The Colony Park Sustainable Community Initiative began in 2012 as a three-year master planning process supported through a $3 million U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Sustainable Communities Challenge Grant. Through this process, the City engaged hundreds of community stakeholders through community meetings, workshops, and family-focused events to create a community vision for the project. This vision is captured in the Colony Park Master Plan and Design Guidelines, which includes priorities that will guide the development of the 208 acre City-owned site.

The Austin City Council adopted the Colony Park Master Plan and Planned Unit Development (PUD) zoning district in December 2014. Following the Master Plan and PUD adoption, the City of Austin worked with the community to secure a master developer partner for the Colony Park Sustainable Community. The City of Austin signed an Exclusive Negotiating Agreement with Catellus Development Corporation (Catellus) for the project in May 2020. Together, along with the community, the City and Catellus are working to create a Master Development Agreement that will set the stage for realizing the community’s vision in the Colony Park Sustainable Community Master Plan.