By Moses Leos III
An impending 107-acre development along Dry Hole Road in Kyle could bring economic development opportunities to an already rapidly growing IH-35 corridor.
While jobs could be on the horizon, the added streets in what will be the Hays Commerce Center could also link parts of southwest Buda to northwest Kyle.
That development, overseen by RRHPI, LP, has been in the planning process for roughly two years.
The center will be a mixed commercial tract with 20 lots spanning the 107 acres.
Richard Hill, partner at HPI, which oversees RRHPI, said the goal is to attract industrial and office users to the area. In addition, he said the area could attract retail pad uses and possibly a few restaurants.
Kyle Mayor Todd Webster said the area has the potential to be an “employment center.” Hill said the number of jobs in the area depends on the users and how dense the area is.
“This can bring jobs there. That’s my hope,” Webster said. “I’m not sure any job is a bad one. I’d like to see a range so that there’s a broad opportunity for people.”
Planning for the Hays Commmerce Center began in 2012 when RRHPI sought decertification from Monarch Utilities I, LP. Monarch held a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity (CCN) in the land owned by RRHPI.
Once the company obtained an order of decertification from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, RRHPI began working on a deal to have Kyle provide water services.
According to Hill, the move was done with safety in mind.
Hill said Kyle could offer sufficient water pressure for fire protection. While he said Monarch was not a “bad district,” he felt that Kyle could handle any issues.
“We think the type of buildings we will have will require a fire sprinkler system, and we want the pressure,” Hill said. “The pressure from Monarch water service was not sufficient.”
From there, RRHPI and Kyle began to hammer out a development agreement for providing water services.
Under the agreement, Kyle would pay upfront for infrastructure costs associated with providing water service. In return, RRHPI would reimburse the city based on a percentage of the increased property values of the development.
RRHPI would foot the bill for warehouse and road construction. Hill said the developer would hire a third-party contractor for infrastructure construction.
Mayor Todd Webster said the agreement is akin to Tax Increment Financing (TIF) and Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ).
Webster said setting aside the value growth percentage would help finance the infrastructure costs.
While a budgeted amount has not been finalized, Hill said RRHPI has begun accruing environmental, engineering and architectural costs.
Hill said development would be done in two phases. Phase one, infrastructure, could take up to a year to complete. The second phase would see the warehouses and industrial houses constructed.
It’s those streets that would bridge areas on the west side of the IH-35 corridor. It would connect a part of FM 967 to Dry Hole Road. Webster said it could help traffic in the area following the transition to one-way frontage roads.
“You end up with a connector there, so you don’t have to cross over the highway and you don’t have to go to the turnaround [at FM 2001],” Webster said.
Ultimately, Hill expects a timeline of full development within five to ten years, depending on certain variables.
“It depends on how the market ebbs and flows,” Hill said. “It could be longer period if a recession hits. Not a short term process.”
