Residents in the North Main Street and West Lake Drive area may soon welcome up to 170 new neighbors as City Council considers approving the development of a 5-acre tract off Commercial Drive.
It was one of two housing initiatives before the council this past week.
The first item, an undeveloped acreage owned by GWV Commercial Drive LLC, will eventually include two multistory apartment buildings as well as a few park-under units, with a public road connecting Commercial to the existing neighborhood to the south.
“It will be fairly highend, with the price of construction these days,” said Jarrett Wood, a member of the project development team for Waypoint Development. He estimated
the price point will start at around $1,500 per month for a one-bedroom unit.
Scott Dunlop, city development services director, introduced the new infill development as well as an amendment to a larger residential and commercial development at public hearings during Thursday’s council meeting.
The second public hearing was for the Davis Tract Phase 2, a 99-acre commercial and residential development near Taylor High School and the Castlewood subdivision. It butts up against Davis Tract Phase 1, a traditional residential neighborhood currently under construction.
The developer is asking to change the land use from Special Employment District and Neighborhood Greenfield to a Neighborhood Plan that will allow for a mix of residential, commercial, hotel and civic space uses on the property.
Dunlop said the parcel is split between an employment center and a greenfield neighborhood and the change will help supply the housing needed to support larger industrial companies in the area.
Plans for the site include 631 residential units, 150,000 square feet of commercial space along Wesley Miller Lane and closer to FM 973 and a 100-room hotel. The site will also have 12 acres for a future Taylor Independent School District campus and seven additional acres of park or open space.
The land does not have any wilderness or natural areas to preserve, so there was no need to set aside any acreage for that purpose, officials said.
“Combined there’s about 19 acres of civic space,” Dunlop said. That is higher than the 10% of dedicated civic space recommended by the city.
“All the residences in the community are within 660 feet of a civic space, so they’re well distributed to make it a walkable neighborhood,” he added.
