Mueller, Austin: A Case Study

mueller AUSTIN, TEXAS

a 2019 case study by: JOHN HALVERSON JOSIAH LINDQUIST

1.

background After the closure of the Robert Mueller Municipal Airport on the east side of Austin, Texas, in 1999, the 700-acre site was redeveloped into a planned community featuring a variety of housing typologies, a mix of commercial properties, and a network of green spaces.

In the years prior, the surrounding neighborhoods were characterized by their isolation from downtown Austin, a product of their proximity to the Airport and I-35. Local residents advocated for a relocation of the airport and expressed their vision for the mixed-use and mixed-income community. The first cohort of residents arrived in 2007, and the final phase, to be completed in 2020, is anticipated to complete a community that will be home to 15,000 residents in 6,200 housing units and 4.3 million square feet of commercial space.

20% of the development (140 acres) is dedicated as open green space, park, and 13 miles of bike trail. The neighborhood has recycled runway materials into street construction and uses recycled building materials from former hangars and historic buildings in public spaces. The unique nature of this space has given the city an opportunity to test out and learn from new development ideas in their efforts to implement the vision for revitalizing the old airport site.

2

2.

3.

3

02 06 08 10 13 31 03

background

07

context & financing

changes & improvements

Changes & Improvements Community Organization Mobility, Commutes & Walking Patterns

3 3 Household Income, Satisfaction & Turnover

35

4

conclusion & analysis

guiding tenants

30

12

current conditions

09

maps & photos Figure-Ground

Geographic Context Illustrative Phasing Transit & Open Space Housing Types

32

graphs & charts Age by Sex Median Icome Unit Distribution Race

5

context & financing Mueller is a “new-urbanist� and smart-growth project which seeks to minimize automobile dependency and build a neighborhood at the pedestrian scale. The neighborhood has traditiona detached single-family as well as multifamily, attached, row, and courtyard homes. Residents have the option to buy or rent, and the development requires that at least 25% of all housing units are priced at or below 80% of Austin median family income (MFI) for ownership units and no more than 60% of MFI for rental units. The Plan seek to maintain affordability by using a soft second lien, allowing residents to purchase their homes for resale. The development plan claims to include transit-oriented development, with the initial plans including a stretch in the center of the neighborhood for a potential transit corridor. Dedicated bike paths and walkways have been positioned along primary streets to help reduce dependence on automobiles.

financing A development agreement was reached between the city of Austin and Catellus, the master developer, for public improvements, and the infrastructure costs were primarily funded by revenue from phasing the sale of land parcels to private developers. Early phases relied on anchor uses in the regional retail area and Dell Childrens’ Hospital to finance later development. The city also subsidizes property ownership for the site developer until a construction deal has been contracted. The city of Austin has also provided public revenue bonds and tax-increment financing (TIF) for the rest of the infrastructure.

6

7

guiding tenants & goals fiscal responsibility

The redevelopment must create a revenue stream that will substantially fund onsite infrastructure and increase the City's tax base for the benefit of all citizens.

economic development

The redevelopment will reinforce Austin's role in an increasingly global marketplace and create a wide range of employment opportunities for the community's citizens.

east austin revitalization

Tee redevelopment must promote economic development opportunities within East Austin, giving local residents a direct stake in redevelopment.

compatibility with surrounding neighborhoods

Development must maintain and enhance the quality of life in adjacent neighborhoods, providing complementary linkages, land uses and transportation patterns.

diversity

Mueller will offer a wide range of housing choices in order to create a new community of ethnically and economically diverse residents.

sustainability

Development has been planned in a way that promotes energy efficiency, reduced auto dependency, watershed protection and green space preservation.

8

"

I think the developer and builders promote a lifestyle that suits some people – a healthy, walkable, community-oriented life awaits."

-Scott Brodrick

9

current conditions changes & improvements The neighborhood has continued to grow

lower-income families, and a string of low-in-

as planned. With sustainability as a core

come row houses are set to be built.

tenant, Mueller has made several improve-

In terms of retail,

ments to its energy supply and conservation. In partnering with Austin Energy for an on-site power plant, they have been able to share HVAC infrastructure, lower their energy costs, and generate cleaner electricity that improves air quality. Additionally, in cooperation with Pecan Street Inc., a research group has enrolled 250

"

“I love the vibe of this neighborhood. There’s so much vitality and potential for more here.

