Brittany Kelley
KYLE — Kyle City Council received an update on the Hays County administrative facility to be located east of IH-35, within city limits, at its May 5 meeting.
This item follows the execution of a memorandum of understanding between the city and Hays County in August 2025, which combined forces for animal services, a Kyle Vista Park buildout and a Hays County building.
The project, also dubbed the Eastside Campus, consists of a 40-year ground lease for a 13.220-acre tract, located off of Dacy Lane, with set renewals. Additionally, the building would adhere to both Kyle and Hays County architectural standards.
Total payment for the property and an opportunity cost premium equates to $3,750,000, which would go toward the Kyle Vista Park buildout. The county payment would also be reinvested back into the site, including amenities, roads, landscaping, trails and more.
Hays County Administrator Kandice Boutte shared that the county has approved $100 million toward this project, which will not affect the tax rate, and would require no cost or responsibilities from the city of Kyle.
After background from Rosie Truelove, executive director of strategic development, Nick Thanos, of Kitchell, shared a presentation with council.
Kitchell was hired by Hays County more than a year ago to manage the project. Within this year, the company has conducted a Needs Assessment and negotiations with the city, as well as developed a conceptual design, allowing for the creation of a project budget, said Thanos. Now, they are wrapping up the schematic design and are in the process of procuring services for a construction manager at risk and commission agent.
The design team consists of Miles Vandewalle and Steven Knowles from HDR.
“We had the pleasure of working with the commissioners and also with staff and leadership from Hays County to really figure out what this building could be, especially if it’s going to be put in the city of Kyle as an extension of all the services that they have,” said Knowles.
There will be approximately 175 employees at the facility across 26 departments, including Human Resources, County Services, Auditor, County Clerk, Juvenile Probation, Elections and more.
The timber frame building will be built using local materials, such as stone and wood elements, and includes a “living room” concept for its visitors.
“The idea of this two-story living room space [is] so, as you’re sitting there waiting for taxes or maybe taking care of some other needs that you have within Hays County, it really becomes a place to sit and relax,” explained Knowles.
Because of the other amenities and facilities planned to be in the area, he emphasized that they made sure to include a nice front lawn that has walking paths and could be used for events.
The amount of glass was a largely discussed topic amongst council, beginning with council member Courtney Goza asking, “How are we doing to manage the reflective qualities, protect it from extreme hailstorms that we might have, [etc]?”
Knowles stated that the timber frame building makes the glass feel bigger than it actually is, but that, additionally, it is higher performance, meaning that it shades those inside and has minimal glare.
Having worked in a facility with large amounts of glass before, council member Michael Tobias stated that the effect on temperature is something to be noted, as it gets extremely hot and cold.
“If we are going to be very conscious about cost savings and energy savings, it’s something to really consider when we’re designing these buildings. Yes, it is beautiful, but we are in Central Texas, so something to look at,” said Tobias, adding that he would like to see rooms for meetings and open houses.
Goza also emphasized the use of native plants and rainwater retention, which he shared was initially brought up by the commissioners, as well.
Sharing these concerns was council member Lauralee Harris, who asked for bird safe glass, as well as for more information about water conservation to be presented at a later date.
“This is an excellent opportunity to actually do a One Water building. They are more and more popular [and] they are wonderful for the environment,” said Harris. “There’s really no reason not to do them anymore.”
According to the Watershed Association, One Water is “an integrated planning and implementation approach to managing finite water resources for long-term resilience and reliability, meeting both community and ecosystem needs.” A local example is Blue Hole Primary School in Wimberley.
“I’m seeing the vision [and] I like what I’m hearing,” said council member Marc McKinney. “I’m tremendously excited to be able to offer these services in particular, [with] easier access to my eastside residents and there’s so many benefits that are going to come from this, once it’s all said and done.”
Mayor Yvonne Flores-Cale was “torn with this whole project,” not only because it was allegedly donated for parkland — which she would like feedback from residents on this change — but also because it is directly near Chapa Middle School.
She was concerned about the lack of a traffic study, as there was a child previously hit, due to the amount of cars traveling in this area. Staff stated that they have requested an existing traffic analysis, but will conduct another, if needed.
Furthermore, the mayor expressed concern of the individuals on probation at this facility, when some cannot come within 100 feet of a school.
Harris noted that some of those individuals on probation are low income and it is difficult for them to make it to their court sessions in San Marcos, so perhaps they could simply ensure that the high risk cases are not assigned to the Eastside Campus.
“We really wanted to give an update to the council on our concept, so we could get that feedback. So, we welcome that discussion, that dialogue with you all, as well as other citizens,” concluded Boutte.
Adding to this was Precinct 2 Commissioner Michelle Cohen, who emphasized that “this building is going to bring all these essential services to an area that historically [has] been underserved and undervalued. So, I just want you to all understand that this is a huge thing for this community and we definitely want to take your feedback.”
To listen to the discussion, visit bit.ly/4u3eKjA. Kyle City Council will next meet at 7 p.m. May 19.
