Whether anyone wants to readily admit it or not, Kyle is defined not by its pies, nor its fajitas, nor its balloon festivals nor even its heritage. The truth is Kyle is defined by a road. A highway. Interstate 35.
Interstate 35 is the reason Kyle has experienced its 21st century growth spurt. Population growth follows major arterials extending from major metropolitan areas. Upon graduating from college, I spent the next 46 years of my professional career in Dallas and witnessed this pattern of population growth first-hand. The road that defined Dallas was North Central Expressway, a six-lane freeway extending four miles north of downtown that became a four-lane one for the next nine miles to the northern city limits. It was a traffic nightmare. But when the Texas Legislature created the Turnpike Act on June 9, 1953, tollroads began to take shape in the Dallas area. What is now Interstate 30 between Dallas and Fort Worth was originally constructed in 1957 as a tollroad known as the Dallas/Fort Worth Turnpike. That arterial stimulated the growth of Arlington and Grand Prairie and facilitated the construction of Six Flags Over Texas which opened midway on the Turnpike Aug. 5, 1961.
To help alleviate the traffic headaches on North Central Expressway, the highway powers-that-be decided to construct a tollroad from downtown Dallas to the northern city limits that could serve as an alternative to North Central Expressway. Construction began in 1966 and it was completed in 1968 when it reached Interstate 635, 8.7 miles north of its origin point. The reason the Dallas/Fort Worth Turnpike became a free highway in 1977 is because J.H. “Jack” Davis, the engineer-manager for the Texas Turnpike Authority, said in 1968 that "When revenue bonds for a project are finally paid off, the facility reverts to the state as part of its highway system, to be used free." Those behind the turnpike could have continued to issue bonds for additional construction projects, but for some unknown reason they didn’t. The folks behind the Dallas North Tollway were not going to make that same mistake. So, in the mid-1980s, work commenced on extending the Tollway northward another 22 miles so that by mid-2007, it extended all the way to U.S. Highway 380, which connects Denton and McKinney in North Central Texas. Plans are in place to extend it another 30 miles northward to the city of Gunter. In short, bonds on that road will never be paid.
When that first section of the extended Dallas North Tollway north of I-635 opened in 1987, there was nothing but empty fields on either side. That fact is hard to imagine today on a highway whose frontage roads are packed with multi-story office buildings, shopping centers, restaurants and, yes, even the headquarters of the Dallas Cowboys pro football team.
Because gravitational pull in Texas is generally north to south, growth emanates from major metropolitan areas to the north first before it begins flowing south. That’s the reason for the Dallas North Tollway. It’s also why here in Central Texas, cities like Round Rock and its neighbors began their growth spurts before Kyle. But when I-35 north of Austin essentially became a contiguous urban center all the way through Georgetown, the eyes of developers turned southward. It’s hilarious today to hear long-time residents of Kyle speak wistfully of some “good old days,” and pine for that time when the city still had a population of around 5,000 and wonder why so many people suddenly discovered the city. It’s because it’s on the freaking interstate. Anyone who didn’t realize this growth was inevitable was completely out of touch with reality. Physically speaking, one could argue Wimberley is a far more desirable place to live than Kyle. But Wimberley is not located on a major arterial. Even Dripping Springs, with its bevy of wineries and other charms, is not located on an arterial that can compare with I-35 and that’s why Kyle’s growth dwarfs that of Dripping Springs.
The theory that development follows major arterials will also have a major effect, within the next 20 years, on FM 1626. FM 1626 is a strange road in that it’s the only highway of its comparative length (13.3 miles, approximately) I’m aware of that begins and ends at the same highway — in this case, the aforementioned I-35. But while I-35 is occupied predominantly by motorists driving through Kyle, FM 1626 will be the major arterial for commuters living in Kyle and Buda driving to workplaces in West Austin, particular those major employment centers lining both sides of Highway 1, or, as it is more commonly called, the MoPac Expressway. By the year 2040, expect FM 1626 to be completely commercially developed from the 45 tollroad into Kyle.
But back to I-35 which also defines Kyle in other ways. There exists in Kyle a divide that is not only physical, but also cultural and political. The divide is between the east side of Kyle and the west side. There is a feeling, not completely without foundation, that the west side of Kyle prospers while the east side languishes — the west side gets the better, wider roads and a quicker response for street repairs than the east side. It is a widely held belief on the east side of Kyle that all the best stores, all the best eateries, all the best developments, the more prestigious subdivisions, the superior schools are all located on the west side of I-35. And the dividing line between that east and west is, of course, I-35.
