We visited The Ronald McDonald House, the Mueller Airport Redevelopment Project, The Seaholm Powerplant Project and The Hill Country Galleria.
We also had lunch and discussions with Judi Fort and Sherri Gothart-Barron at the TX Dept of Agriculture. Some of the major topics discussed included:
* rural economic developments and available incentives,
* need for small towns to focus on business retentions rather than lure relocation,
* priority industries targeted by the state (includes aerospace and defence, IT, energy, education, petroleum refinery).
Our visit to the Ron McDonald House was mainly focused on understanding the sustainability features of the project. It is a LEED Platinum project. Some of the sustainable features that stand out include:
- 50% reduction in irrigation and water cost,
- about 108 kw generated through solar panels...sufficient to provide power to about 15 rooms,
- about 94% of the space has view to the outside,
- about 83% of the space gets natural light.
Here are some snapshots of the project and some of the gadgets involved in the green way of life...
We then visited the Mueller Airport Redevelopment Project, which is located near the Ron McDonald House.
This project:
* had a PUD zoning (there is some flexibility in changing uses in response to market changes)
* has a very large green space and park areas within the development,
* focuses on an eco-restoration system for the green areas,
* has about 600 residential units sold,
* has about 85% leased of the 640 apartments available,
* about 25% of residential units are designated affordable,
* has a PPP( public Private partnership) element as it lies in a TIF zone and there are agreements for TIF reimbursements.
Here is a snap of the development model.
The final project we visited for the day was Hill Country Galleria. This project is a massive commercial establishment that fell victim of the economic recession. It was foreclosed and is currently owned by a group out of Connecticut. There are several issues that are presenting challenges besides the economic recession including co-tenancy requirements that trigger and/or preclude enforcement of market rental rates and occupancy related lease conditions.
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