Mike Burton

Plans to widen the road, which serves as an alternative to Interstate 35 between Round Rock and Georgetown, stalled in the fall when the Texas Department of Transportation's funding for existing projects dried up.
In an unusual move, Round Rock and Georgetown, along with Williamson County and private developers, are considering teaming up to take over the project to widen FM 1460.
-Round Rock Chamber More...

In the next two years, Dell Diamond envisions the land surrounding the minor league field transforming into an entertainment hub with a possible event center and hotel acting as a catalyst to bring restaurants, retail and music. -Impact More...

Spectrum at Crystal Park nears completion

Located at 2300 Greenhill Dr. in Round Rock, Spectrum at Crystal Park is almost complete. The site comprises ten, two-story buildings, which range in size from 5,600 to 15,000 sf, on 8.68 acres. The office park will encompass 84,376 sf upon completion this spring. St. Croix Capital Corp. and Red Texas Realty LLC have partnered to manage the property. -Austin Business Journal

A 170,000-sf Lowe's, the anchor to one of the City of Leander's largest commercial developments, will open later this month. Gateway at Leander, a $24 million project, sits on 42 acres on the corner of Crystal Falls Parkway and U.S. Hwy. 183. The project broke ground in late 2007, and holds a mix of retail, banks and restaurants in addition to the Lowe's store. Austin-based Development 2000 Inc. created the ownership entity Gateway 2000 to purchase and develop Gateway at Leander. -Austin Business Journal

Hutto City Council members annexed 28 acres known as North Town Commons at the intersection of FM 1660 North and Limmer Loop into the city limits in an effort to bring more commercial development to the city. City officials say they've identified the area, divided it into five tracts of land, as a prime commercial corridor. The city is negotiating a planned unit development and working with current landowners to determine the best industrial and commercial use for the land. -Austin Business Journal

Central Texas counties remain among the fastest-growing counties nationwide, according to U.S. Census Bureau population estimates released today.
Williamson County ranked 11th, Hays 13th and Travis 99th in the Census Bureau's ranking of the 100 fastest-growing counties with 10,000 or more residents in 2007 in the nation. - Statesman More...

Austin-area builders continue to cut back on the construction of homes, with first-quarter starts falling to their lowest levels since 2003.
Starts for new homes declined 33 percent to 2,271, compared with first quarter of 2007, according to the latest report from Residential Strategies Inc., which tracks real estate trends.

-Statesman More...

"Homeownership is part of the American dream", said 2008 NAR President-elect Charles McMillan. As the national leading advocate for housing issues, NAR is committed to removing disparities in homeownership and making the face of homeownership in this country look more like America. -TAR More...

On March 18, 2008 the Federal Register published the Department of Housing and Urban Development's proposed Website Complaint Questionnaire which HUD submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. The Federal Register previously published a Notice of Proposed Information Collection on the Website Complaint Questionnaire on November 7, 2006.