8 Imagine Austin & Future Development

8.1 WELLS BRANCH ACTIVITY CENTER

Imagine Austin has designated the area where Cameron road, Harris Branch parkway, and Gregg Manor road meet as a future neighborhood center. Imagine Austin envisions center areas of the city as being centers for activity that will anchor neighborhoods. These locations represent future hubs where development is densified around transit, jobs cluster, and residents can access services in mixed use development accessible by diverse transportation modes. These centers fall along a range of scales.

1. Regional Centers are considered the entertainment and recreational destinations, as well as job centers in the region. Though density varies, these centers include the highest concentration of people in various housing types. Regional centers range in size between 25,000 - 45,000 people and 5,000 - 25,000 jobs.

2. Town Centers include both large and small-scale employers, and include various housing types less dense than the ones you might find in a regional center. They are range in size from 10,000-30,000 people and 5,000-20,000 jobs.

3. Neighborhood Centers are defined by Imagine Austin as the “smallest and least intense” of the mixed-use centers. According to the plan these centers will be “walkable and bikeable” and many services will be located within a few blocks of the center. However, the plan also states that “not every [transit] service” will be located within the center area. Rather, the center will serve to anchor the larger neighborhood and various services may be located around the designated center.

As a future neighborhood center, the Wells Branch area will likely represent a hub for the local region. It is not clear what development may occur, but the area holds promise for a very different landscape.

Figure 16: Imagine Austin Town Centers Render