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Taylor council reviews HDR facilities master plan outlining 10 proposed projects and city parcels
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Summary
HDR presented a facilities master plan funded from the 2024 bond program that lists 10 proposed capital projects (police storage, fire facilities, parks facilities, library expansion, animal shelter, and others) and a prioritized review of city‑owned parcels; council and residents discussed a disputed MLK‑area parcel and the council entered executive session on surplus properties.
On April 13, the Taylor City Council held a special workshop where HDR consultants presented a facilities master plan that identifies 10 proposed capital projects and a prioritized set of city‑owned parcels for future use.
Jacob, an HDR representative, told the council the team had worked about 18 months on the plan and sought input to refine an implementable road map for city infrastructure and facilities. "We're proud to come to you, today and talk about a project that we've been working on for the last 18 months or so," he said.
Miles Vanderwall, studio lead for HDR’s San Antonio architecture office, reviewed the high‑level proposals and the parcel analysis. "HDR had spent a comprehensive amount of time early on to go through all a 139 parcels that the city of Taylor owns and distilled it down to this list," Vanderwall said. He said the presentation was intended to align project sequencing with the city’s needs and expenditures.
Key projects shown included a secure police vehicular evidence storage facility (phased parking construction), a proposed Fire Station 3, renovation of a roughly 4,300 sq ft Parks and Recreation administration building, a phased parks field office and maintenance yard (Phase 1: 6,500 sq ft; Phase 2: 3,000 sq ft), options to renovate or replace the fire administration building, a new fire training facility with a 3,200 sq ft canopy and 1,600 sq ft support building, minor modifications to the TRP North pump station, an ~8,000 sq ft fire storage facility with three drive‑through bays, a ~3,300 sq ft public library addition, and a ~2,000 sq ft animal shelter with 19 standard and 8 quarantine kennels.
Vanderwall also reviewed specific city parcels that HDR flagged for further analysis. Highlights included a 0.12‑acre lot off East 2nd Street; several vacant parcels off Doak Street (about 0.75 acres and 0.3 acres, plus a ~0.9‑acre corner surplus lot); a parcel of a little more than 2.5 acres off 79 West; an 11.5‑acre assemblage used for Public Works materials storage; a roughly 16.5‑acre parcel on East Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard; a ~20‑acre soil storage site on the north side; a 0.02‑acre surplus parcel off FM 973; and a combined ~41.5‑acre sliver off Highway 79 near the cemetery. The consultants noted the plan’s projects were tied to the city’s 2024 bond funding.
Council members asked for brief clarification on map locations; Vanderwall identified one parcel as located behind the Circle Hill store and observed it had previously been used as a dump ground.
The presentation did not produce formal direction or votes during the open session; the council later convened in executive session to consult with legal counsel and deliberate on real property matters. The workshop closed after the council reconvened and reported no actions taken.
The presentation materials and the consultants’ parcel review give the council a prioritized list of potential capital projects and candidate city properties for further study; next steps were not decided in open session.
