About 200 people attended the unveiling of the final master plan for Colony Park at Family Fun Fest at the Turner-Roberts Recreation Center on Monday. The plan, the product of a year of meetings, was developed by Farr Associates of Chicago, along with the local Urban Design Group and extensive community input. While children from the Northeast Austin neighborhood explored a visiting fire truck and tested their skills in the bike rodeo, planners and city staff answered questions about the plan for the adjacent 208 acres of undeveloped city land and the 65 acres of dedicated parkland. Maps of the area, north of Loyola Lane and just west of Decker Lane and the Travis County Expo Center, showed the mixed-use development that will be implemented in phases. Outside, from a vantage point on the hill behind the rec center, visitors could see giant colored balloons bobbing in the distance, each indicating the location of an element of the planned neighborhood. Inside, families connected with 25 educational, health, and social service vendors. The resources fair was part of a Summer Family Series that offers residents free classes in professional development, healthy cooking, English, and Spanish.
This article appears in June 27 • 2014.