Land Purchase Pleases Mother Nature

Mayor Lee Leffingwell (center) joined others last week in the official debut of a transformed, formerly dingy parking lot under I-35 between Sixth and Eighth streets, which is now an eye-pleasing, pedestrian-friendly Downtown amenity.

At a joint press conference Monday morning with members from the Nature Conservancy of Texas, Mayor Lee Leffingwell announced the city's purchase of 611 acres of land from 668 Avana Land Holdings LLC. The acquisition caps a decadelong effort to preserve the land, located just southwest of Austin, in the sensitive recharge zone of Barton Springs and the Edwards Aquifer. The $11.8 million purchase price is funded largely by $11.1 million in general obligation bond money from the $50 million voters approved for open-space purchases in the city's 2006 bond election. Additional contributions include $400,000 from the recently approved Tarlton 360 Townhomes development, the first project under the city's Barton Springs Redevelopment Ordinance, and another $300,000 from homebuilder Standard Pacific Homes to bridge the remaining funding. Council members are scheduled to finalize the deal at their meeting today, Aug. 18.