AUSTIN, Texas — Environmental advocates say that a massive proposed development near Bee Cave will endanger Barton Creek and its nature preserve.
In October, KVUE reported that International Development Management Co. (IDM) is planning a 20,000-seat amphitheater at the center of an entertainment and residential project called Violet Crown, located northwest of State Highway 71 and Southwest Parkway. The development will also include two apartment towers of more than 20 stories each, a whiskey distillery, three nightclubs, a restaurant, office space, a Top Golf-style driving range and a private pool club.
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Now a coalition of local environmental advocacy groups is saying that the development, which borders The Nature Conservancy’s Barton Creek Habitat Preserve, is a threat to the preserve. The Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance (GEAA), Sierra Club Lone Star Chapter, the Save Our Springs Alliance and the Save Barton Creek Association sent a joint press release Thursday condemning the proposed project.
"This is about the worst possible location to build a new Austin entertainment district," said Mike Clifford, the technical director for GEAA. "You have Barton Creek, which is already experiencing serious pollution and toxic algae issues downstream, just a half mile downhill from the proposed amphitheater. Then you have the 4,000-acre Barton Creek Habitat Preserve that’s home to several endangered species, bordering and surrounding the proposed development. The amount of light, noise, water pollution, traffic and trash created by this development and its events would be devastating for such an environmentally-sensitive area."
The groups also questioned whether Austin even needs the proposed amphitheater and why it should be built in such an "environmentally-sensitive location" when Central Texas already has venues like the Circuit of the Americas, the the Frank Erwin Center and the H-E-B Center in Cedar Park.
The Nature Conservancy issued a statement on its website in response to the proposed development. It reads in part:
“Potential impacts from the mixed-use proposed development and 20,000-seat amphitheater are very concerning – especially considering the investment that the citizens of Austin and Travis County, The Nature Conservancy, and our government partners have made to protect our aquifer and Hill Country habitat.”
IDM President Craig Bryan told KVUE in October that the company takes keeping the nature preserve safe seriously.
"We are doing no single source-use plastics. We're also building with a green mindset and putting as much emission-reducing trees as we can on the site and on the buildings," Bryan said.
IDM aims to open the first pieces of the Violet Crown project in 2023, with the amphitheater hopefully open by Labor Day 2023.
While the project will be located in an unincorporated part of Travis County, Bryan said the development team will adhere to Austin's noise ordinances and is committing to social stances and environmental regulations.
The environmental groups against the project encourage concerned citizens to email Austin City Council members and Travis County commissioners to voice their concerns, as those officials will have the final say on whether the development is approved.
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