-Noelle Boyle

homes into a smart grid to track energy usage. A trend has continued in the addi-

Aldrich Street, in particular, has attracted a

tion of solar power technologies in both

concentration of new restaurants and retail. It

residential and commercial units. They

is located in the Town Center District, a mixed-

found that 69% of Mueller’s homes elec-

use lifestyle district that will feature a mix of

tricity for the entire year had been gener-

retail, dining, cultural and entertainment op-

ated by solar.

tions as well as workplaces, apartments, and condominiums.

Residential units continue to be added as anticipated in the master plan, including those for SMART Housing qualified residents. In 2018, three multifamily residenc-

This development originated from the idea of

es were built totaling 760 units (Aldrich

local residents and seems to have had steady

51, Amly on Aldrich, and Overature at

community participation in planning and

Mueller), 300 homes began construction

implementation. The development company

in the southwest neighborhood, Founda-

convenes public forums to gain input on

tion Communities broke ground on “The Jordan” which is a 132-unit complex for 10

community organization

1.

2.

1.

11

key elements of the plan that are in de-

Interestingly, Mueller adopted a pilot pro-

velopment, including the town center and

gram in 2018 known as the “Electric Last Mile

market district. In addition, a standing

Project” which connects residents via a small

committee of local residents regularly as-

enclosed electric cab from anywhere in the

sesses the development’s impact on trans-

neighborhood to the commercial, retail, or

portation, and the city-appointed Plan

bus stop locations. The last mile is a major

Implementation Advisory Commission ad-

issue in American mass transit that Mueller’s

vises the city council on issues related to

development is seeking to mitigate, though

the redevelopment.

at this point in time, it is nowhere near full efficiency.

mobility, commutes & walking patterns

household income, satisfaction & turnover Mueller now was more than 15,000 housed

Denser development and designated bike/

in 5,100 single-family, condo, and apartment

pedestrian routes have allowed residents

homes. Seventy percent of households do

moving to Mueller to significantly reduce

not have children, forty-three percent are

driving time, on average increasing walk-

married, and forty-one percent are single.

ing and biking habits by forty percent. In

The median household income is $60,000

addition, researchers found that many of

per year and the median age is 31. One-bed-

those previously inactive in their former

room units cost between $1,800 and $2,250.

residences, often unfavorable to walking

Two-bedroom apartments rent for between

increased physical activity and improved

$2,560 and $3,200. Three-bedroom rent-

health.

als cost about $3,300 a month. The average listing price for a single-family home

There are several buses on the outside of

in the Mueller neighborhood was between

the neighborhood (Cap Metro #20 and

$440,000 and $450,000, higher than the av-

#37) which make a trip downtown in 20-

erage listing price of $430,000 for the city as

30 minutes or to the University of Texas

a whole. Homes range from $280,000 for a

campus in 10. Planned with mass transit

1,500-square-foot house with 2 bedrooms

in mind, Mueller could be conducive to a

and 21/2 bathrooms to just under $1 million

rail line down the central corridor, though

for a 3-bedroom, 41/2 bathroom home with

as of now, public transit is a possibility giv-

more than 3,600 square feet.

en residents are prepared to walk to the edge of the development.

12

map 1. figure-ground Development as of Novermber, 2019

2000 ft 13

map 2. austin city context

14

Maps by: McCann Adams Studio 2004

map 3. illustrative Final phase buildout as of November 2017

15

map 4. phasing plans Original phasing plan from 2004

16

Maps by: McCann Adams Studio 2004

map 5. & 6. transit & open space Final phase buildout as of November 2017

Maps by: McCann Adams Studio 2004

17

map 7. neighborhoods Final phase buildout as of November 2017

18

Maps by: McCann Adams Studio 2004

map 8. yard house

Maps by: McCann Adams Studio 2004

19

Yard Houses

Map by: McCann Adams Studio 2004

20

map 9. garden courts

Maps by: McCann Adams Studio 2004

21

Garden Court Houses

22

Garden Court Houses

map 10. garden house

Maps by: McCann Adams Studio 2004

23

map 11. courtyard row house

Courtyard Row House

24

Maps by: McCann Adams Studio 2004

map 12. clustered rowhouses

Clustered Row House Maps by: McCann Adams Studio 2004

25

map 13. mueller house

Maps by: McCann Adams Studio 2004

26

Mueller House

Mueller House 27

map 14. multifamily housing

28

Maps by: McCann Adams Studio 2004

Multi-family Housing

Multi-family Housing

29

demographic charts

AGE BY SEX, MUELLER 85 Years and Over 75 to 84 Years 65 to 74 Years 55 to 64 Years 45 to 54 Years 35 to 44 Years 25 to 34 Years 18 to 24 Years 15 to 17 Years 10 to 14 Years 5 to 9 Years Under 5 Years -15.0%

