Hutto to buy lawsuit-ridden acreage for development

Tract was to house an $800 million sports complex and mixed-use project

Embattled 250-acre lot in Hutto along U.S. 79 (Google Maps, Getty)

TRD Staff

Feb 8, 2023, 5:00 PM

The City of Hutto and its Economic Development Corporation approved the $15 million purchase of a 250-acre lot after a multiyear legal dispute with developers Legacy Hutto, according to the Austin Business Journal.

The city will purchase the embattled lot to stop the accrual of interest by lender Preston Hollow Capital.

The city has agreed to enter into a $6 million sales tax funding and refunding agreement with the Hutto Economic Development Corporation to finance the property. The EDC will take out a loan for the remaining $9 million.

The decision to purchase the land “under duress” was not easy, but it was in the best interest of the city, Councilmember Robin Sutton said during a Feb. 2 meeting.

The land, in Williamson County, was previously slated to encompass an $800 million mixed-use sports tourism development along U.S. Route 79. The ambitious project was supposed to include the city’s first indoor sports and events center, a convention hotel, 24 baseball fields, plus commercial development from retail space to medical offices.

The project never materialized, and Perfect Game USA, the world’s largest softball and baseball scouting company, ditched its plans in favor of locating its headquarters to the northwest Austin suburb Cedar Park.

This purchase will allow the city and the EDC to develop the land how it sees fit. Councilmembers mentioned a grocery store and other amenities their constituents want, although no plans have been finalized.

The years-long legal battle reached a partial conclusion in July 2022 after the city won its $4 million breach of contract lawsuit against Legacy Hutto. The city remains in litigation after losing a state lawsuit that is being appealed.

The town of about 30,000 people has been scouted for multibillion-dollar investment recently. Earlier this month, unidentified tech companies started canvassing the northeast Austin community for a potential $3 billion development. California-based semiconductor supplier Applied Materials is in negotiation to bring a $2 billion research and development center to the town.

– Brandon Sams