For me I'm about 4 houses to the east of the first park they have built in the second phase. I'm going to get a bike trailer for my daughter and going to the town center/heb. I could walk on a nice day in a few minutes or I could take my bike and get there really quickly.
Oh and if the LR gets approved it's going to be built through Mueller. I plan on getting a pass and I could take it to the Town Center among other places!
Check out the map and you can see where everything is going!
There's nothing within walking distance now - and the Town Center is still a dream on paper. I found it very disappointing that the first stuff built at Mueller is just suburban homes real-close-together; only then a bit of standard suburban-style multifamily; no VMU; no Town Center until much later.
There's nothing within walking distance now - and the Town Center is still a dream on paper. I found it very disappointing that the first stuff built at Mueller is just suburban homes real-close-together; only then a bit of standard suburban-style multifamily; no VMU; no Town Center until much later.
A lot could happen between now and "much later".
I agree with this. I was over there yesterday checking out my new house and they are in the process of building out the town center. My guess is it will be done within the next 2 to 3 years. The third phase of homes starts November `09 with move in dates 6 to 8 months after that. One thing I like about Mueller is that it is in central Austin (great location by most) and everything is going to be right there in the neighborhood eventually. For the price I'm paying for my home you can't get a better deal anywhere, IMO. I'm going to be there for a long while anyway so it all works out!
paul, they haven't started building the Town Center at all - they just started having meetings about it. It's still many years off - and like I said, a lot of things can happen - so you shouldn't assume anything at this point.
(The developer of the supposed TOD in Leander is getting foreclosed on, for instance).
paul, they haven't started building the Town Center at all - they just started having meetings about it. It's still many years off - and like I said, a lot of things can happen - so you shouldn't assume anything at this point.
(The developer of the supposed TOD in Leander is getting foreclosed on, for instance).
Hm.. when was the last time you were out there? I was there last Wednesday and there were big machines moving stuff around exactly where the town center is going to be. They are doing something.
They aren't building the Town Center - they're still having public meetings about what will be in it. Check out muellercommunity.com if you don't believe me.
They're going to be raising the top of the new water tower at Mueller. They probably won't be able to do it until the weather improves since we have better rain chances tomorrow and Friday. The tower will be 170 feet tall. They've already built the shaft, now they have to jack the top into place using jack stands and cables on the top. It'll be fairly noticeable around town. I've already seen the shaft from St. Ed's in South Austin. The tower will have solar panels on top.
* It could be three to five years out
* Perhaps it can be developed incrementally
* Maybe something will spring out of the Austin Children’s Museum moving here
* The developer is considering alternative development strategies
Talking to some builders on Sunday they said that the next phase of homes is about 3 months out and that they will be built on the west side of what is already there instead of the north side next to Manor. Seems like the developers are having trouble getting the drainage etc in the north site of the development and have the west side setup and just about ready to go. So it will be interesting to see how houses all around the town center but no town center will affect things.
I do know one thing a lot of residents are jones for a grocery store there ASAP.
was struck by the way quantity is prioritized over quality: maximum floor space seems to be the number one priority. Yard space was very limited—I know that short setbacks were mandated for Mueller, and I can’t really complain about small back yards in a city, but those are some of the very few features of the development that feel urban. All of the houses were at least twice as big as our house, and were clearly not designed with people like us in mind. Something that traded space for quality of construction, without going overboard on showy, labor-intensive features, and that reflected a more urban aesthetic. There is a single row of boxy, modern townhouses, but that’s the only part of Mueller like that, and we didn’t get a chance to look inside them.
I really want to like Mueller as the location and possibilities are intriguing. And I'm not trying to beat it down as I think it will be just what many people want - but having owned a real 1920s house in an old streetcar suburb outside of Cleveland, Mueller feels a little Epcot-like to me. The townhouse row feels a little isolated and possibly token in a sea of single-family homes. Maybe this will change over time.
I'm disappointed that the Town center wasn't built during the first two phases. That would have clarified the intent of the overall neighborhood much better for me.
I really want to like Mueller as the location and possibilities are intriguing. And I'm not trying to beat it down as I think it will be just what many people want - but having owned a real 1920s house in an old streetcar suburb outside of Cleveland, Mueller feels a little Epcot-like to me. The townhouse row feels a little isolated and possibly token in a sea of single-family homes. Maybe this will change over time.
Yeah, I kind of feel the same way, and the article makes some good points. I couldn't quite put my finger on it when I first drove through after many of the houses were built... but I eventually came to the same conclusion as you. In the classic urban / streetcar suburban neighborhoods extra square footage would come in the form of an additional floor or below-grade basement... and contrary to the very sturdy and permanent feel of the materials and architecture in those classic neighborhoods, the suburban construction of Mueller just comes across looking cheap. If anything, I figure it will mirror the "shotgun houses" of New Orleans more over time.
