Retail center near track advances

If Austin City Council approves, it will be 2 years before project on Ross Road begins.

Fueled in part by the success of the first Formula One race in the Austin area, the owners of about 17 acres north of the track are seeking to rezone their property for a retail center to provide what they say are needed services in that part of Southeast Travis County.

The rezoning for the proposed retail center — tentatively to be called the Ross Road Center — won unanimous support from the city’s Zoning and Platting Commission on Thursday. The Austin City Council will have the final say at an upcoming meeting. The property is on Ross Road, across from Del Valle High School.

Jim Wittliff, the land development consultant for property owners Eric Agahi and Daniel Wang in the zoning case, said the proposed center will provide beneficial neighborhood services in an underserved area.

Wittliff estimated it would be at least two years before the center would break ground, pending the necessary approvals and permits.

“With the recent success of the inaugural Formula One race, the image of this area of southeast Austin has changed extensively,” Wittliff said. “And we are now trying to provide the types of services that will be necessary to make events like F1 continue to be attractive in the future.”

Wittliff said the “positive impact of the Circuit of the Americas track” on the area could mean his proposed