May 6, 2008
It's Official: Villa Muse Is Dead in Austin
Evidently, since the City rejected Villa Muse's proposal to build its gargantuan studio community just east of Austin, negotiations have been going strong. It went like this: The City turned down Villa Muse's request to release a portion of land from its extra-territorial jurisdiction over environmental and property tax concerns. The City instead suggested that Villa Muse be built in an Austin public infrastructure district. Villa Muse rejected this proposal on grounds that, while the change wouldn't increase the cost of building the community itself, it would have meant a "25% higher tax on its future residents" and "injected risk into [the business deal] that was unacceptable" to Villa Muse and its investors.
No one yet knows what will happen with the option Villa Muse holds on the original land east of Austin. And no one yet knows where else Villa Muse is looking to build its complex. Apparently they'll break ground at some super-mystery location somewhere else in Texas by year's end.
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Beyond the debate of "would this even work," where else could this possibly work in Texas other than Austin? Wasn't half the point of Villa Muse to interact with Austin's creative capital?
This was such a flop from start to finish. It was never going to happen, and by giving away potential tax-able land wasn't going to make it happen.
What was going to happen was the land would be given for Villa Muse, and then commercial property would have been built - but without the creative complex.
Thereby giving a developer a free ride on non-annexed land.
And, most of the City Council understood that.
As a musician who rehearses and performs 4-5 nights a week in or near downtown, the idea of moving that far outside the city seemed preposterous to me.
I can't say that a single one of my peers expressed anything different when the subject of Villa Muse came up.
Last I heard, Villa Muse is now in talks with Bastrop. That way they can take advantage of Austin's creative capital without having to deal w/ the City of Austin and its ETJ.
http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/cityhall/entries/2008/04/22/city_of_bastrop_courts_villa_m.html
Council did the right thing here -- beware the rogue who offers you a deal that you must take now or never. If a deal is so good, it will still be good after the public has had a chance to chew on it a bit. A little sunshine should never spoil a development deal.
Interesting that the Villa Muse developer, in a petulent fit, is sending e-mails around town pushing hard for Galindo's election, implying that he'll pitch this bad deal again when his "boy" gets on Council.
Scary.
I like how that drawing shows the space between Villa Muse and downtown as grey emptiness.
They erased my whole neighborhood!
I heard the same story about the developer sending out emails. But, it was when his "boy" was elected mayor. It was referring to Mcracken, who was a strong supporter of this terrible idea.
Another developer has been trying to pull the same land-lock-up maneuver up in Leander. It's masquerading as the Texas X-Park.
The scheme:
1. Convince investors to buy into this extreme sports country club concept.
2. Purchase 140 acres of Leander property at today's market value.
3. Burn through $60 million of investors' money in this implausible money pit.
4. Wait for the investors to beg to cash out at a substantial loss.
5. Developer owns 140 acres of property that has appreciated thanks to suburban sprawl.
6. Profit $$$$!