wildflower terrace welcomes first residents · directora hispana de austin, en zavala elementary....
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The Front Porch Flyer The Mueller Neighborhood Association Newsletter
Winter 2012 Volume 5, Number 1
InsideNew Theater Takes Stage at Mueller 3
Development at Mueller Gearing Up 4
Mueller Neighborhood Association 4
Pike Powers Commercialization Lab 5
Know Your Mueller Streets 5
Mueller Houses Take Shape 6
Annual Holiday Decoration Award 7
Wildflower Terrace Welcomes First ResidentsBy Kathy Sokolic and Woody Lauland
Photo by Woody Lauland
(continued on page 2)
When ground was broken on the Wildflower Terrace in October 2010, Diana McIver, President and Chief Executive Officer of DMA Companies, anticipated that occupancy of the first units would occur before the end of 2011. This past December, just as she had predicted, Mueller’s premier mixed-income rental community for persons aged 55 and older opened its doors to its initial residents.
Marnie Geurin, Regional Manager of DMA Properties, describes the first big moving day at the community. Four new residents who had never met before discovered that their children and grandchildren were already friends. “While the staff was busy signing leases with the new residents,” Geurin says, “the children were chitchatting in the lobby, and the grandchildren were having fun playing together.”
By the end of December, nine Phase 1 apartments were occupied. At least another 30 move-ins are expected in January and February. When all phases of construction are complete in March, Wildflower Terrace will contain 201 units on four floors in several one- and two-bedroom floor plans.
Thirty apartments are offered at market rate. The remaining 171 have rental affordability for persons with incomes at or below 30%, 50%, and 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI).
Amenities include a community activity room, movie theater, fitness center, business center, and art studio. Residents seeking quiet and solitude can retreat to a zen-inspired courtyard. As a mixed-use structure, Wildflower Terrace also contains 5,500 square feet of ground-level commercial space, though
as of this writing, no commercial tenants have been announced.
After a recent open house at the community, Geurin stated that DMA was currently processing 53 applications for apartments. What is drawing seniors to Wildflower Terrace? Geurin cites the
Above, Diana McIver speaks to a crowd in the Wildflower Terrace community room during an open house on Saturday, January 14. Left, Wildflower Terrace is located at 3801 Berkman at the corner of Tom Miller.
Photo by Woody Lauland
The Front Porch Flyer Winter 20122 3Winter 2012 The Front Porch Flyer
Mueller Neighborhood AssociationSteering CommitteeChair: Betsy HiltonVice Chair: Kathy SokolicSecretary: Candice McKayTreasurer: Don DozierMembers: Ashley Fisher, Diane Gierisch, Corky Hilliard, Kevin McGillicuddy, Travis Michel, Dennis Mick, Jerry Perkins, Shellie Shores and Reem Zoun
Business MembersFrost Bank
The Front Porch FlyerEditor-in-chiefElizabeth Butman
Editorial StaffDrew Harris, Dusty Harshman, Woody Lauland, Dan McAtee, Dennis Mick, Kathy Sokolic, and Garreth Wilcock
[email protected] us know if you are interested in contributing to an upcoming issue!
We want your photographs capturing life at Mueller. Submit your Slice of Life photos for the spring issue and photography exhibition (see back cover) to [email protected].
Above, parents gather at the bus stop to greet children coming home from school. The Maplewood Elementary School “Frog” bus brings a bustle of activity each school-day. Mueller kids and parents frequently play at Ella Wooten park after school. Photograph by Dusty Harshman.
fact that many current residents and applicants have families already living in Mueller. “Most applicants express to us that they are looking for a change. Many are downsizing from homes, and quite a few are ready to move into an apartment community that is exclusively for the ‘active adult’ lifestyle.”
That was certainly the case for Cynthia A. Alexander, who moved into Wildflower Terrace with her husband Cleveland over the New Year’s weekend. The couple’s motivation for coming to Mueller was to see different people and experience a novel environment. They were drawn to the new construction and
green building standards, as well as the idea of a sustainable environment.
The Alexanders like the fact that, as early move-ins, they are part of the foundation of the community at Wildflower Terrace. They have already established relationships there and are planning events with other new residents. “We are so excited by the very welcoming reception by our Mueller neighbors,” Alexander says. “We appreciate that they have already informed us of so many events happening in the neighborhood.”
With the first residents settled into their new homes, McIver looks forward to the synergy that will exist between
Wildflower Terrace and the rest of the Mueller Community. “Our programs and services will focus on connectivity,” she says. She cites as an example art classes for residents that will also be available to nonresidents for a nominal fee. “We will assist our residents in identifying volunteer opportunities in the community,” she continues, “and we will encourage the community to volunteer at Wildflower.”
