Ok, I did some digging and I found it. I was wrong however, it's Robinson Ranch, not Steiner Ranch.
My article that I have is an Austin-American-Statesman article from March of last year. I found these below on the net.
This would of course be farther to the east, near Mopac.
Here's some stuff I found on it.
From the Austin Chronicle - This was from a ways back, in May of last year.
http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2004-05
28/pols_feature5.html
Map of the area. The ranch borders Williamson County. They say if it's all built out, Austin would then become the largest city in Williamson County beating out Round Rock which is saying something since that town already is creaping up on ~85,000.
City Bets the Farm on Robinson Ranch
BY MIKE CLARK-MADISON
Once upon a time, there was a place called "between Austin and Round Rock." What's left of that place is poised to disappear – at least officially – in a couple of weeks, as the city of Austin moves forward with plans to annex the 6,000-plus-acre Robinson Ranch, a roughly diamond-shaped patch of land between Parmer Lane, FM 1325, and RR 620. The City Council is scheduled to approve, on first reading, limited-purpose annexation of Robinson Ranch at its June 10 meeting.
Right now, the ranch – still controlled by the Robinson family, which has owned it for more than a century – is mostly undeveloped. But if the vision that's guiding the Robinson Ranch annexation comes to fruition, that will change in a very big way. The ranch sits at the interchange – McNeil Junction – of the Union Pacific and Capital Metro freight rail lines, both of which have been proposed for conversion to passenger commuter rail. Moreover, two of the toll-road projects already under way – SH 45 North and the MoPac extension – likewise run right through the ranch.
So, rather than sit and watch Robinson Ranch fill up with low-density sprawl over the coming decades, the city, other regional leaders, and the family have gotten proactive.
Along with annexation, the City Council is also scheduled to approve preliminary zoning for Robinson Ranch as a planned-unit development; the PUD calls for mixed-use, New Urbanist, transit-oriented development that equals – and in some cases exceeds – the densities called for in the Mueller master plan, the University Neighborhood Overlay for West Campus, and other infill efforts currently on the table. The city would proceed with full-purpose annexation as Robinson Ranch is built out, which may take 25 years, during which the project could make Austin the largest city (in both population and land area) in Williamson County. The city Zoning and Platting Commission – a little overwhelmed by the scope and size of the project – is currently reviewing the Robinson Ranch PUD case and expects to render its recommendation next week.
It's worth noting that, unlike familiar sagas of land speculation both in the urban core and on the fringe, the Robinsons themselves are not pushing this deal along. "Robinson is not a land developer, has no current plans to develop Robinson Ranch, and presently has no intention of changing the current land uses on Robinson Ranch," reads the proposed annexation and development agreement between the city and the family. "However, as the areas surrounding Robinson Ranch continue to urbanize, the parties recognize that Robinson Ranch will also become more urbanized and lose its character as a working ranch."
According to the city, which initiated formal negotiations with the Robinsons, the benefits of the deal to the family include both certainty and flexibility. Rather than risk being split up between numerous jurisdictions, the ranch will lie entirely within Austin's purview, and the agreement locks in current city development regs for at least 15 years. At the same time, the PUD agreement gives the Robinsons, or future owner/developers of parts of the ranch, a wide variety of potential uses and development rights, from which they can choose those "that make the most sense and are the most attractive to the market at the time." Other than the 30% or so of the ranch that is to be preserved as open space – mostly in wider-than-usual greenbelts along the three major creeks and several minor creeks that cross Robinson Ranch – the entire property will be zoned, within the PUD, for either "mixed-use" or "transit-oriented" development. The latter would be more intense, requiring that projects "emphasize a pedestrian-oriented environment and reinforce the use of public transportation."
It's not just the Robinsons and City Hall who've realized the potential of the ranch. Last year, the area around McNeil Junction was one of the community "test sites" selected by Envision Central Texas to bring that regional planning project's discussions about density and urbanization down to ground level.
The resulting ECT concept for McNeil Junction looks rather similar to the master plan for Mueller, except without any single-family homes. Instead, medium- and high-density residential and mixed-use projects would span the acreage between the existing McNeil High School and a major transit hub and station at the junction itself. A fully commercial "employment area" would lie to the east, closer to MoPac.
