An aerial rendering of Karlin Real Estate’s Highpoint at 2222.
By LYNETTE HAALAND, Four Points News
Karlin Real Estate is redeveloping the 156-acre former 3M site in Four Points.
Weeks after Karlin unveiled ideas for its multi-phase site plan in September,
community leaders initiated a survey to gauge feedback from people who live in
and around Four Points.
“People want things that help with traffic and want places to see their kids play,”
said Daniel Kulick, a Four Points resident with data analysis expertise. He
developed the questionnaire with Linda Bailey, president of Lake Austin
Collective, as well as other leaders in the Four Points community.
Summarizing the survey results, Kulick found: People are most concerned about
traffic, and the potential for insufficient infrastructure and rezoning to exacerbate
traffic. Also, there is a desire for a through-road particularly for school commuters,
as well as a desire for the development to have a public park with areas for kids to
play and have it be larger than Karlin’s initial park proposition.
Kulick compiled the data and presented the results of the survey to the 2222
Coalition of Neighborhood Associations, Lake Austin Collective, and again to
leaders at Karlin Real Estate.
The survey was first drafted and circulated to 2222 CONA members for edits and
polishing. Then it was circulated through public channels and received 915
responses over 10 days.
All Four Points communities responded and the larger the community, the more
responses. For example, Steiner Ranch is the largest Four Points community with
over 4,000 homes and almost 200 people from Steiner responded.
“The reach into each community is similar when comparing the number of
responses to the size of the community,” Kulick said.
He shared that the questions were intended to allow open-ended responses and
used objective language that fairly represents both potential demands and the
developer’s desires.
Summary of Concerns
“Traffic (ranked #1) nearly 43% of the time, much higher than the other options,”
Kulick said. “Traffic is by far the foremost concern for respondents.”
Changing zoning from single-owner Research & Development to multi-use had the 2nd highest ranking and insufficient infrastructure the 3rd.
“To add a little nuance to the rankings, (the results) likely also imply concerns for
safety, where more traffic could translate to more accidents. In particular, the
development is close to two schools (Vandegrift High School and Four Points
Middle School), and so a lot of inexperienced drivers would be impacted by a
traffic increase, potentially having a compounding effect on traffic and accidents,”
Kulick shared.
He added that traffic increases also carry negative environmental impacts, such as
emissions from an increase in idling time and sound pollution to communities like
The Preserve.
Summary of Benefits
Respondents broadly indicated interest for a through-road on the campus to
connect the schools to River Place Boulevard, and traffic mitigation, which go
hand in hand in practice.
“A through-road to alleviate some of the traffic on 2222 was important,” Kulick
said. “A through-road is an application of traffic mitigation.”
A park is desired by respondents with significant interest in wanting one that is
larger than 9 acres that also includes areas for play and activities, Kulick shared.
Summary of Density
Respondents are supportive of office and retail, with a secondary preference for a
campus-style development like 3M was for three decades.
“There is not a resistance to building, there’s concern that it will impact traffic
infrastructure in a negative way,” Linda said.
“Most respondents are simply concerned about what Karlin will be building and
how it will impact the community, with only a handful of people on the extreme
(end) of not having anything built,” Kulick shared
Survey Q1: Rank Top 3 Concerns:
- Traffic accumulation
- Environmental disruption
- Insufficient infrastructure
- Changing zoning from single-owner R&D to Multi-use
- QOL impact
- Other
Survey Q2: Rank Top 3 Desired Community Benefits:
- Proposed 9 acre park with trails and lake
- Larger park with sports and rec facilities
- Through road
- Facilities for civic use
- Traffic mitigation study
- 60-80% MFI-restricted affordable housing
Survey Q3: Choose a Desired Density Preference:
- Multi-use with less height/density
- Offices and retail with no residential
- Campus-style (3M, Concordia)
- Other
Survey participation well represented
The number of highest survey responders came from the following neighborhoods:
Steiner Ranch
River Place
Long Canyon
Glenlake
Jester
Canyon Creek
Westminster Glen
Grandview Hills
Shepherd Mountain
Greenshores HOA
The Preserve at Four Points
North West Hills Area
Hudson Bend
Monte Vista
Colina Vista
Anderson Mill
Courtyard HOA
Westcliff HOA