Bee Cave les lawsuit to demolish industrial park From the cover
The overview
Director of Communications Crystal Cotti said. “There was never an opportunity to review construction documents or to approve them.” Defendants in the lawsuit include Wheelock and West Austin Business Park developer Velocis, who purchased the land in November 2023. Other construction within the Sweetwater Crossing tract remains ongoing, including the neighboring 110-home subdivision Madrone Canyon and Shoppes at Sweetwater Crossing, which will have 22,500-square feet of retail space.
residential uses, including the Covert Buick GMC Bee Cave dealership. The city of Bee Cave’s lawsuit claims the nature of the current project violates the 2015 agreement, as well as several other city regulations, citing the possible noise, light and tra c concerns of the project. The city also claims the proper noti cation process for developments within the tract were not followed by developers in order to avoid pushback. “The city never received a site plan,” Bee Cave
The logistics center, called West Austin Business Park, began construction last December. Local city leaders said o cials were unaware of the industrial nature of the facility until community members began raising concerns in August. Per city documents, the area, called Sweetwater Crossing, was rst added into the city of Bee Cave’s extrajudicial territory in 2015 as a part of a development agreement with WS-COS development partners, or Wheelock. The agreement outlines a master development plan that sets aside over 403 acres of land o Hwy. 71 for commercial, retail, o ce and
Sweetwater Crossing land use
CAPROCK SUMMIT DR.
A tra c analysis for the facility showed an additional 890 vehicle trips are expected per day—a point which neighboring residents express concern about.
Serene Hills Dr.: 7,348 vehicles per day Hwy. 71: 38,161 vehicles per day WABP: +890 trips per day
71
West Austin Business Park
CROSS PEAK DR.
71
Commercial space Residential space Not sold, use TBD
MADRONE TREE LN.
1
DUKE COVERT DR.
SWEETWATER VILLAGE DR.
Covert Automotive Group
1 Building 1: 77,760 sq. ft. 2 Building 2: 91,800 sq. ft 3 Building 3: 95,040 sq. ft
2
Madrone Canyon
3
Truck docking locations: 82 total O ce spaces
N
SOURCES: TRAVIS COUNTY RECORDS, HUNTINGTON PROPERTIES INC. COMMUNITY IMPACT
The other side
While the city acknowledges receipt of the post-closing agreement from November, the city argues the delivery and timing of the information broke the development agreement. The agreement states that any changes to obligations for the prop- erty should be hand-delivered or mailed to the city at least 15 days from amendment, but Velocis sent the agreement three weeks after it happened, the city said. In its updated Sept. 20 ling, Bee Cave claims the members of the DRC have been “kept secret” and “merely rubber-stamped the construction rather than carefully scrutinizing it.”
after the closing, “the purchaser shall construct a distribution center, ful llment center, or light-in- dustrial warehouse facility.” A three-member entity called the Design Criteria Review Com- mittee, or DRC, was appointed by Wheelock to ensure any developments within the land adhered to the terms of the agreement, per the development agreement. Additional information provided in Velocis’ Aug. 23 response to the lawsuit states the city received a letter from a project engineer Feb. 6 detailing that the DRC approved three industrial facilities for the site, which Velocis said the city did not respond to.
Velocis issued a statement saying the company has proposed nding an amicable solution with Bee Cave, according to previous Community Impact reporting. Additionally, Velocis said the company “strongly believes it will prevail if forced to litigate the [city’s] claims.” As evidence of the city’s awareness of the project, Velocis led an exhibit of a Nov. 29 post-closing agreement that was emailed to former City Manager Clint Garza and former Director of Planning & Development Megan Will following Velocis’ purchase of the land. The agreement states that within 36 months
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