First Grant for DVCC,

DVCC applied for and received a grant from KAB to beautify the community. This grant will be used in the garden design for the Children’s Wellness Center.  The Wellness Center had to leave behind their gardens when they moved to their new location. This grant will help to reestablish it.We hope this will be the 1^st of many projects for DVCC.  Thanks Charles and Tamara for all the work you did to get this grant going. You can  read more about other KAB grants for Austin and information about KAB through their newsletter.

Discussions are getting heated about whether or not Formula One is a good choice for development in this area of Southeast Travis County. (Elroy) I have been criticized by some for being too critical of F1 and it has been suggested by others that I don’t understand what the ramifications are if Formula One is allowed to build here. Also, because my profession is real estate and this blog is on my Del Valle website it has been suggested that I am sly and greedy because I have an opinion that may differ from theirs. My concern is for the Del Valle area.  It was my concern 15 years ago when I and others tried to stop more additions to the jail. It was my concern when I was temporarily with the Elroy Preservation Association trying to halt Wandering Creek’s plans to build homes in an area with flooding issues, pipelines and hazardous roads and Del Valle is still my concern. It doesn’t matter to me if it is F1, Wandering Creek Subdivision or a moon station that plans to develop. I want to know what plans are in place with the developers, the City of Austin, Travis County and The State of Texas on how the development of this 900 acres and the potential growth around it, mostly in Del Valle is to be handled. Will it benefit the area and be an asset both commercially and environmentally or will it be just another added piece of garbage that we have to live with. Will there be decent home developments, stores, hotels, restaurants, offices with doctors, dentist and other viable businesses? Or can we expect more salvage yards, massive storage unit facilities and warehousing? Right now, no one seems to know anything. Really? From what I understand this particular project has been in discussions for at least two years, the same goes for plans made for Wandering Creek and NO ONE has discussed potential development in and around the Del Valle area? Really? Are you telling me that a developer bought 900 acres of land, almost in the middle of nowhere with no plan in mind other than where to put his racetrack? And convinced the State Comptroller’s office to help?  The State has no plans? Travis County? Austin? With Formula One planning to start bulldozing in 3-4 months everyone might want to get started thinking about this. Rather than choosing sides about who is coming in I want information on what the plans are if and when they get here.

Elroy is a small community located in Southeast Travis County and situated in the Del Valle zip code and DVISD. I am a 30 year resident, who moved here by choice and raised a family here. My home will be within about a half mile of F1. I also understand that growth is inevitable. I have had a couple of people tell me I shouldn’t be so critical of Formula One Racing coming to Elroy. I would like take this opportunity to say: I am not against Formula One locating here. They will probably be more beneficial than another landfill, gravel pit or addition to the county correctional facility. As a resident I would like to know more. My concerns are how the developments are to be handled. Local residents have little say in the matter because we are outside the city limits but the City of Austin has a large amount of control because we are in the ETJ. What I don’t want to see is growth that is haphazard and unplanned. The racetrack will be just the beginning. There are plenty of concerns with Formula One developing 900 acres just as there were concerns with Wandering Creek developing 600 acres. Traffic, roads, utilities, emergency services, law enforcement and how they plan to handle the environmental aspect of this and other developments that will eventually locate here. Just because this is not the ‘Hill Country” does not mean that developers should be allowed to come out and strip and pave over the land. This is one of my main concerns. Not just with Formula 1 but the other developments that will follow. Environmental development, managed responsibly should be a number one concern for the City of Austin and the State of Texas. Will they be allowed to flatten and pave over or required to leave green space and recycle waste from site clearing, and building? Do they have plans to use reclaimed or recycled products for construction. What about recycling at venues?  Will venders use recycled products? How will the waste from events be managed? Will it also be recycled or sent to landfills. What about parking areas? Will it be a solid mass or will they use products that are ECO-friendly? There are products available allow water to pass through. It is easier to be environmentally responsible when you start with design and development and insist that everyone involved do the same. The days of stripping the land with no thought to the natural surroundings should be over. A project of this magnitude, with the people and investment involved should be able to be a LEADER in environmentally responsible development and not just a little “green washing”. What plans do Formula One, the City of Austin, Travis County and The State of Texas have in mind for this small undeveloped community called Elroy. As a resident I will continue to question their plans and I may be a little critical until I am satisfied.

Del Valle,  Elroy and Formula One? What a big surprise the jet setters and other Formula One crowds are in for when they come to the races in Elroy. Unless plans are already in the works for some major changes to the area of Del Valle and Elroy around the Formula One racetrack they will find very little in the way of lodging, dining, or other facilities that people are used to seeing. Neither Del Valle nor Elroy has ever been known for its exciting nightlife, fine restaurants or grand hotels.  Mostly it has been farms and ranches with a few neighborhoods clustered between Elroy Road, Pearce Lane and Hwy. 71. The news media has left and now the investors are coming around and everyone is looking for land to buy. Cheap! Property hasn’t been cheap here in a long time and I doubt it will start now. Like everyone else I’m curious and anxious to see how this project will unfold. Will development be done with forethought and planning that will benefit the area and sustain the pace for the next ten or so years?  What plans are in place for the track area when not in use by Formula 1. Austin is a city that prides itself on being an environmentally responsible city, will that pride extend to the development, building and maintenance of the approximately 900 acres of land that is proposed for the Formula 1 site?  Will

Formula One site in Elroy (Austin, TX)

they use an approach that flattens and destroys the natural environment of 900 acres with no thought or concern about the wildlife and their habitats or will they take a minute and try to incorporate and include it. What are the plans for waste management? Will all the paper, plastic and other by-products of massive crowds head to the landfill or will there be a plan in place for recycling? What are the plans for traffic flow, water and waste water, other utilities? As a 30 year resident of Elroy I am hoping that the City of Austin and Travis County hold the developers of this project to the same high standards as they would a project in any other part of Austin and Travis County and that this project will be a benefit to the community , not just another problem we have to live with.

Okay, now everybody knows. Good or bad Formula One Racing is coming to Elroy. Elroy is NOT in the city limits of Austin . Yet. That will probably change soon enough. Elroy is in the Del Valle zip code and Del Valle ISD so we are part of Del Valle. I have lived here for over 30 years and have never seen so much excitement. Everyone is hanging out at the local store (Elroy Country Corner) and

Recognize anyone?

restaurant (Wild Bubba’s Grill),waiting to hear what we already knew. F1 is going to be at the bottom of the hill on FM 812. It is to be located in what was supposed to be a new home development called Wandering Creek. Then here comes the TV news, again, we are getting to know each other by sight. Soon everyone will be able to answer you when you ask “Where the heck is Elroy”? Elroy is a small community southeast of Austin. For generations it has been a quiet community that has not garnered much attention from anyone. Most

Elroy, Texas

people live here by choice. It is out and away from the city where you can do what you like with-out much interference. This will all change with a project of this size and one that draws this much international attention. Like I said for better or worse Elroy is on the map and plenty of change will be right behind it.