Offering a lifestyle focused on creativity, learning, health and wellness, and volunteer opportunities, Wildflower Terrace will be, in McIver’s words, “part of the Mueller Community, not apart from the Mueller Community.”
Wildflower Terrace Welcomes First Residents, from front cover
This article about Mueller's own Austin Playhouse is the first in an ongoing series highlighting nearby theater-going opportunities.
Theater is thriving in and around Mueller. City Theatre, ColdTowne Theater, The Vortex, and Salvage Vanguard Theater are all within a mile of Mueller. We even have a theater right here in the ’hood: Austin Playhouse. Their temporary space, the white, clear-span tent, sits across from Lake Park on Simond Avenue.
The professional acting company and leadership behind Austin Playhouse have been entertaining thousands of theatergoers for more than 20 years. Austin Playhouse is set to take the next big step in their evolution – building a permanent facility in Mueller. Designed
by Dick Clark Architecture, their new home will have two stages, a bar, a rooftop terrace, a café in the lobby, and a full-service restaurant. Future phases may entail construction of artists’ lofts above the theater. The Austin Playhouse will be the first building in the new Town Center and looks to be a great match for Mueller.
“It’s been a long and sometimes difficult process,” according to Lara Toner, Associate Artistic Director, “but we really believe in the unique community being created at Mueller.” Toner continues, “The diversity of activity, the possibility for collaboration with other creative institutions like the Austin Children’s Museum and the nearby film studios, and the opportunity to play a vital role in Austin’s cultural landscape are all factors in keeping us excited
about Mueller.”
Construction should last six to seven months, and the theater may open as soon as the fall of 2012. Between now and then, be sure and catch the shows in their current season:
• Boeing-Boeing, a comedy currently running through February 26.
• ARoomwithaView, a world premiere adaptation of E.M. Forster’s beloved novel will run March 23 to April 22.
• BornYesterday, a classic comedy will run May 4 to June 3.
To purchase tickets or get more information, call the box office at 512-476-0084 or visit their website at austinplayhouse.com.
New Theater Takes the Stage at MuellerBy Shellie Shores
Above and left, the Austin Playhouse currently resides in a temporary location on Simond Avenue, across from the Lake Park playground in a white, barrel-vaulted tent reminiscent of the nearby Browning Hangar. The permanent facility for the theater, the first fixture of the Town Center, will be constructed just a bit further east on Simond.
Photo by Elizabeth Butman
Photo by Woody Lauland
The Front Porch Flyer Winter 20124 5Winter 2012 The Front Porch Flyer
Know Your Mueller Streets: Hermalinda StreetBy Drew Harris
In honor of Hermelinda Rodriguez, the founder of Austin’s bilingual education program, I will try my best to write this column in English and Spanish. Hermelinda was Austin’s first Hispanic principal, at Zavala Elementary. She was a highly regarded leader and advocate for bilingual education in Austin, and served as a member of the Austin Pan American Round Table until her death in 1998. Hermelinda Rodriguez Elementary School in south Austin is also named after her.
En honor a Hermelinda Rodriguez, la fundadora del programa de educación bilingüe de Austin, trataré de escribir esta columna en Inglés y Español. Hermelinda fue la primera directora hispana de Austin, en Zavala Elementary. Fue una líder muy respetada y defensora de la educación bilingüe en Austin, y sirvió como miembero de la Austin Pan American Round Table hasta su muerte en 1998. La escuela primaria Hermelinda Rodríguez en el sur de Austin también lleva su nombre en su honor.
While there is currently some uncertainty as to the next phase of development opposite the Wildflower Terrace, one thing is for certain – the lot at the corner of Berkman and Antone will be the site of the Pecan Street’s demonstration home, now called the Pike Powers Commercialization Lab. The organization has closed on the lot and is in the final stages of planning for the build out of the three story home, which it is anticipated will break ground in February.
The home not only features many of the latest energy-efficient design and construction techniques that you would expect from the organization that is bringing home energy management systems, electric cars, and rooftop solar to the ‘hood as part of the Smart Grid
Demonstration Project. It also includes instrumentation and equipment to allow Pecan Street partners to test and demonstrate their new residential systems. The focus of the lab is to allow new products to come to market, and we will literally have a window in on that process. With large glass frontage on the Berkman and Antone sides, Muellerites will be able to see the lab in action as we pass by. The second and third floors will replicate the features and major systems of a regular residence to simulate what perhaps may be the home of the future. On the exterior, expect interesting landscaping that has not yet been seen in the neighborhood.
Above, rendering of Pike Powers Commercialization Lab, courtesy Michael Hsu Office of Architecture.