The ECT vision is just an idea, but it's consistent with that project's larger regional vision of a future Central Texas that accommodates its population and economic growth within its existing land-use footprint. A more specific, and ambitious, vision for Robinson Ranch has been advocated, most notably by state Rep. Mike Krusee, whose district includes the ranch. "My vision is for tens of thousands of biomedical and biotech jobs centered around a medical school and teaching hospitals which foster private sector development," Krusee says. The powerful GOP rep – who, by all accounts, has embraced New Urbanism with the zeal of a convert – says he's been working with Austin city leaders to allow "many ... dense mixed-use developments" at the ranch, not only to create more responsible land use as urged by ECT and others, but to secure future prosperity for the region's anchor city. "Robinson Ranch is the future tax base for Austin," Krusee says. "Without its successful development, Austin runs into serious budget problems." The city's term sheet for the Robinson Ranch deal anticipates the development, if fully realized, bringing $229 million in net income to the city general fund over 25 years.
PDF file with maps and building uses.
www.envisioncentraltexas.org/ resources/McNeil_Summary.pdf
On the medical district/center that they mentioned. They had talked a few years ago about creating a medical center. I have a rendering from the newspaper that shows a campus of buildings, about five buildings topping out at 6 floors.
From the Austin Business Journal. - This was also from May of last year.
http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2004/05/10/story3.html
Future of ranch in question.
Mary Alice Kaspar
Austin Business Journal Staff
Spike Robinson says his first reaction to the thought of more than 6,000 acres of his beloved Central Texas ranch being annexed by the City of Austin was "go away and leave me alone." But his attorney encouraged the landowner to keep an open mind, and talks with the city have been going well.
With the annexation process under way, Robinson says he's no more or less inclined to sell any land now than before. He adds that the annexation process ultimately might not work out, but either outcome is fine with him.
A new draft map provides insight as to how the coveted property on the northern edge of Austin might be developed if the proposed annexation plan goes through. The map was created by Austin-based Bosse & Turner and Associates Inc.
The map designates nearly 4,300 acres for either "mixed-use high density" or a "transit-oriented district."
The plan also includes about 1,785 acres of open space reserved for uses such as a greenbelt. That open space equates to nearly 30 percent of the total 6,084 acres, an amount some say is high in contrast with the ranch's more urban surroundings.
The goal is to create a land-use plan that will be valid for many years yet provide enough flexibility to respond to market demands.
Also on the map is what's already in motion: construction of the MoPac Expressway extension and State Highway 45 North, which intersect on the property.
It's those roadways that seem destined to alter the Robinson Ranch.
Take Spike Robinson's homestead, for example. Located on a hilltop, the old view was as gentle on the eyes as the Robinsons have been on the land. But that view will be changed dramatically by the roadways.
Spike Robinson says he isn't sure how he'll feel about his new view, or the related noise and light. He says might learn to live with it or move away.
The Robinson family has a policy of not selling their land -- which in its entirety spans 7,500 to 8,000 acres in both Travis and Williamson counties -- just so someone can make a buck. Their belief is that the land should be used for purposes that truly benefit the community.
Few have passed that litmus test. Those have included Abbott Laboratories Inc., Motorola Inc. and a high school.
One idea that might pass the test is a medical school in Central Texas, a proposal championed by state Reps. Mike Krusee, R-Taylor, and Jack Stick, R-Austin. Robinson says: "We're open-minded about that."
Given the Robinsons' reluctance to sell, when any development might occur is uncertain -- which presents a challenge for annexation negotiators.
Brad Robinson, Spike Robinson's son, says: "Hopefully, the [annexation] agreement would provide not absolute certainty, but some sense of certainty for planning for the future for both sides of the table."
Under state law, agreements regarding future land use can be in place for 45 years. So although the current deliberations call for the land to be voluntarily annexed, questions still remain about what happens if the property isn't built out by the end of the 45-year span.
It's a valid legal question, says the Robinsons' attorney, David Armbrust, who has known the Robinsons for 30 years.
"What's it going to look like 30 years from now? Who knows? It might be similar to today," says Armbrust, a real estate attorney and partner at Austin law firm Armbrust & Brown LLP. "I think the Robinsons are motivated to put a road map in place in the event the family decides it has become too urbanized for ranching."
Should the Robinsons ever reach that conclusion, buyers will be standing in line, real estate observers say.
"You only have to look at an aerial map to see it's a very important parcel in terms of the growth of the region," says Jeff Coddington, investment properties broker in the Austin office of Colliers Oxford Commercial.
Coddington says the Robinson Ranch has the potential to be the "Irvine Ranch of Austin." That Southern California ranch is regarded as one of the country's premier mixed-use developments.
Email MARY ALICE KASPAR at (
[email protected]).
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