The Mueller of Our Discontent

Mdahmus, bad as Circle C is and little as I want more developments like it, it IS par for the course when it comes to American and Austin development. One need only look to booming suburbs in Northwest Austin, Cedar Park, or Pflugerville.

It is also important to point out that Hyde Park is not a New Urbanist neighborhood, it is a streetcar suburb that arose in a very different time. Despite this key difference, this neighborhood will likely be much more akin to hyde park than anything that has been constructed in Austin for decades.

Also the original plan DOES call for commercial uses is the southern part of the development and nearer to the farthest homes. I quote the very person who complained about the issue of walkability, AustinContrarian, "The plan calls for some mixed use at the southern edge." I fully agree it is essential that the second town center be built. Yes,we will have to make a strong effort to ensure this comes to fruition, but the good intent is there.

It should also be noted, big and boxy thought some of the retail will be, there is also planned space for smaller retailers. We also have to wonder where might these boxes have gone if we hadn't allowed a few right there next to the freeway where they belong. They might have been developed in greenfield or further from the highway, thus contributing to traffic, noise and pollution.

Finally, could you please direct me to where in the original plans they indicated the extent and severity of the provisions of the HOA? I would be really interested to read the original promises vs. what has actually materialized.

Thanks!

Mueller - horrible design, plan and idea to begin with.

$140K being affordable? Absolutely. Sadly, there will never be $60K condos in downtown or S. Austin like there were just less than a decade ago. $140K is affordable for almost anyone these days. Unfortunately that usually doesn't include the slacker who wants to go booze it up every night and spend $1500 a month on eating out and music while compaining about a $1200 mortgage payment. Sacrifice or initiative is usually the answer to living around the core of the city.

Also, Mueller is in no way, shape or form, part of the downtown area. Its lower NE Austin

"But why do you think a $120-140,000 home is affordable? Who is that affordable for? Please enlighten me, oh perfect one."

A 30 year fixed rate mortgage at 6% for $140k is $840/mo. If you figure another $350/mo for property taxes and homeowners insurance (a generous # btw) the total housing cost is $1190/mo. If housing is 28% of gross annual income then you only need to make $51k to afford a $140k home. According to the HUD guidelines for median family income a $140k home IS affordable housing.

"the rich always have to gobble up what the poor have because they're greedy."

That kind of thinking is why you will always be poor.

Eric,

This development is forward-thinking only if you think Circle C is par for the course. Most of us were hoping for something like what the publicity indicated would be coming - a new urbanist neighborhood "like Hyde Park".

No, strip retail within biking distance isn't "urban", old OR new. No, walking a mile to retail isn't what was promised. No, HOAs with this kind of power are not what was sold to us originally.

P.S. Forgive my hasty typing and errors.

The Mueller development may not be perfect, but it is a huge step in the right direction. Yes, it's true that the development along the highway is more big-box than neighborhood retail. Yes, the the development is phased and we will have to work to ensure that it is completed as planned. These points, however, are inevitable consequences of a economic and political climate; we need to be pragmatic. A development with no larger retailers, for istance, might not have offered the profitability to even get it off the ground with a developer. Here we are hemming and hawing about affordability but at the same time complaining that the designs aren't good enough--good, elaborate design can be expensive; we need to reconcile our cost concerns with our design objectives. Homogeneity of design, for instance, decreases the cost of houses--a neighborhood where every house is archtiecturally distinctive is going to price a lot of people.

As far as walkability and transit, we need to give it time. Provided the later phases include the planned neighborhood retail, this neighborhood will, in fact be perfectly walkable. Yes, the people who live on the far side of the neighborhood will be farther from the main retail hub, but we shouldn't disregard the majority of homes which are much closer. And what of bicycling? Even a 1 mile distance is perfectly tenable on a bicycle. Finally, transit doesn't appear magically. There is something of a Catch-22: transit needs riders, riders need transit. It is simply going to take time for the neighborhood to develop and for the city to secure resources for and build the transit options we envision.

Oh, by the way, has anyone looked at a HOA agreement for the subdivisions being built elsewhere? I somehow doubt this one will seem all that restrictive when we look at what other new neighborhoods currently operate under. My own Austin neighborhood doesn't even allow basketball hoops. The take-home lession is that HOA agreements suck everywhere.

Let's not let these contrarian, albeit legitimate concerns get in the way of the overall appreciation of what is a really forward-thinking development.

But why do you think a $120-140,000 home is affordable? Who is that affordable for? Please enlighten me, oh perfect one.

No.

Don't you have better things to do than to judge me?