The Mueller Neighborhood Association (MNA) is an organization within which the residents of the neighborhood can promote their common interests with regard to preserving and enhancing the quality of life, safety, residential characteristics, and property values of the neighborhood. Monthly MNA meetings are held on the third Saturday of each month at 10:00 AM, usually rotating amongst various venues in and around the Mueller neighborhood. Meetings typically include a meet and greet with neighbors, announcements of what’s
happening in the neighborhood, and a monthly speaker. BenefitsMNA membership dues fund various activities throughout the year, including networking events, happy hours, the Mueller Egg Scramble, the Lake Park Lake Hug, and the St. Martin’s Day “lantern walk,” just to name a few. In addition, the MNA produces The Front Porch Flyer, this free newsletter highlighting neighborhood activities delivered quarterly to your front door. In addition to these activities, members
are allowed to vote on any initiatives brought forth to the membership at the monthly MNA meetings. JoinAnnual dues are $5 per resident, for any resident 18 years or older. A membership form is included with this month’s Front Porch Flyer. Membership forms and dues may be turned in at any MNA meeting, given to your Block Captain, or mailed to: Mueller Neighborhood Association, P.O. Box 49123, Austin, TX 78765. So what are you waiting for? Join today!
Join the Mueller Neighborhood AssociationBy Travis Michel
We are about to witness a lot of construction work at Mueller. As new residents get settled in at the Wildflower Terrace (see front cover), there’s a lot more work gearing up. Here’s a brief summary; infrastructure work on some of these projects has already begun:
• New apartments next to the Mosaic should break ground any day.
• Dell Children’s Medical Center has broken ground on their third wing, which should be complete in 2013.
• 221 new homes will go in an area near the future Town Center, bordered by Philomena Street on the north, Mattie Street on the west, Simond Avenue on the south, and Berkman Drive on the east. This section will include several home types, including our first shop houses. Catellus hopes to have the infrastructure in by summer so the builders can start building the homes in the fall.
• HEB should break ground this year for the 75,000 square-foot grocery store planned at East 51st Street and Berkman Drive. This store will anchor the Market District and
will be a testing ground for HEB to explore sustainable design. The store is expected to open in late 2013.
• Austin Independent School District should break ground in 2012 on the district’s Performing Arts Center, at Mueller Blvd. between Barbara Jordan Blvd. and East 51st Street.
• Groundbreaking for a Residence Inn at East 51st Street and Lancaster Drive could be any day.
• The Austin Playhouse is expected to break ground this spring on their new location in Mueller’s future Town Center. You’ve probably seen their temporary home across from Lake Park (see page 4).
• The Austin Children’s Museum plans to move from downtown to Mueller and is actively engaged in fundraising. Hopefully they’ll be able to break ground in 2012, also!
• And, to support several of these projects, Berkman Drive will be extended through to East 51st Street.
You can see that 2012-2013 is going to be a big construction period here. In less than two years, we’ll be able to enjoy the arts, buy groceries, take our children
to a great learning environment, house guests, and welcome new neighbors – all within Mueller. Many of these facilities will include ground-level retail space, so we should have a lot more businesses we can walk to as well.
It’s an exciting time to be at Mueller. Remember, when you shop at Mueller businesses, you are supporting future infrastructure work at Mueller due to the financing arrangement for the development. Shop local, and when possible, shop Mueller!
Lastly, I’d like to encourage everyone to join the Mueller Neighborhood Association (MNA). Annual dues are a mere $5 per person. MNA is our collective voice on issues that impact residents, such as rezoning of property adjacent to Mueller, or determining whether to support specific projects at Mueller. We had a great turnout at our last meeting, due largely to interest in a proposed tax credit project near Berkman Drive and Tom Miller Street. You need to be a member 14 days prior to voting, so join now and get involved. We could use your help!
Development at Mueller Gearing UpBy Betsy Hilton, Mueller Neighborhood Association Chair
Pike Powers Commercialization LabBy Garreth Wilcock
Above, the well attended January MNA Meeting at the Ronald McDonald House was filled with neighbors eager to hear about potential development.
Photo by Dusty Harshman
The Front Porch Flyer Winter 20126 7Winter 2012 The Front Porch Flyer
Third Annual Holiday Decoration Award
4100 Block of Threadgill , photo by Woody Lauland
4000 block of Berkman , photo by Woody Lauland
Glass balls adorn many Mueller streets, photo by Elizabeth Butman
The Eponymous Mueller Houses Take ShapeBy Dusty Harshman
It’s not often that we intrepid neighborhood reporters stumble upon the “law” in a story about architecture and land use. “I was looking for a condo or townhome, and I had heard about the Mueller development for several years,” Woodie Jones shared, as we spoke in his courtyard. Chief Justice Woodie Jones of the Texas Third Court of Appeals recently moved into our neighborhood’s newest dwelling, the eponymous Mueller House. “I like the idea of a planned development. I like the idea of a green development. I like the market/affordable concept.”