However, they did plant a lot of trees at Mueller. Perhaps the tree canopy over time will change the aesthetics enough that the suburban construction won't be so distracting. We don't really have the luxury of experiencing the "classic streetcar suburbs" when they were first constructed, without mature street landscaping... but that's just a component, not the whole picture.
I drove through there for fun, while I agree it feels "suburban", it still does offer things like the public park and swimming pool within the center of the development, and overall it seems attractive compared to its surroundings.
Remember, folks, nice parks, walking trails, pools, and trees have nothing to do with 'urban' versus 'suburban'. Even porches and alleys have made their way into 'new suburban' developments like Plum Creek. Trails are a feature in just about every big suburban housing development since the mid 1990s around these parts. Everybody has pools and parks.
To me, to have 'urban', you have to have most of the following:
1. Horizontal mix of uses (at a minimum) - i.e. apartments NEAR houses NEAR townhouses - ideally on the same block, but at least within the same section. Mueller fails this miserably. Vertical mix of uses on main corridors is a bonus - but I can yield on that one if you at least get horizontal mixes. On the same block as my single-family home, there are two small apartment complexes, one duplex, a triplex, a handful of garage apartments, and a couple of backyard cottages.
2. Variability in dwelling style and size. Mueller fails this one miserably. See Austin Contrarian's post today for an example of this from Pensacola. Tract housing (where you pick from a small menu) is not urban. (No, this isn't the same thing as picking from a menu of units in a condo building - the condo building is on one lot).
3. Nearby commercial (within SHORT walk). Even my house is iffy on this metric - I have a convenience store within 5 minutes but otherwise it's 15. For Mueller residents, currently, everything is >15, and the retail they do have is standard suburban strip garbage.
4. Homes oriented to the street rather than to the driveway. Mueller does OK here - although the fact that there's nothing to walk to means this is kind of window dressing at this point.
Sorry I got confused and should've read the thread more carefully
I wasn't saying it was urban, just that even though it is suburban that doesn't mean it totally sucks like some centex development halfway to Elgin. Your right though, it was a total missed opportunity for something better.
Off-topic, but could someone explain the part about alleys being a big deal? I know they are necessary on busy roads, past a certain density, or with attached housing, but I know a lot of people don't particularly like them and aside from aesthetics do they really serve a needed functional purpose in these new urbanist developments?
Last edited by llamaorama; Nov 2, 2009 at 8:34 PM.
Not really a photo post but more of an update. Looks like the developers are going to cram 48 affordable and single family homes into a tiny space.
My personal belief is that since the developers didn't construct enough affordable houses in the neighborhood this is their solution. The original intent of the site, per my understanding, was to make the whole block first floor retail and apartments/condos above. Looks like that was shot to h-e-l-l.
Threadgill Row Homes completed this summer - something different an modern for everyone who thinks Mueller only has traditional cookie cutter:
Austin Children's Museum - being across from the playscape in the park is going to be really nice - bring some urbanity to the development and have a nice mix of uses for kiddos - the park is already pretty packed on nice weekends - should be interesting when 200K visitors a year go there.
the empty lot in back of ACM should be the Austin Playhouse - not underway yet.
HEB at 51st and Berkman (looking very suburban)
More Buildings at the Mueller Market District - these will front Berkman and hopefully provide a little urbanity and mitigate the suburban HEB
Section 6 homes going up right now - this is very much denser overall than the first sections that went in - if you thought the yards were tiny there. . .:
Pocket Park in Section 6 - note the mature trees they moved from former Airport parking lots - I think this will have a petanque court.
I believe the first shop homes are slated for this vacant lot:
Town center roads getting laid in. . .no town center yet:
McBee - looking to ACM and Mosaic 1 and 2
Intersection of McBee and Aldrich - heart of town center - movie theater to right, hotel straight ahead (eventually):
Empty lot next to ACM - this is announced as the AMLI:
Mosaic II next to Mosaic I:
A couple of snaps of Mueller Homes (I really love the concept and think these should be tried though out Austin's central neighborhoods):
Snap of way people really maximize their little yards here - right up to the alleys:
Awesome, Komeht! Thanks for the update. Let's keep updating this page as Mueller progresses. I'll try to make it out there and take some pictures once it develops a little bit more.
I went and looked at it the other night and had a cop following me around like I was being suspicious or something. I guess they have to watch out for thieves trying to steal construction materials. But, being dark out, I couldn't take any pics. I was really surprised how far back Berkman goes, though. It went almost all the way to the future HEB. Pretty soon, I imagine, it will connect with 51st St. That will be huge.
I'm not as vehemently against some elements of suburbanism as some people seem to be. I love urbanism deeply, but I try to be realistic, too. And realistically, people are going to need to use their cars to get groceries. Austin doesn't currently have adequate alternative forms of transportation to make car use unnecessary.
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