it will eventually become a regional commercial destination and employment center.

Some companies have already jumped at the chance to relocate to Georgetown, with the toll road being a major factor in their decisions. Thomas said that representatives with TASUS, a plastics molding company, and Orthopeutics, L.P., a biotech company, both indicated Toll 130 was a key determinant in moving there because the toll road could provide a convenient, predictable way to travel to the airport and, eventually, even farther south.

“The toll road gives access to the airport, unimpeded, in 35 minutes. Unpredictability [on IH 35] was keeping Georgetown from being considered in the Austin area when companies were looking at relocations, if the airport was an important part of their business,” Thomas said. “But now SH 130 makes [driving to the airport] convenient and predictable.”

As for the corridor’s future, officials say it is still too early to see any major changes happening, although there is some activity.

On the land just south of Hwy. 29, about a mile east of Toll 130, construction began on a new high school last October. Officials planned to build Georgetown East View High School knowing that the toll road would run nearby, but not because of it, said David Biesheuvel, director of construction and facilities with Georgetown Independent School District.

The city’s second high school will sit on more than 130 acres it will share with support services facilities. The school’s buildings will encompass 235,500 sq. ft. The first phase of the $33.9 million, multi-phased project will be completed next summer. Initially only freshmen will be attending classes until the rest of the project has been completed. Then, grades 10 through 12 will be added.

Other than the new high school, Maddox said only a few land use changes have happened off Toll 130 on private properties.

“These projects are trying to take advantage of the few access points that 130 has to Georgetown arterials, and they all see a commercial component as part of that,” Maddox said.

The majority of the land around Toll 130 is still zoned for agriculture use and is not ready for development.

“So if you see areas that aren’t being developed right now, it’s likely that the necessary infrastructure isn’t in place — yet,” Thomas said. “It doesn’t mean it isn’t a key or strategic location. It’s just that it takes a little while to get the funding and planning to put the infrastructure in place to be able to take advantage of the road that has been built.”

PFLUGERVILLE

Pflugerville is open for business.

That is what the Greater Pflugerville Chamber of Commerce has declared for more than a year because in contrast to many neighboring cities, Pflugerville has the water, wastewater, utilities and streets in place to support development along Toll 130.

“Pflugerville is not taking a backseat to Round Rock or Austin anymore. It is at the forefront of commercial activity,” GPCC President Patricia Gervan-Brown said.

In September, the city council also passed a zoning ordinance that will define the development and future of the toll that cuts through an eastern portion of the community. Now more than 3,000 acres are targeted for rezoning this fall. City planning director Trey Fletcher anticipates the change will eventually transform Pflugerville’s economic and business dynamic.

“We need sales tax dollars, but even more than that, it is critical that we get employers. Employers provide residents and turning over of dollars in the community,” he said.

The easy access to the airport mixed with Pflugerville’s available rooftops and location near some major tech businesses like Dell Inc. and Samsung will have the ability to attract those employers, Fletcher believes.

“I think in the future we will see this as a watershed event in the history of Pflugerville. The potential Pflugerville now has with direct access to the airport, is similar to what happened when the railroad came,” he said.

Last summer, the city hired consulting firm Wilbur Smith Associates to create a comprehensive strategy that explored possible development patterns along Toll 45 and Toll 130.

A citizen advisory committee chosen by the city council also offered local insight and gave four principles to define the purpose of the corridor development strategy. They determined the toll development should include:

• A series of unique places to shop and work
• A diversified and leak-free tax base
• An enhanced, long-term market capture
• A smart, healthy and sensible design

The final ordinance approaches zoning with the form, or type, of development desired as the emphasis, which contrasts to the traditional practice of zoning according to use.

“We want to have many uses along the corridor, kind of a hybrid of uses. We are realizing we need to have a focus on what the site looks like, so the pattern is more appealing,” Fletcher said.

The three new zoning districts are labeled CL3 (Corridor-Suburban), CL4 (Corridor-Urban), and CL5 (Corridor-Urban Center). When used together, they can morph into what Fletcher described as something like Pecan Street, but on a much larger level. Residences flow into commercial and commercial into a concentrated town center.

In the end, Toll 130 will define Pflugerville instead of the older highway to the west, Fletcher said. In the past, most traffic has come from IH 35, which technically belongs to the City of Austin.
“IH 35 is not that important any more,” he said. “What historically has been our front door will be our back door.”

ROUND ROCK

The Round Rock portion of Toll 130 runs through the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction only, which means it is not within city limits and cannot be zoned. The area does not have the proper infrastructure yet, either. Consequently, no development projects are underway.

“Our utilities are not out there yet,” said Joe Vining, vice president of economic development in Round Rock. “Once that happens, then we’ll see some development. Right now some of the land is changing hands. They’re cautious and patient buyers. They know that things are just too early in the game right now.”

City planning director Jim Stendebach said he expects the one-mile segment of toll road within the city’s ETJ to be within city limits in less than a year. He also said the city is beginning work on a review of its general plan that was initiated because of Toll 130.

“Obviously it’s a council decision, but we anticipate that business-type uses and some limited commercial would be the most appropriate uses in that area, simply because of that major transportation route being right there.”

In addition to praising the much faster commute to the airport, Round Rock officials seem hard pressed to discuss Toll 130 without bringing up the new Toll 45, four miles of which run through the city.

At this point, Toll 45 provides a way for motorists to get onto 183A Toll, Toll 1, IH 35 and Toll 130 with ease. Most of the Round Rock land along the Toll 45 segment is already zoned for planned unit development or general commercial use or is in its ETJ.

“State Highway 45 is a key component to the success of 130 because it connects 130 to Central and west Williamson County,” Mayor Nyle Maxwell said. “Travis County, unlike southern Williamson County, has no major east-west freeway or toll road system in place. Folks living in Round Rock or southern Williamson County most certainly, in a lot of cases, can get to the airport faster than folks living in central, north or west Austin, simply because they’ve got to get across Austin and then to the airport east [to] west.”

FAST FACTS

• SH 130, or Toll 130, is one part of the Central Texas Turnpike Project.
• The entire CTTP project consists of a 65-mile turnpike system that includes Toll 1 (3 miles), Toll 45 (13 miles) and Toll 130 (49 miles). More than 40 miles of Toll 130 are open.
• When Segment 4 opens next year, the road will be about 49 miles long and reach US 183 south of Austin, near Mustang Ridge. One day, it will reach Seguin, which is close to 80 miles from Georgetown.

How the land is zoned along Toll 130:

Georgetown – mostly for agriculture

Round Rock – cannot be zoned because it’s not within city limits (yet)

Hutto – standard zoning regulations used and then overlay standards apply

Pflugerville – 3,000 acres to be rezoned this fall for largely commerical uses

• In July, when 28 miles of Toll 130 were open, the Texas Department of Transportation reported an average of 33,100 weekday toll transactions — 48 percent higher than projected.
• In the Austin area, about 270,000 TxTags have been activated.
• In May, the state legislature passed a bill that dedicated Toll 130 between IH 35 north of Georgetown and IH 10 near Seguin to the late U.S. Rep. J.J. “Jake” Pickle. The toll road is named Pickle Parkway in his honor.
• To purchase a TxTag, call 1-888-468-9824, TDD/TTY 1-866-590-5155 or visit www.txtag.org.

Source: TxDOT spokeswoman Gaby Garcia, www.dot.state.tx.us, www.txtag.org