Our Community
Colony Park, Lakeside Hills, and LBJ neighborhood residents have advocated for increased investments, services, and amenities in their neighborhoods since the 1970s. The Colony Park Sustainable Community is one part of this legacy. Beginning in 2012, the City and community jointly led efforts to develop the 208 acres of City-owned property on Loyola Lane between Johnny Morris Road and Decker Lane.
The project is led by a group of community leaders known as the Colony Park Core Team. This “Core Team” consists of representatives from the Colony Park, Lakeside, Agave, Woodland Hills and LBJ neighborhoods. Together, the Core Team crafted a community-focused vision for this area and the Colony Park Sustainable Community. To unify their vision, they created Eight Pillars to guide their work:
- Improve mobility, connectivity, and safety of community
- Improve access to health care resources and services
- Improve access to open spaces and activate parks
- Improve access to healthy food resources
- Improve access to economic vitality of community
- Improve educational opportunities
- Improve equal access to workforce housing
- Improve quality of life through accessing available City/County resources
Over the course of the Colony Park Sustainable Community project, the Core Team has advocated for the Eight Pillars to better serve the needs of the surrounding communities. The Eight Pillars serve a dual purpose in describing both the lack resources in the community but also the foundation for how the Core Team approaches their work.
The Core Team’s personal experiences and relationships empower them to make valuable contributions to this project. They bring new opportunities to the project while bridging partners with the City. They have significantly contributed to the success of this project, including:
Participatory Master Planning:
- Advocating for a community-focused vision in Colony Park
- Writing the initial Public Engagement Plan for the project
- Participating in the selection of the Master Plan Design Team
- Reading and proofing the Colony Park Sustainable Community Master Plan and Design Guidelines
- Attending public and project meetings consistently over the four-year master planning and adoption process for the Colony Park Sustainable Community
Searching for a Development Partner
- Co-hosting a series of community forums where data was collected and used to inform the development of the Request for Qualifications (RFQS)
- Reviewing and providing input on the Request for Qualifications (RFQS) and Request for Proposal (RFP), including developing a scoring section specific to addressing experience working with similar communities
- Selecting a community member to sit on the developer evaluation panel and who scored the community section of the RFQ and RFP
- Co-hosting a Public Open House for a video presentation by the finalist where the scores provided by the attendees contributed towards the evaluation of the finalist’s proposal
- Attending regular monthly meetings with city staff, project consultants, and stakeholders to continue furthering the Eight Pillars of the community.
In May 2020, the City of Austin entered into an Exclusive Negotiation Agreement with Catellus Development Corporation (Catellus) for the Colony Park Sustainable Community project. This agreement allows the City, Catellus and community to work towards implementing the Colony Park Master Plan through the execution of a Master Development Agreement. As this process unfolds, the community will play an even more critical role in providing oversight for implementation of the Eight Pillars and bringing forward the evolving needs of local residents.
Media
Master Planning
Survey Asks Colony Park Resident What They Need, KUT
New development to bring housing, retail to NE Austin (hyperlink), KVUE
A Walk Through the New Colony Park , The Austin Chronicle
The Next New Neighborhood, The Austin Chronicle
Colony Park: Finding a Middle Way, The Austin Chronicle
Development Partner Search
Colony Park could bounce back with planned development, Austin American Statesman
Austin searching for Colony Park developers, KVUE
East of the highway divide, Austin's next residential boom is on the horizon, Community Impact Newspaper
Austin kicks off effort to select Colony Park site master developer, Austin Business Journal
Mueller developer, W Austin Hotel owner vie to oversee huge master-planned project, Austin Business Journal
Developer touts experience, community engagement in first pitch to lead Colony Park project, Austin Business Journal
With Mueller under its belt, Catellus closer to building another huge Austin neighborhood, Austin Business Journal
City to set “high bar” for Colony Park developer candidates, Austin Monitor
Catellus on shortlist to develop Colony Park, Austin Monitor