Kyle City Council approves St. David's Hospital District

KYLE — Previously, Mayor Travis Mitchell announced the impending arrival of St. David’s Hospital at the annual State of the City address. Months later, at its Dec. 19, 2023 meeting, Kyle City Council unanimously voted to approve resolutions for development agreements for the upcoming St. David’s Hospital District and the Lake Park District.

Jason Lutz, senior planner for the city of Kyle, provided presentations that detailed both projects and what the development agreements entail. Both districts will reside north of HEB, along Kyle Crossing and FM 1626.

Lake Park Tract

The 30-year development agreement is for a 98.544-acre tract set to have several proposed land uses, including multifamily residential and vertical mixed-use residential — both of which will be available for rent or for sale — in addition to commercial, office, retail, restaurant, hotel/conference center and public and private parkland.

The resolution language dictates vertical mixed-use as a “building where the use on the ground floor is different from the use on the upper floor. The ground floor shall not consist of residential use and is limited to retail, restaurant or other commercial uses.”

According to Lutz, the approximate land usage is as follows:

• 430 hotel rooms

• 309,000 square feet of retail/restaurants

• 675,000 square feet of office space

• 1950 multifamily units

There are also several prohibited store fronts from the development, such as gas stations, standalone banks and auto dealerships.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CITY OF KYLE A map of the future Lake Park development in Kyle, located on the west side of Kyle.[/caption]

Density has been heavily discussed by council members in the past, but for this project, there will be no unit-per-acre cap. Instead, density will be based on impervious cover. The Kyle municipal code states that impervious cover “means covering of the land surface by any means that would prevent penetration or percolation by water, including, but not limited to, all parking areas, buildings, patios, sheds, private sidewalks and driveways within the land, tract, parcel or lot and any other impermeable construction covering the natural land surface.”

Lutz said that the maximum impervious cover is 85% for the site and was determined based on “an approved detention study that was done in 2017 and then, reevaluated in 2020 … Again, density will not be a per unit, but based on the function of setbacks and [living unit equivalents].”

The maximum height available for the hotel/conference center and office towers is 120 feet or 14 stories and multifamily and vertical mixed-use structures have a limit of 10 stories. Buildings four stories and below will comply with the IH-35 overlay design standards, while “portions of buildings above four stories may have flexibility to deviate from [the] 100% stone, brick [and] masonry requirement. [Conditional Use Permit] process shall apply, but CUP may be approved administratively and not by [Planning and Zoning]. [The] owner may appeal administrative CUP approval to [Planning and Zoning] and city council.”

The IH-35 overlay design standards are a set of designs that “are intended to implement the vision, goals, policies and objectives outlined in the Comprehensive Master Plan and to ensure new development incorporates the following: development that does not turn its back to I[H]-35 and other major arterials and, in cases when it has to, that the back it presents is as attractive as possible; streets and sidewalks that form a connected network, providing a variety of pedestrian and vehicular routes to any single destination in and out of the development; and building facades that create visual interest through horizontal and vertical articulation with windows, multiple entrances facing streets and sidewalks and minimizing blank walls.”

As part of the agreement, the city must install fencing along the boundary within 30 days of the approval.

St. David’s Hospital District

St. David’s Hospital has a 30-year development agreement for a 49.6925 acre tract and provides two sets of development standards. The first is A) which states that the property is currently planned for the hospital and the second is B) which notes that if the hospital fails to close on the property and does not develop, the property will be mixed-use.

Lutz focused on option A, as this is the design that the city is planning to move forward with. This includes a hospital with a maximum of seven floors, to be completed in multiple phases, with 550 hospital beds. Currently, Ascension Seton Hays Hospital has approximately 150 beds, making this more than a 300% increase in availability. The hospital is expected to build a parking garage after reaching 450 beds.

There will also be four other medical office buildings, each with four floors at an estimated 80,000 square feet ,and a helipad.

The height for this project is increased from the Lake Park Tract and will have a maximum of 150 feet. Although the impervious cover remains the same at 85%, Lutz noted that this will allow for clustered developments with individual lots permitted to exceed 85%, while still adhering to landscaping ordinances. All other development standards will be the same as the Lake Park Tract.

The agreement also requires the development to dedicate a land easement for the Vybe Trail, as well as a separate donation agreement for the water tank site.

“It’s approximately 2.2 acres [and] that’ll allow the city to expand its water capacity as the city grows,” said Lutz. “The city’s also going to construct and maintain a 12-foot wall around this tank site to help shield that property from kind of the main entrance of the hospital. If the city does not complete the construction of the wall, the developer reserves the right to construct that at their expense and be reimbursed by the city.”

This same agreement will occur with a future road. The land has been donated and it is expected for the city to build it, but if it fails to do so, the developer will be reimbursed for constructing it.

Several council members were excited with the news of the development agreement.

“[I am] really excited to see this development coming and also to bring a hospital, which is so needed for our residents because if you go, even for me to get an appointment with my own doctor, I have to wait for two months,” said council member Daniela Parsley. “So, I'm excited to have options.”

Council member Bear Heiser wanted to inform residents that council members are aware of the criticism that has been shared this past year, with some residents stating that council “rubber stamps everything,” but wants to stress that this is the better option.

“I think this is a great example of a project where the land that is at stake here is zoned multifamily and warehouse. So, if we did not, if we do not make this vote, the developer by right could legally build nothing but apartments and warehouses through and through on this land. And if there's two things, two of the three things people hate the most, is apartments and warehouses and traffic,” said Heiser. “When people find out about this development, just know that the other option is to allow nothing but apartments and warehouses.”

To listen to the full presentation, visit .