Leander transit-oriented development

By Kara Vaught Friday, 20 February 2009

Mobility to and within Leander’s transit-oriented development will improve with the completion of about $12 million in roads, said Pix Howell, Leander urban design officer.

“We’ll have a landing strip for development once we get these roads finished, and they’ll probably be finished about mid-2010,” he said.

An engineer has been hired to design the Leander T, consisting of the extensions of San Gabriel Parkway and CR 273.

The project received $4.03 million in funding from the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization. The grant does not cover engineering, which is being paid for by landowners and is to be reimbursed over time by the associated tax increment financing district.

A resolution to name the CR 273 extension Mel Mathis Avenue was approved at the Aug. 7, 2008, Leander City Council meeting. Mathis, who is deceased, was a real estate broker and developer in the Austin area since 1970.

“Mel was one of the first people to recognize the benefit of having a plan in place [for the transit-oriented development] and displayed real leadership when it came to smaller, less experienced landowners,” Howell said. “He had enough experience to know if [TOD landowners] weren’t being taken care of, it would create a problem down the road. So he was careful to make sure everybody understood and was on board with any of the plan amendments we made before they were adopted.”

Another landowner, in agreement with Leander and Williamson County, hired an engineer to design the extension of CR 269. Once completed, the city will take over the road’s operation and maintenance. The extension will align with Old 2243 and connect to Ronald W. Reagan Boulevard.

The Capital Metro Park & Ride will be redeveloped, according to a concept plan by the Transit Village and Capital Metro development partnership. Howell said the plan calls for mixed-use development and possibly a parking structure.