PLAN PROGRESS
Austin City Council passed the North Burnet/Gateway Plan in 2007. Since then, council has updated the plan multiple times as the city grows in population and employment. The vision for the plan extends to 2035, and Austin is currently at a mid-point. Here are key highlights of the plan’s progress.
SOURCE: CITY OF AUSTIN COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
2006
2007
2009
2012
2013
November City Council adopts the plan with a district map to implement land uses in North Burnet/Gateway.
City sta present the North Burnet/Gateway 2035 Master Plan for long- range redevelopment.
Council approves the nal design of the area’s zoning plan.
Council updates the plan to allow some industrial services to continue.
Council approves boundaries for each subdistrict, a delineated area with unique development allowances.
room for a ordable housing units in the mixed-use spaces, de ned as rent and utilities costing no more than 30% of a household’s gross income, said Je ery Patterson, public information specialist for the city of Austin’s Hous- ing and Planning Department. Fast forward to 2022, and develop- ment in The Domain, inauguration of the Q2 Stadium and Austin FC, and the construction of several apartment communities has added more people to North Burnet/Gateway. Addition- ally, the presence of Apple, Samsung and Amazon campuses in the north has caused reverse commute, with large amounts of workers traveling from the city to suburban areas for work. Capital Metro, which operates Met- roRail, a commuter train that connects Leander to downtown, has started building two railway stations within 1 mile of each other in the North Bur- net/Gateway zone. This makes the North Burnet/Gateway area the center of transit for commuters and an eco- nomic focus away from downtown. “We really can’t just stu it all into 19 square blocks downtown; it really had to have a release valve,” Pool said. Two Austin City Council resolutions initiated by Pool this year gave a major thrust forward to changes in the plan. A May resolution amended the max- imum height of buildings in North Burnet/Gateway depending on use to 420 feet tall, or about 38-40 stories, instead of the original 308 feet tall, or about 28-30 stories. It also increased the oor-to-area ratio, or the size of the building’s oor related to the site, to allow greater density and increase the square footage in a building. Community partners The city will connect with major stakeholders for input on the plan to form their recommendations to the city, said Jorge Rousselin, divi- sion manager of zoning urban design for the city of Austin who manages
RESIDENTIAL PROJECTS
Multiunit residential communities are under construction to provide for the high-density population expected in North Burnet/Gateway. The presence of two railway stations, a proposed 400-space parking lot, and possibilities of reverse commute is expected to support the communities.
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plan. Development never really stopped during the COVID-19 pan- demic and accelerated extraordinarily north of US 183, Pool said. “We wanted to have some coher- ence to that development and a reg- ulating plan. All of these things work together to help give predictability to developers and investors, and it also gives us a sense of place for residents in the vicinity and people who work there,” Pool said. North Burnet/Gateway has a sepa- rate zoning code within its boundaries and a subdistrict map, which outlines di erent levels of entitlements or legal agreements with the city for land use than surrounding areas. City planners and urban designers o cially laid it out in 2006 to focus on Austin’s growth and make it a transit-oriented district. Developers have come to them saying the plan needs an update, Pool’s sta said. Creating, updating the plan Austin City Council began analyz- ing a 2,300-acre area in North Austin in 2006 as a regional center for urban- ization because it had a mix of com- mercial and industrial areas and few residences. A 2000 census showed 4,800 residents living in the North Burnet/Gateway area. The plan shows a long-range rede- velopment concept spanning 30 years with 40,000 residential dwell- ing units, 12 million-13 million square feet of o ce and commercial space, and 4 million-5 million square feet of retail, according to previous Commu- nity Impact Newspaper reporting. The plan also envisioned hotels, indus- trial warehouse and service space, and a maximum building height of 30 stories. Austin City Council adopted the plan in 2007 and has approved many updates since to facilitate develop- ment. Some of these updates allowed
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ALTERRA PKWY.
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Luca Apartments 9100 Metric Blvd., Austin • Units: 390 • Expected completion: Dec. 2022 • Parking garage: Six-story • Distance to McKalla Station: 1.6 miles
METRIC BLVD.
183
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Presidium Apartments 9127 Research Blvd., Austin • Units: 283 • Expected completion: Nov. 2023 • Parking garage: Six-story
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WATERFORD CENTRE BLVD.
RESEARCH BLVD.
183
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SOURCES: UPTOWN ATX, WWW.FAIRFIELDRESIDENTIAL.COM, WWW.PRESIDIUMRE.COM COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
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COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER • COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM
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