From farmland to future, Hutto is on the rise
Updated: 2/9/2007 11:43 AM
By: Allison Toepperwein | Williamson & Bell County Bureau Chief

In the late 1990s, commercial realtor Joe Repa decided to head east of Interstate 35 in Williamson County to what he heard might be the promised land.

"It was a tough time, because the farmers didn't want to give up the land, and they thought it [State Highway 130] was just a big story. But we took one step at a time," Repa said.

Even with State Highway 130, much of the land is still farmland. But not for long. Four-hundred-seventy-five acres of land in Hutto (known as the Hutto 400) was sold last month to a Florida-based company, Atlantic Coast Developers.

"If we have a fully sustainable site, where people can work, shop, live all on one site, that's the ultimate goal," Hutto Community Development Director Matthew Lewis said.

Hutto is looking forward to building destination retail, industry and condominium projects to attract businesses and jobs to the area.

Repa has spent the last seven years working with city leaders and the former owners of the 475-acre property to annex, zone and finally close with a developer.

SH-130 runs right through a piece of the Hutto 400. To the north is Highway 79 and to the east is FM 685, which makes it a prime piece of real estate.

"It's going to make Hutto. It's really going to put us on the map. And we're doing the types of developments and processes that other cities are talking about," Lewis said.

And what makes this land so valuable is its infrastructure, in particular, water.

"There's been articles where they say we have an overabundance of water. But, we're planning for that overabundance of water to make sure we have water for the future of Hutto," Lewis said.

In 2000, Hutto's population was just over 1,000 people. Now it's 17,000 and growing. Other projects the city is working on include a new Lowe's, H-E-B Plus and Star Ranch, a similar development to Hutto 400.

"This is every planner's dream, to actually work and develop a city from the ground up and develop it in a proper way," Lewis said.