Developers present Gateway at Hutto concept: mixed‑use center, hotel, large park; council flags water supply as top issue

Developers seeking to build “The Gateway at Hutto” presented a concept plan to the City Council on Thursday for a mixed‑use destination on the Wolf Tract at the corner of East Wilco Highway and County Road 137. The team said the project would include residential, retail and a hotel/conference facility centered on a large publicly accessible park and lake.

Robert Deagan of Rialto Studio, representing landowner Steven Wolf and development partners, described a concept master plan with a commercial cluster at the East Wilco/CR 137 intersection, lakeside restaurants and a hotel/conference center, multifamily and townhomes closer to the core and single‑family housing at lower densities on the periphery. The presentation said the proposal anticipates more than 1,000 residential units, roughly 600,000+ square feet of commercial development and more than 73 acres of open space in the overall concept. The team showed a “gateway bridge” over the lake and said much of the central park would be open to the public but maintained by the property owners association (POA), with no maintenance cost for the city.

Sarah Cervantes, director of real estate for the city, introduced the presentation and said the developer was the first to approach council after a directive asking developers to present preliminary concepts for land outside the city’s current CCN (certificate of convenience and necessity) for water/reuse service discussions.

The developers said they sought several city actions should the council endorse moving forward: annexation into the city, PUD zoning to lock in the mixed‑use concept, water and wastewater service from the city, construction of an oversized water loop and a wastewater lift station at the developer’s cost, a public improvement district (PID) and TIRZ or similar financing tools for transportation, and credits for on‑site road improvements (the developers proposed a signal at CR 137 and East Wilco Highway as part of phase 1). The team said it would dedicate right of way for East Wilco Highway expansion and proposed to improve County Road 137 along the entire project frontage; the developers asked that those frontage improvements be credited against transportation impact fees.

Council questions focused on water supply and sequencing. Multiple councilmembers said the water demand (roughly 2,000 LUEs were discussed in council dialogue as a planning‑scale figure) would require close review. Developers and their engineer, Seth Merrick of Gray Engineering, said the tract sits near the edge of the Manville CCN and abuts Hutto’s CCN; they told council they had begun conversations with both the city and Manville and that Manville’s timeline to supply water could be longer than Hutto’s. The developer said it preferred a single utility provider and that working with Hutto could be faster, but they also said the project was not absolutely contingent on taking water from Hutto and could pursue Manville if necessary.

Council members praised the commercial and park elements but repeatedly flagged the need to resolve water and LUE commitments before making final land‑use commitments. Several councilmembers suggested the city and developer explore interconnect options or short‑term arrangements that would allow development to proceed while protecting Hutto’s future water capacity. Developers said they had been working with city staff for more than a year and asked for feedback rather than immediate council vote; they said the first phase would include the traffic signal at CR 137 and East Wilco Highway.

No formal city action was requested or taken Thursday; developers asked for direction and an indication of council support as they refine agreements and engineering.