-10.0%

-5.0%

0.0%

Female:

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

Male:

AGE BY SEX, AUSTIN 85 Years+ 75 to 84 Years 65 to 74 Years 55 to 64 Years 45 to 54 Years 35 to 44 Years 25 to 34 Years 18 to 24 Years 15 to 17 Years 10 to 14 Years 5 to 9 Years Under 5 Years -10.0%-8.0% -6.0% -4.0% -2.0% 0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0% 10.0% Female:

30

Male:

HOUSEHOLD INCOME 20.0% 18.0% 16.0% 14.0% 12.0% 10.0% 8.0% 6.0% 4.0%

Austin-Round Rock, Texas

$200,000 or More

$150,000 to $199,999

$125,000 to $149,999

$100,000 to $124,999

$75,000 to $99,999

$60,000 to $74,999

$50,000 to $59,999

$45,000 to $49,999

$40,000 to $44,999

$35,000 to $39,999

$30,000 to $34,999

$25,000 to $29,999

$20,000 to $24,999

Less than $10,000

$10,000 to $14,999

0.0%

$15,000 to $19,999

2.0%

Census Tract 3.06, Travis County, Texas

UNITS IN STRUCTURE, MUELLER 0.0%

UNITS IN STRUCTURE, AUSTIN

29.5%

5.0% 0.1%

34.7%

7.7%

6.1%

8.1%

4.2%

59.6%

15.0%

9.5%

3.0%

5.2%

2.7% 3.5%

0.0% 3.9% 2.3%

1, Detached

1, Attached

2

3 or 4

10 to 19

20 to 49

50 or More

Mobile Home

1, Detached

1, Attached

2

3 or 4

5 to 9

10 to 19

20 to 49

50 or More

Mobile Home

Boat, Rv, Van, Etc.

5 to 9

31

RACE, MUELLER Some Other Race Alone 3.2%

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander Alone, 0.0%

Two or More Races, 2.0%

Asian Alone, 8.8% American Indian and Alaska Native Alone, 0.0%

Black or African American Alone, 10.7%

White Alone 75.3%

RACE, AUSTIN Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander Alone , 0.1%

Some Other Race Alone 5.8% 3.3% Two or More Races ,

Asian Alone , 5.5%

American Indian and Alaska Native Alone, 0.4%

Black or African American Alone, 7.3%

White Alone, 77.7%

32

conclusion & analysis

in Mueller, as evidenced by the neighbor-

Street Network & Connectivity

and recreational facilities and are overall

hood’s status as a trick-or-treating destination in Austin. Residents and children also have safer access to neighborhood parks

Upon both reviewing and visiting the site,

more protected when cycling or skating on

we are left with mixed feelings about

the streets.

both the current state of the development and how we assume it will exist after final-phase completion. In contrast to conventional suburban development

Public & Natural Amenities

Additionally, the neighborhood boasts

patterns common in US cities, Austin

several attractive amenities, some stron-

being no exception, we feel that the

ger than others. For instance, the perimeter

Mueller planned-development consti-

bicycle routes and lake-area parks are well

tutes a significant improvement over the

used, though, during site visits, we noticed

conventional development that could

that “parkways” provided in and around

have been expected at the airport site

residential units were underutilized, and

in the absence of the TIF and progres-

served little purpose besides creating buf-

sive forces both private and public in the

fers in splitting the streets. The ‘town center’

development process.

converging at Aldrich Street and Simond Avenue is incredibly well utilized by children

