Developments advance: Bee Cave leaders OK district for Village at Spanish Oaks, plan for Backyard

The Bee Cave City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to approve proposals related to the Village Spanish Oaks and the Backyard, two of the city’s biggest in-progress development projects.

The first proposal created a public improvement district for the Village at Spanish Oaks, an 80-acre residential and commercial development. The council also approved a preliminary site plan for the Backyard, a 35-acre development across from Bee Cave Central Park.

Village at Spanish Oaks

Jack Creveling, the senior vice president of real estate with Village at Spanish Oaks developer CCNG, said the creation of an improvement district allows the city to issue bonds to finance aspects of the project. The bonds would then be paid for by residents who buy homes within the bounds of the district, so the bonds would not have a financial impact on other residents of Bee Cave. 

Creveling said this approach would allow the Village at Spanish Oaks to have upgraded features, such as paving stones instead of asphalt for the streets, as well as brick sidewalks and better landscaping. 

The first phase of the project, which includes installing utilities and building roads, should start in the fall and take about a year, Creveling said. Vertical construction could begin as soon as 18 months from now, he said. 

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The Backyard

The preliminary site plan approved for the Backyard includes an amphitheater venue with capacity for 3,700 people, a 73,000-square-foot retail complex, two parking garages, office space and a hotel. The plan also includes an extension of the newly constructed Willie Way. 

The project has four planned phases: The first includes roads, major utilities, the Hilltop garden and landscaping for the medians on Bee Cave Parkway between RM 620 and Texas 71, which was part of the original development agreement. 

The second construction phase includes most of the buildings on site as well as some landscaping. One of the parking garages, which will be built during this phase, will be open for public use for access to Central Park during non-event hours. 

The timeline for the Backyard is still undecided, but the expected opening for the retail and venue portions is at the end of 2023 or the beginning of 2024, which is about 10 years after the original agreement was approved in 2014.

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BuzzFest, other council business

The council also voted to earmark $50,000 for BuzzFest next year, with the understanding that the event will need to find corporate sponsorship to sustain itself. The Bee Cave Art Foundation launched BuzzFest, a light installation and interactive art show, at the Hill Country Galleria last December. The event is set to return in February and the debate on the dais centered around how much of the city’s dedicated arts budget should go towards it this year.

To fund the majority of BuzzFest 2022, the city would have to drain a good portion of its remaining arts fund, which would limit the money it could give out for future events.

Mayor Kara King expressed a desire to commit some funding to the event and revisit the issue in late August during budget discussions. Given how well Galleria businesses reported doing during the event last year, she said she hopes the Galleria will be a major sponsor this year. 

The council also expressed hope that the numerous awards the event is nominated for, including the CODAaward for design and several others, will help attract corporate sponsorship and funding. 

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The council also began to discuss the budget for the next fiscal year, which will be approved in September. Members of the council also discussed the possibility of forming a parks advisory committee, but the idea did not have enough support to go to a vote. 

The council also decided to create a part-time, temporary intern position to complete the task of gathering contact information for managers of local businesses struggling to fill positions. King said that if such a list existed, she could communicate with those businesses about their hiring needs once a month and then help connect high school students or others to those jobs.