Details of a plan for the Saltillo District were unveiled this week, but some community leaders were critical of the plan because in did not provide enough affordable housing. The Saltillo District is an 11-acre area bound by I-35, Comal St., Fourth St., and Fifth St. and will contain a commuter rail stop.
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The plan, drawn up by San Francisco-based Roma Design Group, calls for up to 675 homes in buildings 40 to 60 feet high, 20,000 square feet of commercial space, an 8,000-square-foot community center and possibly an 11-story building next to Interstate 35 that could serve as a revenue engine for the project.
The plan envisions wide sidewalks on East Fifth Street with ground-level shops and cafes and grassy walkways and miniparks.
Such a plan would require zoning changes because the neighborhood plan locks in heights along the corridor at 40 feet. According to Roma, developing under existing zoning would result in about 400 fewer homes.
The plan would also move the rail line from the center of the area to the northern edge of Fourth St. with part of the Lance Armstrong Bikeway running parallel to the tracks. The plan will be presented to the City Council and Cap Metro in about a month.
Austin American-Statesman:
Details for Saltillo area presented