This dividing line was a significant focus of Tuesday’s city council meeting. First, the council voted 5-1 to deny a request to amend the city’s Comprehensive Plan to allow for warehouse and construction-manufacturing zoning to the Regional Node Land Use District. This district essentially runs along either side of I-35 from the northern to the southern city limits with an area between Kohlers Crossing and City Lights carved out as other districts. This vote makes sense for a number of reasons. As I mentioned earlier, the overwhelming majority of motorists on I-35 are not residents of Kyle; they are driving through the city. I get a kick out of all the egotists in Kyle who complain about all the drive-through restaurants in the city, thinking all those restaurants were built for them when they actually exist for those folks driving through town on I-35. I am a big believer in the concept that one way to reduce the tax burden on Kyle residents is to increase that burden on out-of-town residents. And one of the more impactful ways to do that is to line I-35 with magnets that will irresistibly pull motorists off the highway and into businesses where these out-of-town visitors will willingly part with their sales tax dollars. Warehouse and construction-manufacturing simply will not serve that purpose. Restaurants, shops and entertainment areas are far more likely to accomplish this. I was a member of the Planning & Zoning Commission that carved out this Regional Node and this “magnet philosophy” was the reason I fought so hard for its inclusion in the land use map. I also fought for it to avoid another public battle such as “The Great Godzilla Truck Stop Fight” of 2016, when a developer wanted to locate a mega-truck stop at the northwest intersection of I-35 and Yarrington Road. (If you have forgotten this episode or are simply unaware of Kyle’s recent political history, you can read about it here.)
Council member Robert Rizo cast the lone vote against denying this request to weaken the Comprehensive Plan.
The second significant vote the council took relating to the road that defines Kyle was one in which the council approved the terms in an agreement that could lead to additional major commercial and apartment developments that will be not only be located along or near I-35, but, again, on the west side of the interstate.
Three parcels of land are involved in this agreement. The first is located on the west side of I-35, just north of the Old Bridge Trail, the road that runs in back of the H-E-B complex. The second is bordered by Marketplace Avenue, the Santa Fe railroad tracks, FM 1626 and the Oaks on Marketplace apartment complex. It is supposed to include five restaurant pads and two retail buildings toward the 1626 side of the project; and four four- or five-story apartment buildings with ground level retail along with three additional three-story apartment buildings on the Oaks end. The boundaries of the third parcel are Marketplace Avenue, Physicians Way, City Lights Drive and Kyle Center Drive (the road behind the ER center and Chicken Express on the I-35 southbound frontage road). This parcel is planned as a mixed-use development that will include a pair of four-story buildings along Marketplace and at least seven three story buildings that will all feature retail-type establishments on the first floor and apartment/office spaces on the others.
Under the terms of the agreement the council approved, the city agreed, among other things, that:
- The developer shall receive an amount equivalent to 50 percent of the ad valorem taxes levied by the city collected from the development and received by the city each year, excluding taxes levied on the base value of the property. The base value of the property shall be the taxable value of the property as appraised by the Hays County Appraisal District for tax year 2021.
- The developer shall receive 50 percent of the city’s 1 percent sales taxes collected from the development and received by the city each year. The sales tax rebate shall not be applied to the city’s .5 percent sales tax enacted for property tax reduction.
- The city shall assist the developer in negotiating with Hays County to enter into an agreement for tax rebates similar to the above terms.
- The tax rebates shall continue until either 15 years from the date the final certificate of occupancy for the initial commercial space is issued for the project or until the developer receives a total reimbursement of $13 million, whichever comes first.
The developer agreed, among other terms, that:
- It will build a minimum of 14,000 square foot of commercial space in the first parcel mentioned above within 24 months after the issuance of all required permits.
- The four-or five-story mixed-use buildings in the second parcel mentioned are intended to have a cumulative minimum of 18,000 square feet of commercial space.
- In the third parcel, the mixed-use buildings fronting Marketplace Avenue and the buildings fronting Kyle Center Drive are intended to have a cumulative minimum of 15,000 square feet of first-floor commercial space. The buildings in this parcel fronting Physician’s Way and City Lights Drive are intended to have a minimum of 15,000 square feet of space on the first floor that is suitable for conversion to commercial space or live/work space.
- It will install “a 12-foot-wide sidewalk along Marketplace that is integrated and connected to the citywide trail system, with design tailored to include pocket parks and trail-oriented retail where appropriate, in the discretion of the developer with city input. It is intended that the sidewalk will have a trailhead connection point to a to-be-constructed pedestrian bridge (such bridge to be designed, constructed, and maintained by the city at its sole cost and expense subject to (a) developer contribution … crossing over the railroad tracks adjacent to Marketplace. The exact location of the bridge and the trailhead to be determined at a later time with the mutual cooperation and agreement of the city and the developer.”
- “Public art pieces, preferably from local artists, will be included in the development as appropriate in the discretion of the developer, with the involvement and approval of the city.”
This agreement was also approved in a 5-1 vote. This time, council member Yvonne Flores-Cale cast the lone dissenting vote. (Mayor Pro Tem Rich Koch was absent when both votes were taken). I reached out to both council members Flores-Cale (on Thursday) and Rizo (yesterday), offering them the opportunity to explain why they voted in the minority, but, as of the posting of this article, neither chose to defend their actions.
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