If you, too, were wondering about those large mansions sprouting up along Simond Avenue, these, in fact, are not large single-family homes but four or six condominiums disguised to look like
a large single-family home. The stately structures will eventually line Simond Avenue and create Mueller’s signature three-block, tree-lined promenade from the Town Center near Lake Park to Mueller’s school site.
In the fall of 2011, the first Mueller House residents began to move into their homes. As the condominiums are mid-sized homes, they are attracting residents who are both upsizing and downsizing their homes. While Woodie Jones had recently been renting a one-bedroom apartment, his new neighbor, Sylvia Schneider, was downsizing. “I have lived in a single-family home in Houston prior to this move. I have downsized somewhat, and I’m fine with it. The homes are very quiet,” she reports.
The first phase of Mueller Houses have been designed and constructed by Standard Pacific Homes. There is only one door visible from the street, and low limestone walls create a street-side courtyard for each Mueller House. The house facades also mix modern and classic lines to differentiate the buildings, continuing the illusion of the single-family estate home.
As with much of the neighborhood, income-qualified affordable housing is indistinguishable from the market-rate housing. The first 52 units within the 12 Mueller Houses along Simond Avenue between Mattie and Berkman will be split evenly between market-rate housing and Mueller’s affordable housing program.
Above, the Honorable Woodie Jones outside his new Mueller House. Top and right, the Mueller Houses form a promenade along Simond Avenue, with completed homes on the south (right) side of the street.
Photo by Elizabeth Butman
Photo by Elizabeth Butman
Photo by Dusty Harshman
The Front Porch Flyer is pleased to announce the winner of the third annual holiday block decoration award as the 4100 block of Threadgill.
To create a unifying theme on the block, several neighbors placed candy cane and snowman-faced lights in their front yards.
The Front Porch Flyer editors are awarding the prize to Threadgill for their coordinated effort and the festive holiday spirit of their decorations.
The editors again recognize the Streetman row homes in the 4000 block of Berkman Drive for their brightly colored lights forming a canopy over the sidewalk.
Though we did not keep notes from last year, it seemed that even more homes participated this year. We were encouraged to see that ongoing warranty repairs did not dampen the holiday spirit of the block.
We also acknowledge a new trend this holiday season: street trees throughout the neighborhood decorated with glass ornaments.
Especially noteworthy were the 1900 block of Emma Long Street, where trees lining the entire block sparkled with colored ornaments, and Tom Miller Street, where some neighbors also decorated trees lining the Southwest Greenway.
The Front Porch Flyer Winter 20128 9Winter 2012 The Front Porch Flyer
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The Front Porch Flyer Winter 201210 11Winter 2012 The Front Porch Flyer
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The Front Porch Flyer Winter 201212
CalendarMonthly Neighborhood Meetings:Mueller Neighborhood Association, location TBA3rd Saturday each month, 10-11:00 AM
Mueller Commission (RMMA-PIAC), Terrazas Branch Library2nd Tuesday each month, 6:00-8:00 PM
POA “Let’s Talk” Sessions, Mueller Central, 4550 Mueller Blvd.1st Wednesday each month, 6:00 PM
Regular Social Activities:Mueller St*tch and B*tch3rd Thursday each month, 7:00-9:00 PM
Book Club4th Tuesday each month, 7:30-9:00 PMCheck Events on muellercommunity.com for new events & updates.
The Front Porch Flyer editors have been grateful to share photographs from talented amateur and professional Mueller photographers alike during nearly four years of publication thus far. In celebration and recognition of the library of photographs we have amassed, we plan to hold a photo exhibition this spring, concluding with a silent auction at the April 21, 2012 Mueller Neighborhood Association meeting. All proceeds from the sale of these matted fine art prints will benefit the Austin Children's Shelter. Check muellercommunity.com for updates as the details of this event are finalized.
For the fourth installment of our Slice of Life photo contest, we would like to highlight some of the incredible submissions received so far. Above, Charles Spurgeon's photo suggests that the old control tower – and memories of Mueller as an airport – are somewhere over the rainbow. Right, Shellie Shores and Rosemary Wages came to the rescue of baby hummingbirds nesting in their cedar elm. When the nest developed a tear, Shellie and Rosemary rescued a baby slipping through the tear, built a new nest from raffia and nylon mesh, and using fine wire, fastened it to the tree under the existing nest. The babies fledged just over a week later.
Photo by Charles Spurgeon
Photo by Shellie Shores
Photo by Shellie Shores
Spring Photography Exhibit