Major development set for Hutto
Austin Business Journal - Thursday, February 1, 2007 - by Kate Harrington Contributing writer
A development spanning more than 450 acres is on the horizon for the quiet town of Hutto. Citing the explosive growth that’s set to happen surrounding State Highway 130, a partnership between Austin, Florida and New York-based developers took the first step toward bringing future retail, commercial and residential development to the city.
Austin-based J.P. Newman, vice president of Principals Capital Funding Inc., Austin attorney Bruce Morrison, New York-based Glenmont Capital and Atlantic Coast Developers, a Jacksonville, Fla.- based company, have bought 468 acres in Hutto at the intersection of SH 130 and U.S. Highway 79.
Dubbed the Hutto 400, the development will consist of high-end retail, commercial and dense multi-family housing, says Jim Aanstoos, a specialist with Hutto’s Economic Development Corporation. Aanstoos says the first few phases of the project, on the land east of SH 130, will involve commercial and retail development.
“The sexy stuff is retail,” Aanstoos says. “There are things that could bring immediate gratification. Everyone feels good about restaurants coming in, and all those sorts of things will be part of Hutto 400. Retail is good, but those jobs are relatively low paying.”
But Ed Broussard, Hutto’s city manager, says Atlantic Coast wants to concentrate primarily on commercial, residential and retail development.
Atlantic Coast President Bill Sulzbacher says the partnership that bought the land found Hutto attractive because it is positioned at the intersection of two major arteries with the new state highway running through the center.
“The economic environment in Williamson County and the city of Hutto is very positive,” Sulzbacher says.
Atlantic Coast will break ground on the first phase of the project in the next 12 to 14 months, Sulzbacher says. This will be the first Austin area project for Atlantic Coast, primarily a retail development company.
Sulzbacher says he is in the process of talking to potential retailers, although he declines to say what companies may move into the Hutto 400. Broussard says the city and Atlantic Coast will spend the next three months coming up with a design for the development and a possible economic incentives package, which could include property tax abatements.
SH 130 is sparking a flurry of new development up and down the corridor. Other new developments on the books include the Stone Hill Town Center, a 196-acre mixed-use project at the southwest corner of SH 130 and State Highway 45 in Pflugerville, and Hutto Town Center, a 32-acre project on the northwest corner of CR 119 and State Highway 79.