No.

i have been anticipating the Mueller development for quite a long time now, but with each new bit of information that i learn, i am disappointed. big box stores, cookie-cut suburban builders selected, restrictive property codes, big price gap between housing options, all disappointing.

i am trying to see the positives though. Austin lacks affordable single-family homes and Mueller will provide. it will devote (i hope) space to green areas. it is sad though that the uniqueness and creativity seen in many older neighborhoods in austin will not be at Mueller, isn't there enough of these homogenous housing developments in P-ville, RoundRock, Houston, Dallas...Texas.

oh and yes, I believe the cat lady, my brother has had several near death ER rushes due to severe cat allergies. ol pappy - don't you have better things to do than harass people and spread negativity on the Austinist?

woring part time

I meant working part time but whoring might work too if they were / are employed by the Ace Motel.

As for concerns about affordability, I realize that $240k is a decent amount of money but consider the downtown, single family alternatives in that price range...oh yeah, there really aren't any.

First of all, Mueller isn't downtown. It's old Northeast Austin so let's not act like you're gonna be living on 7th and Brazos if you buy there.

Second of all, when Mueller was the airport, that area was affordable. Manor Road was the closest students could live near campus in an apartment living off of loans and woring part time. Forget about it now - even the shittiest apartments in that area are making minor improvements (paint, new blinds and whatnot) and raising their rent accordingly.

So yeah, it's a newly discovered area for real estate vultures, but it still isn't downtown by any means. Of course, none of this is new - the rich always have to gobble up what the poor have because they're greedy.

No taverns? Rigid HOA? Row after row of faux-retro cookie cutter houses? Big box retail?

Now it dawns on me what Muellertown is most reminiscent of: that town in Florida that Disney built. Celebration.

Wes,

no, I'm not planning on buying in Mueller--anymore. Why? Because of the 134 page, extremely restrictive HOA document. Feral cats are one thing, an outside pet cat is another. Yard art may not be to everyone's taste, but then again, is it your property and is this America or isn't it?

Maybe you will have some kids who want a swing set, or you will have a strong affection for palm trees, and the moment someone tells you you can't do what you like on your property, you'll feel a lot differently about someone having the authority to tell people what they can and cannot do.

We already have things in place to protect the peace and safety of our neighborhoods; they're called laws, and they work just fine, and don't rely on a group of strangers' very subjective judgment.

Not sure how many people know this, but the restrictions also prohibit any "taverns" from setting up shop in Mueller. Guess everyone will have to drive or take the bus if they want to go out for a drink. (Also, no liquor stores will be allowed.) Hmmm, funny. I thought cities had bars. Yep, this is looking more like a suburb all the time.

For more information on the HOA documents, go to the Official Public Records (OPR) under Instrument # 2004238007 at the Travis County Clerk’s website at this URL: tccweb.co.travis.tx.us

I think my disappointment with the Mueller development is that, at least in the commercial phase going in right now, it's nothing but big box sprawl. Best Buy, Marshall's, Chair King, all fed by enormous surface parking lots. If the city is serious about a "big box" ordinance, and claims to be receptive to the ideas of Responsible Growth for Northcross in its fight against Walmart, I don't understand why it would take so much of the Mueller land, that it controlled, and turn it into big box and surface parking. Just like every other suburban "power center" commercial development. It seems like a major opportunity to build something different was squandered here.

I wonder how many people complaining about the HOA rules are planning to buy a house in at Mueller? I plan on buying a house in the second phase (I want to see how the first turns out) and I'm glad that people won't be able to crap up the place with yard "art" and feral cats.

As for concerns about affordability, I realize that $240k is a decent amount of money but consider the downtown, single family alternatives in that price range...oh yeah, there really aren't any.

Why are they building houses at all?! Everyone knows it's irresponsible and a waste of land to build anything other than a condos that are part of a vertical mized use project. Houses are so last century. For shame!

Ok, I'll start.

Mike, by "this century" I was referring to the 21st. I agree that the houses of the second half of the 20th century are generally hideous, partly because of their ignorance of context. Suburban houses designed for New England were built in every suburb in America.

My hope is that in this century, housing designers will pay attention to context, both immediate and regional. In Texas, wide porches shade and cool a house, making it substantially more energy efficient. Houses built in Texas before 1950 tend to have wide porches, as do the best new designs (including those at Mueller).

That said, housing designers shouldn't mimic historical houses. For example, I am no fan of encrusting the exterior of houses with limestone, even though some historic local houses used limestone beautifully. Old houses used limestone structurally. New houses use it decoratively, which I find disgusting. It is no coincidence that the Mueller house designs encrusted with limestone also have small porches. Limestone is a misunderstanding of regionalism.

