The Bee Cave Bee

Monday April 21st saw a very heavily attended meeting at City Hall during which developer Chris Milam set out his plans for the two properties in Bee Cave that will house his Movie Studio concept with associated hotels, offices and up-scale condos.

Milam has placed considerable weight behind the link between being granted a special tax status called a PID (public improvement districtand on being granted PDD (planned development district staus and stated that some 60% of the planned public amenities would only be built if PID status is granted.

The majority of questions remains about traffic, noise pollution and the condos not being available for rent.

Milam is hoping to break ground in August if the City Council gives him the go ahead in the next 6-8 weeks

With many thanks to Councilwoman Kara King and her excellent blog, I'm able to summarize what went on, some of the questions posed and the outstanding issues.

What the developer plans:

The Backyard:

• 4 office buildings
• 2 x 40,000 sq.ft. move studio/sound stages which can be divided into 2- 20,000 sq.ft. studios; can be rented out for galas, parties, private events when not in filming
• 1 hotel, 3 stories - built in an old Texas style music theme
• 1 conference center
• 2 parking garages fronted with office space
• The existing "Live oak amphitheater" live music venue
• The Glen- a new small stage for private concerts and parties with casitas (small suites to rent that can be rented to bands or small parties for overnight stays
• Treehouse suites- for private party watching of the concerts
• $1+ million water retention pond with fountains
• Moon tower to provide “moon light” for 1 hour after a concert and act as a “Christmas Tree” feature during the holidays with a wifi antenna

 
The Terraces:

• 3 offices
• 2 parking garages
• 1 mill (where set designs and costumes, etc are made)
• 4 smaller studios
• single family condos overlooking the canyon which will sell for $300-350 per sq.ft.

Public Amenities:

• $7.5 million of public improvements, including
• 3.5 miles of public trails
• public tennis courts, probably clay, in city park
• 5 - pad public splash complex in city park
• scenic overlook over the 600-700 foot canyon
• public sculpture park of Texas music legends
• road improvements of at least 6 intersections in Bee Cave
• Bee Cave pkwy landscaped and watered with effluent water
• $150,000 per year for parks department and director to Bee Cave

Economics:

• During construction:
• 2,800 construction jobs
• $100 million construction payroll
• $1 million in sales tax to Bee Cave, just during construction

• Impact at full operation:
• 3,200 permanent professional jobs
• $175 million payroll per year
• $500,000 per year property tax revenue
• $4.5 million revenue (in prop taxes) for LTISD with minimal students generated
• $10 million per year for all other taxing agencies (state, city, county, esd #6, etc)

• Economic Impact over 30 Years:
• $15 million revenue generated for Bee Cave
• $135 million of revenue for LTISD
• $300 million revenue for all taxing agencies