The Proposed Design Concept

Swing Building

The first proposed project to be built in the Incremental Growth Strategy is a flexible, multi-use building that can initially serve as an interim City Hall facility. The “Swing Building,” as it is referred to will be created from the relocated and re-used existing metal silo structure known as “The Long Building.” This building will serve as City Hall during the period of time when the permanent City Hall is designed, funded and built.

The move of city staff from the existing City Hall on Front Street to the Swing Building will provide about one and a half times the amount of space that the same staff currently occupies. This interim space will also allow citizens to become accustomed to the Co-op District as the center for obtaining city services.

Civic Green

Another key component to the Co-op District is the proposed Civic Green adjacent to the Swing Building. This open park space provides space for live performances and family activities. It will serve as an “engine” for private development on the Co-op site by bringing people to the site nearly every day and after city business hours. Recommended features include a stage and informal bermed seating area for approximately 500 to 1,000 people, a plaza, garden areas, bike rentals, a small water feature and small business retail and food service “incubator” buildings.

A render of the proposed Co-op District construction eye level perspective view (click to enlarge)

New City Hall & Civic Block Organization

The location for the proposed New City Hall has been influenced by two elements of traditional Texas Square planning – axial vistas and centrally located civic structures. The existing gin building that is centered at Farley Street, currently acts as terminus to this axial connection between the Co-op site and the historic downtown. However, it also blocks access to the remaining Co-op site. The proposed placement of the new city hall seeks to maintain the established axial relationship of that gin building to Farley Street, but to relocate portions of the Gin structures approximately 150’ to the west. The extension of this axial connection creates a physical and visual link with the historic downtown and the New City Hall, but also re-establishes the “open space” that typically surrounded the Co-op site when it was first occupied over a century ago. This open space then becomes the connecting feature between old downtown and the Co-op district.

The eventual shift of city administrative staff from the Swing Building to the New City Hall will roughly double the amount of space available for staff and support areas. The proposed building will also be constructed with future expansion in mind, as the city population expands, so can the civic structure in order to accommodate growth.

Embellishments to the Master Plan

The City of Hutto engaged a gateway-planning group in 2007 to develop a Master Plan for Hutto, with a focus on the Co-op District. In the proposed design for the Civic Block, Swing Building and New City Hall there are a few minor differences from the previously commissioned Hutto Old Town Hutto Master Plan. The primary difference is the street layout at the Co-op site and the creation of a centralized “Civic Block” which may house several municipal functions.

The new Civic Block will be designed around a more accommodating street arrangement that takes into account the existing structures and future buildings on the Co-op site as well as site requirements such as the reserved Northwest water retention area. As the design team studied the Incremental Growth Strategy, it became apparent to the team that clustering the required municipal building onto one site was the most economic and environmentally responsible solution. This clustering of municipal and future commercial buildings has defined the proposed Civic Block.

New Justice Center

A proposed new Justice Center will accommodate the Public Safety Department and the Municipal Courts. The design team proposes that the new Justice Center be comprised of two multi-story facilities along the northern boundary of the Civic Block. There will be parking areas below these facilities for securing Police vehicles and to all for the secure transfer of suspects. We further recommend connecting corridors between these two facilities due to the collaborative nature of the Municipal Courts and Public Safety Department.

Retention Area

The 9.3 acres of dedicated drainage easement to the north and west sides of the Co-op Site has been selected for future development as a city Park. This new civic space will run on the perimeter of the developed Civic Blocks and will be re-designed to include ponds, landscape areas, trees, seating pavilions and walking/bike trails. Further, the reconfigured retention area will act as a soft, yet defined edge to the Co-op district and the expansion of downtown Hutto.

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