Round Rock and Cedar Park have already opened their arms this year to massive mixed-use projects that aim to do what The Domain did for North Austin.
Soon, it could be Pflugerville's turn.
A developer called Negba Group LLC wants to transform almost 120 acres in Pflugerville into a "pedestrian-friendly community with an integrated mix of uses including housing, employment, lodging, retail, parks, natural areas and a potential civic center," planning documents state.
Thousands of residential units could be added to Pflugerville, a Travis County suburb that is already one of the fastest-growing cities in the country.
The project, called NorthPointe in planning documents, is pegged near the intersection of Pflugerville Parkway and the State Highway 130 toll road. An 81-acre tract sits on the west side of the toll road and a 38-acre tract is on the east side.
Tomas Sheleg, Negba's New York-based developer leading the project, said his development firm has mainly focused on residential, commercial and hospitality projects in the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. NorthPointe would be their first project in Texas.
"This project that we're working on in Pflugerville is something that culminates all the years of experience," Sheleg said.
Sheleg said his group has owned the property since 2015. They've held onto it despite swirling legal questions over the property stemming from a lawsuit.
"We stuck around and we did it the right way, and we think the city appreciated that through the process," Sheleg said. "This is something that feels right on every level, from municipal [partnerships] to the market to the property."
"We recognize the 130 corridor... the northeast part of Austin as where the entire region is going to go," he added.
While the project has drawn comparisons to The Domain, Sheleg said he wants NorthPointe to have its own reputation.
"Our approach is not [in the] rear-view mirror," he said. "Our product is going to be something very unique."
The project is expected to include at least 1,800 residential units, documents state.
"Approximately 800,000 square feet of non-residential uses are located on the west side and 1.5 million on the east side, including commercial, lodging, light-industrial and employment uses," according to the developer's planned unit development submission to the city of Pflugerville in late March.
Other documents obtained through a records request indicate the project's maximum density could reach about 4,000 residential units, though Sheleg said that figure is flexible because of the way they've designed the buildings' footprints.
"Sometimes the meal is not ready but the ingredients are there," Sheleg said.
And a pedestrian bridge over the SH-130 toll road is a possibility, too.
"If they don't want to have Pflugerville East and Pflugerville West, then they need to have connectivity at the pedestrian level," Sheleg said.
Kimley-Horn & Associates, Inc. is the civil engineer. Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr PC is handling legal issues. Wexler & Associates is an engineering consultant. Alliance Transportation Group Inc. is advising on transportation and traffic matters. And DPFG is advising on the financials of the project, including potential incentives.
DPZ CoDESIGN worked on the master planning and RVi worked on landscape planning and design, Sheleg said.
As a planned unit development rezoning, the project will need to pass Pflugerville's Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council for approval.
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