Mueller is a 700-acre redevelopment of a former airport into a health-focused master-planned community just three miles from downtown Austin, Texas. By 2020, Mueller is projected to have over 5,700 single family and multifamily units, a quarter of which will be affordable for low-income families. The Catellus Development Corporation worked with master planners ROMA Design and McCann Adams Studio to promote community health and wellness, to increase pedestrian activity, to improve air quality, and to utilize low-emission building materials.

Mueller’s various facilities and amenities are designed around the principles of social interaction, open space preservation, and active lifestyles. Tree-lined sidewalks and protected bicycle lanes provide shade and connect to a comprehensive trail system, retail, and recreational parks to encourage walking and bicycling. To promote physical fitness, Mueller provides sports facilities, playgrounds, a stretching area, and outdoor showers. A six-acre orchard and community garden provides residents with a seasonal harvest. Residents have initiated over 40 different clubs and interest groups and over 70,000 people attend large scale community events annually. The developer has facilitated social interaction these interactions through a block party at move-in and through physical design, including front porches, stoops, gardens, and alleyways in residential areas.

Development Team:
Catellus, City Of Austin (Joint Project)

Design Team:
Roma Design Group, Mccann Adams Studio

Principal Author(s):
Anita Kramer and Terry Lassar

Financing:
The City of Austin owns and holds the land until it is taken down for infrastructure or vertical development. Catellus funds all the infrastructure costs with its own equity and is reimbursed for public infrastructure through tax increment financing or land sales revenue.

Project Cost:
$300 Million

Source:
Building for Wellness: The Business Case
http://americas.uli.org/wp-content/uploads/ULI-Documents/Building-for-Wellness-The-Business-Case.pdf