Development Springing Up

Central Texas' first crystal lagoon dives in as part of $1 billion mixed-use development

The Austin area is getting a crystal lagoon.

Courtesy rendering

A massive new development is underway in Central Texas, promising retail, restaurants, entertainment, a hotel, office and residential space, and 4-acre crystalline lagoon.

Leander Springs will be located on the southwest corner of FM 2243 and 183A, about 25 miles north of downtown Austin. Once fully developed, the 78-acre mixed-use development is expected to be valued at $1 billion, according to the City of Leander.

Central to this new neighborhood is the lagoon by Crystal Lagoons, which made waves earlier this year when it opened a similar water feature near Houston. The Leander lagoon will feature 10 acres of boardwalk and related amenities, and serve as the "centerpiece" for more than 1 million square feet of commercial development.

Along with office space, the development promises a hotel and conference center, an increasingly common trend around Austin and the Texas Hill Country. In recent years, similar all-inclusive resort/conference center projects have sprung up in places like Round Rock and Fredericksburg.

“This dynamic mixed-use development is a game changer for our community,” said Leander Mayor Troy Hill in a city release. “Leander Springs has a phased approach that will bring in much needed commercial development at the beginning of the project while incorporating residential uses in a proportional manner.”

Along with commercial development and attractions, up to 1,600 multifamily residential units are proposed for the project, adding more housing to a region struggling with affordability issues.

City officials approved a $22 million tax incentive for Leander Springs on October 15 — the project's first major hurdle. As part of the city's tax incentives, developer Leander Springs LLC is "eligible to receive rebates from the city on property taxes, sales taxes, and hotel occupancy taxes."

“Our conservative approach in the Leander Springs agreement helps make this project feasible for the developers while serving as a low risk opportunity for the city,” said Leander City Manager Rick Beverlin. “The deal allows us to immediately share in the economic benefits on a property that should provide excellent returns if developed to its best and highest use.”

If approved by the Lander City Council, the lagoon and the first 35,000 square feet of commercial development and should be completed by December 31, 2023.

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Holiday Travel News

American Airlines briefly halts flights nationwide for technical issue

Photo courtesy of American Airlines

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American Airlines briefly grounded flights nationwide Tuesday due to a technical issue just as the Christmas travel season kicks into high gear.

American flights were cleared to fly by federal regulators about one hour after a national ground stop order was issued by federal regulators.

Just before 8 am Dallas time, the Federal Aviation Administration ordered all American Airlines flights grounded in the U.S. at the airline’s request. American had reported a technical issue affecting its entire system with millions traveling for the holiday.
The ground stop, according to the time stamps on the FAA's orders, lasted exactly one hour.

American has not expanded on what technical issue grounded the flights and the airline did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The groundings couldn't come at a worse time for the millions of travelers expected to fly over the next 10 days. The Transportation Security Administration expects to screen 40 million passengers over the holidays and through January 2.

Many flights during the holidays are sold out, which makes cancellations even more disruptive than during slower periods. Even with just a brief outage, the cancellations have a cascading effect that can take days to clear up.

In December 2022, Southwest Airlines stranded 2 million travelers, and Delta Air Lines suffered a smaller but significant meltdown after a worldwide technology outage in July caused by a faulty software update from cybersecurity company CrowdStrike.

Southwest was ordered to pay a $35 million fine as part of a $140 million settlement to resolve a federal investigation into the Christmas debacle of 2022.

Excluding the settlement, the nation’s fourth-biggest airline by revenue said the meltdown cost it more than $1.1 billion in refunds and reimbursements, extra costs and lost ticket sales over several months.

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