Construction to start on town square project in Leander – Austin American-Statesman

ROUND ROCK Sometime in the next 18 months, Leander is going to have a downtown square to host concerts, festivals, movies in the park, farmers markets and other events, said a developer.

It will be part of a 115-acre, mixed-use project called Northline that will begin construction next week, said Alex Tynberg, the projects developer.

Northline, which will be between Austin Community Colleges San Gabriel campus and St. Davids Hospital, will include shopping, dining, entertainment, apartments, a hotel, offices and townhomes. The project is about of a mile from the Capital Metro rail line stop.

"This could provide a new downtown for Leander," said Mayor Troy Hill.

Leander also may consider building a new City Hall at Northline, Hill said, but that decision would have to be approved by voters.

The city of more than 60,000 residents has very little restaurant or retail development, and most people go to Cedar Park to shop, officials have said.

"Every town is wanting to do their own version of the Domain," Hill said. "What makes ours (Northline) different is that we have the transportation hub right here.

People from Austin can ride the MetroRail to get to entertainment at Northline, he said.

Tynberg said it will be "a super friendly family destination."

"It will be akin to a downtown where you have all the offerings of a downtown district."

Tynberg said the first phase of construction, estimated to last 18 months and scheduled to begin March 4, will include infrastructure such as roads and utilities, as well as a town square, 350 apartments, a few office buildings and some kind of entertainment, including an opportunity for movie theaters. It is estimated to be completed in September 2021.

The town square will include a stage, a green space, a pavilion, a childrens play area with a water feature and plenty of benches, he said. The goal is to "really make it a heartbeat hub for the entire community," Tynberg said.

When the project is built out over the next 10 years, it is planned to have 300,000 square feet of retail space, more than 700,000 square feet of office space, 150,000 square feet of hotel space, 2,000 apartments and 300 townhomes.

The city is providing $9.54 million to pay for infrastructure, including streets, utilities and parks for the first phase of the project, said spokesman Mike Neu. Northline Leander Development Company is paying $3.87 million for phase one infrastructure, he said.

The city also has a development agreement that Leander will be reimbursed for the infrastructure costs up to $15 million through a tax increment reinvestment zone, he said. Northline Leander Development Company also will be reimbursed through the zone for infrastructure costs up to $12.5 million.

Tynberg declined to say how much the entire project would cost. The city said in a news release last year that it could be worth an estimated $800 million.

The annual property tax revenue could equal about $4.3 million based on the citys current tax rate of 54.1 cents per $100 valuation when the project is finished, the release said.

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Construction to start on town square project in Leander - Austin American-Statesman