posted on April 15, 2011 01:46
Thousands more acres are now available for commercial and housing development thanks to a Austin City Council decision to create two new Municipal Utility Districts.
A Municipal Utility District, or MUD, is a political subdivision with taxing power to provide water, sewage, drainage and other services within its boundaries. MUDs are sometimes annexed by their home cities. They can be created by cities, the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality or state lawmakers.
The two MUDs created ar Pilot Knob and Rio De Vida.
Pilot Knob
The largest council approved on Thursday was the Pilot Knob MUD, a conglomeration of five MUDs filed in October, planned near William Cannon Drive and U.S. Highway 183. The Pilot Knob MUD is due west of the planned Formula One racing complex and research park, and owned by Carma Easton Inc. E. Scott Lineberry is listed as the point of contact, according to city records. According to city officials, the 2,214-acre Pilot Knob MUD — estimated to require $482.2 million in bonds — is proposing:
- 5,660 single-family units
- 2,420 townhomes
- 6,730 multifamily units
- More than 3.8 million square feet of commercial space
- A 40-bed hospital and an 850-room hotel
Rio De Vida
Another MUD, called Rio De Vida, was proposed to the city in December by Dallas-based Texas Industries Inc. This one is proposed to cost $405 million in bonds and could rival Pilot Knob in size. It will seek to create a community with 15,530 residents and about 9,000 jobs, according to city records. In all, Rio De Vida proposes 1,370 single-family homes, 1,143 townhomes, 1,505 “condo mansions” and 4,055 “urban” apartments.
4/7/11, Jacob Dirr, Austin Business Journal