But this vision of a bustling, stroll-and-shop development with residential space started in better economic times, and the property’s developer said the dream is no longer within reach.
Now, developer Michael Ainbinder, chairman and CEO of The Ainbinder Company, has a new plan for the land. He asked for, and received, a zoning change from the high-density, multi-use downtown district zoning classification. At the Dec. 8 meeting, before the unanimous vote to approve, Ainbinder told the City Council that he has a major retailer lined up for the property, but he needs a zoning classification that will allow him to create a more traditional, lower-density development.
Original vision
Town Center was to be a dense retail and civic activity hub, containing Cedar Park’s City Hall, rec center, residential and retail properties. The city had a model of the proposed development, and renderings are on display on the The Ainbinder Group’s website.
The city’s Town Center page on its website said the development is an important part of the city’s future and that it was adopted as part of Cedar Park’s Comprehensive Plan in 1998. The development was to be pedestrian-oriented and have shared parking, special parking requirements to increase density, and it would connect Cedar Park’s hike and bike and greenway systems. Above all, it was to have “a healthy, long lasting mix of land uses.”
Realtor Mary Mealy saw the model when she went to pay her water bill at City Hall, and she loved the idea. Not only did she purchase a home in the DR Horton Town Center neighborhood, she sold several homes in the neighborhood as well.
“The concept that they had was amazing—it really was,” Mealy said. “It was very innovative, very well-thought out. It was supposed to be built where the residents could walk to everything.”
Economy’s effect
Once the bottom fell out of the real estate market in 2008, however, Ainbinder said the Town Center concept in Cedar Park became extremely hard to sell. He said with competition for retailers suitable for the high-density, multiuse development at the Arboretum and The Domain, as well as 1890 Ranch Shopping Center just across Toll 183, the land would languish without a zoning change.
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