Outside cats have nothing to do with Mueller. Austin has a leash law. Cats outside have to be on leashes just like dogs. Just because everyone ignores this law doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

I would say some of the following could be used to fix the Mueller plan:

1) Have an HOA agreement where the major remedy for breaking any rules is not to fine them and then foreclose on residents' houses.

2) Allow some more freedom, variation and creative expression in landscaping, paint colors, adaptations, etc. Make it a real neighborhood, not a bunch of cloned streetscapes.

3) Have a middle income level! There's just flat out too much of a gap between $120-140k and $240+. One of the original goals was to have a full range of income levels, and it seems Mueller's presently going to be missing a couple.

I'm allergic to Automobiles, please refrain from driving. All of you.

What can anybody do to fix the mueller plan though? You don't like it but that doesn't mean that the silent majority isn't happy with the proposals. I read the blog about affordable housing and it kind of pissed me off. That woman was complaining because the high end house prices were already rising. That's fair enough to me. But then she said, "How will rich people like living next to low income people?" and (trust me on this one) it takes a pretty high income and good credit to afford a $140,000 home. It's not like the lower end homes are gonna be occupied by crack head prostitues on welfare. That's classist - that bogger is at least. Assuming that rich people don't wanna live by "poor" people that can afford a $120-140,000 home.

I'm just pickin' on ya, cat-lady. I know there are people out there with real allergies. I just think that most of them are made up and if they aren't, they can be treated so it's funny when someone complains about them like they have an inoperable brain tumor or something.

But maybe I'm just drunk so I'm being nice now. Who knows? Or better yet, who cares?

maybe you should take your life experience and move to a city that isn't infamous for causing problems for people with allegries

I make no demands. I ask no one to bend. I've had more life experiences than you can imagine. I simply like a portion of the Mueller proposal. Don't take it personally y'all.

Umm ... the cat thing was just a joke. Lets try to focus on the development itself, what is being done wrong, and what can be done to fix it, mkay?

What is obnoxious is one person thinking the entire world exists only to accomodate their particular (not to mention treatable, I've had the shots and they have worked wonders) difficulties in coping with basic life experiences.

With the HOA, it looks like this will be a suburban wasteland anyway; might as well let the cats outside to slaughter all of the birds.

... and because they are that serious, you're pretty unique.

i know how shitty allergies can be, so i believe you, but at the same time i think it makes people have a visceral reaction when you demand that everyone bend (i.e. "please keep your cats inside") to your highly specialized and unique condition.

but, by and large, it sure would make the world a better place if people could be a little nicer. when austinist first started, people were super nice and friendly in the comments (for the most part). it seems like more and more lately people just let loose their inner asshole. it's so boring and un-austin (to me, anyway).

Ol'pappy- I'm not like your friend. My allergy meds don't help me with the cats. I'd need to go through 2-3 years of desentitizing injections to even start to make a dent against my allergies. That's going 2 times a week. And even then it's not guaranteed and it's expensive and not covered by my insurance. Every time I go to someone's house I have to ask if they have cats. I start to itch within 10 minutes and start wheezing within 15 minutes even if the house has been cleaned and the cat has been locked into another room. People have trouble believing that anyone can be this allergic to cats- I understand that. You can choose to believe what you wish about my allergies but my allergies are just that serious.

Also - cat lady - why don't you take some medicine if it's really all that bad? It seems like a lot of people just like to bitch about allergies to get attention. I have a friend that's all "boo hoo my eyes are falling out and my nose is bleeding" when he sees a cat but then I took him over to a friend of mine's house that has a cat and he didn't know and we stayed there all night and he was fine. You're probably the same way - saying you had to go to the hospital cause it was so bad but not taking allergy medication for cats. Please.

Ol'pappy- after you, my dear.

APV-

Wow. You're obnoxious. If you disagree with me, just say you'd like to have cats roaming free.

But really people, if you let your cats out your pretty much begging for them to be run over or used for target practice so don't do that.

as someone who is allergic to annoying people, i demand that allergic cat woman be shot.

Also note that "New Urban Prospect" post is from a long time ago. Unfortunately she got discouraged after a while and clammed up - her blog was by far the best thing going on this subject matter while it lasted.

As someone who is allergic to trees and flowers, these should not be allowed either.

Actually I'd argue the houses are too close in design to this century - with their stubby little key-clutching porches like the 1950s crap in Allandale/Brentwood/etc.

This was supposed to be "like Hyde Park". If the porch ain't wide enough for a porch swing and long enough for an added table/chairs, it's not "like Hyde Park".

As someone who has been hospitalized due to severe allergies to cats I am happy that cats aren't allowed to roam free at Mueller. My nightmare is being rushed to the ER because I can't breathe and my eyes are swelling shut- which is what happens when I come into contact with a cat. Please, keep your cats indoors.