Bell Boulevard Redevelopment
Client:
City of Cedar Park
Services Provided:
Urban Design, Land Planning, Public Space Landscape Architecture, Commercial Landscape Architecture, Policy Planning, Entitlements, Client Representation, Transit-Oriented Design, Streetscapes, Parks, Trails, Redevelopment, Stakeholder Engagement, Visualizations, Visioning, Implementation Strategy
Recognition:
2017 Merit Award in Planning and Analysis for Destination Bell Boulevard. Texas Chapter, American Society of Landscape Architects.
2016 Vernon Deines Honor Award for Outstanding Small Town Special Project Plan for Destination Bell Boulevard. Small Town and Rural Planning Divisions Awards Committee, American Planning Association.
Cedar Park residents have long expressed the desire to have a special place where they can live, work, shop, dine and be entertained – a place that is uniquely Cedar Park. Great mixed-use places such as The Domain and The Triangle in Austin, Pearl District in San Antonio and Legacy Town Center in Plano were aspirations for Cedar Park. After initial direction from City leadership to create a gathering place and sense of identity for the Cedar Park community and an exercise to determine the best location for such a gathering place, Rebecca Leonard led a team of professionals to create a master plan for the study area – Bell Boulevard between Cedar Park Drive and Cypress Creek Road.
The master planning process included understanding the context of the study area, looking at a variety of comparable mixed-use districts, significant stakeholder engagement, and defining several compelling visions for the area and comparing their performance. The stakeholders included a working group of land owners, retailers, neighbors and potential implementers. Several interactive events – both in-person and virtual in nature – helped vet ideas and give the City Council feedback about preferences and trade-offs.
The message was clear that the goal was to create a sense of community for residents and businesses, as well as an attraction that can draw from the larger metropolitan area.
Master Planning
Lionheart has continued to serve the community on a variety of implementation efforts including landscape architecture for the realignment of Bell Boulevard, land acquisition and feasibility, stakeholder engagement, park planning and design, and the facilitation of the selection of a suitable private sector development partner.
Plan completed in 2016; additional redevelopment support on-going.