While Mueller was competently de-

and families alike, providing a street-lev-

signed and developed, it is not revolu-

el vitality unmatched by most residential

tionary by any stretch of the imagination

areas in the city, similar only to that of

and represents a missed opportunity for

heavy foot traffic areas like downtown and

the greater progress it might have deliv-

the University of Texas campus. However,

ered to the Austin area. Mueller’s primary

outside of a few key neighborhoods, name-

achievements include a high level of

ly retail districts, this new urbanist model

street network connectivity, including the

seems to have shortcomings in its ability to

provision of protected bike lanes. Vehic-

bring people out to the streets and interact

ular access to residential lots is provided

with their neighbors as intended.

via rear alleys which allow for minimal curb cuts throughout the residential areas of the development, providing a

Residential Diversity

Mueller does have a greater diversity of

standard of safety for pedestrians that

housing types and greater residential den-

traditional subdivisions lack. This further

sity than the Austin-Round Rock MSA, but

enhances the quality of life for children

the majority of units are still single-family, 33

detached. These units are denser than the

rear alleys completely unsupportive of any

lots that the market would have provided in

use beyond a mechanical provision of ve-

the late ’90s when the project was initially

hicular access. Street and lane widths are

conceived, but one cannot help but lament

generous throughout the development and

the dogmatically suburban character of the

are emblematic of the designer’s inability

majority of the development, the net result of

to take a progressive stance on transporta-

which has been to provide windfall profits to

tion in their projects. As a result, transit has

the few homeowners who had the good luck

been slow to integrate into the fabric of the

and personal fortune to buy in early on. Had

city, leaving most of the transit stops on the

the developer had the foresight to include

peripheries of the development, creating a

more flexibility in the PUD, the public benefit

last-mile problem so difficult to solve that

of selling public land and bonds could have

they implemented an on-call e-car to trans-

been increased many folds by creating more

port residents in and around the neighbor-

housing for more Austinites.

hood. We feel this could be solved with dens-

Housing, Interaction, & Usage

amenities dispersed throughout the commu-

Form-based codes limiting side yard widths

nity, rather than concentrated amongst large

and frontage lengths are a crucial and laud-

corporate labels on the outer edge amidst a

able step toward creating what street-lev-

sea of surface parking.

el interest these residential areas do have.

Though architectural style among homes does vary, it’s impossible to avoid the fact

Shopping, Retail, & Pedestrians

A significant portion of the commercial de-

that the homes were all built in a narrow

velopment within Mueller is comprised of

span of time, giving many neighborhoods

big-box retail, the purported purpose of

a “Stepford Wives” or homogeneous atmo-

which was to provide early-phase revenue

sphere. With any luck, future years and de-

and amenities to the community, represents

cades of use will provide the temporal diver-

a development pattern which is in clear

sity of housing that theorists like Jane Jacobs

conflict with current planning best practice.

advocated for.

In that, this development seems to be a step

Transit & Mobility

34

er development and a greater abundance of

behind, providing a commercial retail model from previous decades, not complying with

In Mueller, the car is still king. Alleys are wide

the paradigm shift in modern-day planning

enough to fit two cars abreast and the street

and successful master-planned devel-

friction in these settings is either non-existent

opments away from multinational retailer

or not enough to keep vehicles from treating

destinations situated in vast expanses of

the streets as intended. Off-street parking is

parking. In contrast to that stand the mixed-

provided to such an extent as to make the

use, work-live townhouse units in the devel-

opment which are a crucial component of the fine-grained, home-grown environments that all contemporary new communities should have, but they are isolated to only a few spaces, and access to something as simple as a supermarket or bodega is still not possible without a car in most situations. There is a well-connected pedestrian network, but urban designers and planners cannot expect residents to walk more than ½ mile to access fresh food.

Summary

In summary, we feel that this development can be considered a success in comparison to conventional urban development, though given that the city had such a unique opportunity, a large piece of land, with diverse natural features, and incredibly close in proximity to the city center, this development could have provided much more dense housing, urban design consistent with the notion and realization that Austin will need to absorb a growing population, and perhaps have provided a better way to link the development to the city, both in terms of transit, but also creating a location which blends into the unique culture of east and downtown Austin. There was incredible potential for this site though, after our analysis, we feel it under-delivered, and provides only a basic standard of development for similar communities and locations moving forward.

35

"

The people in the park over there with the dog, the guy fishing over there ... the birthday party over here is something that was always envisioned in paper and in theory — and it's become a reality out here,"

-Greg Weaver

a 2019 case study by: JOHN HALVERSON JOSIAH LINDQUIST 36