Oak Hill Development May Bring Traffic

A plan to build a new retail and residential complex may help get the stalled y at oak hill expansion project back in gear. Forty years ago, there was more space than people in the Oak Hill area. Its why Sue Cervenka built her home here in 1965.

"It was country then, there was like a car or two an hour that would pass on the highway," said Cervenka.
 

Now the songs from the birds in her trees must compete with the sound coming from the wheels grinding up and down Hwy 290. Things have certainly changed.
 

"Yeah, its getting overly crowded," said Cervenka.
 

In time, the crowds will be just on the other side of her fence. A new development called, West Park, is in the works. The front doors to a store at the intersection of Hwy 290 and FM1826, will be the main roadway leading into the 100 plus acre tract.
 

"We see this as sort of a doorway, to the town center," Said John Joseph, who is part of the development team.
 

Preliminary renderings indicate the residential and retail complex will have stores and offices along the northern edge of Hwy 290. The back sections of the property will be residential. Apartments, townhomes and condos for about 500 residences will be built. The rest set of the land is set aside as open-space.
 

"We think that this is a very good project and it has all the potential in the world for helping Oak Hill get what Oak Hill deserves," said Joseph.
 

Designed to be pedestrian friendly, the commercial area is currently set to be smaller than the Hill Country Galleria at Bee Cave. The West Park site is less than a mile away from the Y at Oak Hill. It could help jump start plans to improve the intersection.

To address the problem, administrators with TxDOT, the Central-Texas Regional Mobility Authority and the City of Austin are expected to meet sometime before Christmas. If they're unable to find the $300 million to start construction, a band-aid approach may be drafted.

That approach would be some type of patchwork design to keep traffic flowing. As the number crunching continues, Corey Brooks and his cousin were at the Y, stacking firewood. They set up shop in the parking lot of a closed grocery store. Some day it may be part of a massive fly-over, but not now.

"Its all about money. The longer you wait, the longer you sit, the more its going to cost you," said Brooks.
 

Road engineers know time is running out. The West Park project is about 2 years away from breaking ground. A meeting with residents about the West Park project is set for December 2nd. It will be held at the Oak Hill Church of Christ.