A massive new mixed-use project could be coming to a city about 30 miles south of Austin.
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The Lockhart City Council this week heard a proposal for a 535-acre project, dubbed the Lockhart Commercial District, that would target hospitality, industrial and creative uses, the Austin Business Journal reported.
The project could include a 500-key hotel and conference center, indoor and outdoor sports arenas and fields, a nine-hole golf course, a 5,000-person amphitheater, maker spaces, industrial space, 15 acres of residential units, and food and beverage options.
It would be located near the intersection of Highway 183 and Silent Valley Road, adjacent to Hillwood Communities’ planned multifamily subdivision.
Developers are trying to get the property annexed and entitled by next year, as it is not within the city limits of Lockhart, and hope to open a first phase of construction in 2029, according to the ABJ.
But council members had many questions regarding the Lockhart project, and it still needs several approvals to move forward. If all goes to plan, the developer could close on the land next year, the ABJ reported.
Lacey Wickline, representative of Lockhart Commercial Development LLC, said during the meeting that she hatched the idea for the mixed-use project after facing difficulty securing property that had enough space for her manufacturing company to operate in, according to the ABJ.
She said she saw a need for a place that could house “making and creating, living, working and learning, and staying and playing” while also generating tax value.
Mixed-use developments have been breaking ground across the Austin metro, sparked by significant population growth in the region. That growth has prompted public officials and developers to consider more mixed-use districts near suburban areas so residents wouldn’t have to commute downtown to shop or dine.
Among the projects in the area is River Park, a $4B, 109-acre planned mixed-use development in Austin’s East Riverside Corridor that is slated to include 10M SF of apartments, offices, restaurants, shops and parks. River Park is set to open in phases over the next one to two decades.
Another project is Verde Square in North Austin, which is slated to include hundreds of apartments, nearly 500K SF of office space, and a hotel. That project is alive but delayed as developers wait for improved market conditions.
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