State land up for grabs in Austin

AUSTIN (KXAN) - The State of Texas is open for business -- specifically, real estate. Officials are sifting through several proposals for private developers to take advantage of state land.

Yolonda Rojo was not happy about that possibility in her neighborhood near 45th Street and Bull Creek Road just west of MoPac Boulevard. Each morning, an adjacent 75-acre space is her sanctuary.

"This was going to be like this forever,” Rojo said. “It's been like this for as long as we've lived here for almost 30 years, and we love it."

A new proposal could transform the field into a mixed-used project with residences, offices and shops -- anchored by an H-E-B grocery store. About half of the area would remain undeveloped with trails, and perhaps a community garden and dog park.

• View a site plan here .

The land now belongs to the Texas State Cemetery Committee and the Texas Department of Transportation, and it is included in a list of the state’s most underutilized properties.

"The state would maintain ownership of it, and we would just lease the ground," said Beau Armstrong, president and CEO of Stratus Properties , the developers of downtown Austin’s W Hotel.

The state stands to turn a profit and could use this concept as a way to pay for future improvements or building construction among other possibilities. Any financial success would trickle down, if this public-private partnership – also known as a P3 – comes to fruition.

"Our project will add $4 [million], $5 [million], $6 million a year to the coffers of the city and the school district,” Armstrong said.

That site is just one of three Austin P3s up for consideration before the Texas Facilities Commission. The commissioners – appointed by the governor, lieutenant governor and House speaker – manage most state buildings and must sign off on P3 proposals.

The second site is just north of the State Capitol on Congress Avenue and MLK Jr. Boulevard, which could become the site of a 47-story residential tower, retail center and planetarium.

The third site is on the northeast corner of 15th Street and Lavaca Street, though details of this possible development have not been released. Dallas-based Lang Partners – which is responsible for a string of urban, mutli-family luxury housing – confirmed its application.

State lawmakers recently simplified the steps for P3s. This week, the Texas Facilities Commission also made the process faster and more transparent.

"Now that the process is clearly defined, we're seeing much more interest from the private sector,” said Aundre Dukes, who is directing the P3 process for TFC

Commissioners voted unanimously on Wednesday to notify the public within 10 days of receiving a proposal. At that point, other developers could begin submitting competing proposals for the same land.

Prior to this change, proposals could have been under confidential review by staff for weeks ahead of the commission’s initial vote to move ahead. Dukes said the new rule could cut three to four months out of the process without hurting the necessary review.

Though final approval for the project in Rojo's neighborhood could still be some time away, she said she hopes developers consider her opinion and seek out input from her neighbors about traffic and construction before moving forward.

"How do we see it impacting our livelihood?" she asked.

Armstrong said his company is already reaching out with residential associations in the area and plans to continue outreach and education in the months ahead.

Additionally, the city of Austin would need to consider several other development aspects before any groundbreaking. This could include zone changes, traffic impact and drainage details.