A San Antonio-based developer is eyeing a 99-acre mixed-use project in Kyle that's dubbed "The Grove," which would bring a grocery store and affordable housing to the east side of the Austin suburb.
Representatives for Streamline Advisory Partners LLC, a privately owned real estate company that says it specializes in affordable housing development, presented the plans for the project that would be at 1100 E. Farm to Market Road 150 — also called "Project Sahara" — at a Kyle City Council meeting on Oct. 2.
The development would include multiple housing types, including a maximum of 400 single-family houses or townhomes, 300 market-rate multifamily units and 350 affordable units, meaning they would be priced at less than 60% or 50% of the region's median family income, officials said during the meeting.
It's also slated to include about 11.5 acres and 65,000-square feet of commercial space — anchored by a 15,000-square-foot grocery called Marigold Market & Cafe, which has a location in Southwest Austin. Other potential amenities include 10.5 acres of parks and open space, including a 1,500-square-foot indoor meeting space, sport courts, a playground, a potential Hays County facility, and connections to the citywide Vybe Trail.
Abby Gillfillan, principal planner and partner at Austin-based Lionheart Places, which is handling urban planning for the project, said during the Oct. 2 meeting that developers have been working with city staff and stakeholders to meet community needs on the east side of the Austin suburb, which ranked the No. 2 the fastest-growing cities of its size last year.
She said the goal is to create a commercial and civic hub with walkability, a grocery store, vibrancy and multiple housing types on one of the last remaining undeveloped parcels near downtown. The site is about two miles east of downtown and is in the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction, although the plan is to annex it into the city.
Gillfillan added that the project would be done in phases, starting with horizontal infrastructure improvements such as road construction and wastewater enhancements, along with some housing development. The next phase would include the grocery store.
She said an exhaustive search was conducted to find partners for the grocery store, with Marigold Market & Cafe ultimately chosen. It's a family-owned grocer that provides beer, wine, snacks, grocery and household items, smoothies, milkshakes and more, including cafe and grab-and-go options, according to its website.
Co-owner Nishiki Maredia said during the meeting that her parents have been in the grocery business for two decades, and the aim is to tailor operations to the individual communities where they operate. She said they were attracted to Kyle because they love its small-town feel and also have another business in Buda.
"Kyle does an excellent of job maintaining that and also growing and changing and adapting with the times," she said. "We're happy to be a part of that."
No action was taken during the meeting. The presentation was an opportunity for developers to garner feedback before bringing the project back to Council for an annexation agreement, development agreement and needed zoning. The developers are no longer seeking a Chapter 380 incentives agreement, but they are aiming for financing help through mechanisms like a public improvement district and tax increment reinvestment zone.
Council members provided input on transportation improvements, financing, timelines and more, and they including stressed the importance of the grocery store.
"This project was brought to us because of the assurance of a grocery store," Mayor Pro Tem Robert Rizo said. "One of the biggest things was making sure we get that grocery store. I think the entire dais was excited about the grocery store."
If it comes to fruition, the project will be part of a wave of development in Kyle, which is about 20 miles south of Austin and has a population of 63,000. Building out downtown has been a priority of the city, which has attracted a popular barbecue restaurant and a big mixed-use project east of downtown. Rastegar Property Co. also is working on a big project in east Kyle.