Central Austin Edition | January 2022

2 0 2 2 A N N U A L C O M M U N I T Y G U I D E

NEEDS Meeting

deserts are east of I-35, according to the United States Department of Food and Agriculture. “My job is to make sure we are building a system that uses the existing public spaces like schools and community centers to give people the ser- vices they need while we try to attract businesses like Tesla,” he said. Sustaining the community Gilliland said developers will lay much of the groundwork for road and water line expansion in areas around Tesla. Beyond meeting basic needs, Gilliland said Whis- per Valley and similar developments focus on envi- ronmental sustainability and self-suciency. During Tesla’s annual stockholder meeting Oct. 7, founder Elon Musk said he wants to create an “ecological paradise” in Travis County, though details of his vision are unclear. Justin Lindabury, a landscape architect at TBG Partners, said his group has been focused on designing parks east of I-35 and the master-planned community Easton Park near the Tesla gigafactory. “[Tesla] really keeps us pushing the envelope on what Austin already is, with sensitivity to the envi- ronment,” Lindabury said. What Gilliland said he does not expect is a land- scape full of mansions. “The Tesla eect will draw many, many busi- nesses to the east side,” Gilliland said. “The income paid to those employees will justify starter homes. ... You need houses in the [$200,000s].” Travillion’s said his biggest hope is that the city and county will invest in infrastructure with the area’s lowest income residents in mind, “before gentrication occurs.” Travillion said Tesla itself will meet some needs in the area, including revamping the former Harold Green Road, now Tesla Road. “If we do things intentionally up front, if we understand the depth and breadth of the problem, we can mitigate a lot of these issues,” Travillion said.

Austin just east of I-35 has seen rapid development in recent years but most of those resources are about 10 miles from Tesla. East of U.S. 183 there are few grocery stores and medical facilities.

Key

MANOR

TRANSPORTATION COUNTY FUNDED

290

SPRINGDALE RD.

Renovated road New road

130 TOLL

CITY FUNDED

AUSTIN

OLD MANOR RD.

Renovated road

MEDICAL

WHISPER VALLEY

JOHNNY MORRIS RD.

Children's Hospital Urgent Care Primary care clinics

111

183

969

WEBBERVILLE LN.

GROCERY STORES

S. PLEASANT VALLEY RD.

TESLA RD.

290 CITY COUNCIL DISTRICTS #

AUSTINS COLONY BLVD.

DEL VALLEY

973

TESLA

AUSTIN BERGSTROM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

NUCKOLS CROSSING RD.

183

E. SLAUGHTER LN.

OLD LOCKHART RD.

973

S. PLEASANT VALLEY RD.

ELROY

BRADSHAW RD.

812

130 TOLL

1437

MAP NOT TO SCALE N

For more information, visit communityimpact.com.

SOURCES: CENTRAL HEALTH, CITY OF AUSTIN, GOOGLE MAPS, TRAVIS COUNTYCOMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER

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CENTRAL AUSTIN EDITION • JANUARY 2022