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Municipal Utility District annexes land, more homes, retail and roadway improvements
One of Elgin’s unique, upcoming Municipal Utility Districts is scheduled to grow a bit bigger.
The Briarwood MUD is currently in its first phase of development near Neidig Elementary Scool. It is the municipality’s first and only “in-city” MUD, and was approved to annex another 76 acres of land adjacent to U.S. Highway 290, by the County Line Road intersection.
“This is a unique circumstance for us that we have not seen come forward before,” said City Manager Thomas Mattis during a recent council meeting.
Future residents and property owners within the district will be subject to their MUD’s rules, regulations, fees and taxes, but unlike the other several MUDs coming outside of city limits, Briarwood inhabitants will also remain a part of the city and share the same benefits and responsibilities.
MUD property owners will pay both district and city property taxes.
The developer is responsible for the initial design and construction of infrastructure, including streets, lighting, landscaping, irrigation, parkland facilities, water and wastewater services. The city will then take on responsibility for future maintenance of public infrastructure.
“Like most of our MUDS, there’s a lot of unique attributes to this project that go well beyond the basic requirements for a residential development,” added Mattis.
This new arrangement will lead to increased costs for both developer and resident, according to the city manager.
“We’re excited about the project, and in this case, because it’s an ‘in-city’ mud, obviously the taxes will be higher there. It basically puts the developer in the position where they will have to build a very nice development with plenty of amenities and new additions so the people will decide it’s worth it to live there,” Mattis said.
With the added 76 acres, the estimated 772 single-family residential lots should grow by about 182 townhomes and the initial 19 acres of mixeduse land will be doubled, according to Mattis. The 30 acres of open-space parkland will grow by 43 acres, as well.
“I think one of the big things is having land that has frontage on 290 that is truly available for buyers and developers. People are anxious to see more restaurants and more traditional retail that way, but part of our challenge is having land like this that’s available and ready to be talked about for development,” added Mattis.
The developers have also committed to additional city-wide boosts with this amendment. They will be donating another $81,000 to the Elgin Independent School District on top of their initial investment of $154,000, and will provide $400,000 towards the upcoming Shanandoah Park renovations.
The park’s project has been in the city’s fiveyear plan for some time now and looks to reclaim its surrounding flood plain and double its size, according to the city manager.
Transportation improvements will come alongside the MUD, with $1.5 million already committed towards the County Line Road project, with connecting and arterial streets.
“The Briarwood MUD, as it exists today, is playing a crucial part in getting transportation roadway improvements to that end of town, as part of our development agreement,” said Mattis.
A tentative timeline suggests the project’s completion in around 10 years.
