Karlin’s meeting with CONA: Building trust with the community

Highpoint 2222 in Four Points is a multi-phase, mixed-use redevelopment encompassing 1.2 million square feet. Phase one contemplates the transformation of the existing buildings into over a million square feet of premium laboratory and office space as well as a tenant amenity hub. Future phases may incorporate multi-family, retail, and office as well as an outdoor activities center and numerous campus amenities, according to the Karlin Real Estate website.

In 2017, Nate Paul and his company World Class Holdings bought the 156-acre, former 3M campus site off River Place Boulevard and RM 2222. He started renovations in 2019 after 3M completely vacated the campus but around that time, Paul defaulted on the loan and Karlin Real Estate acquired the debt and foreclosed in June 2021. Last year, the community pushed back on some of Karlin’s plans for the property. This is an update from Lake Austin Collective.  

On June 21, Karlin invited the 2222 CONA Board of Directors to start preliminary discussions on development plans for the 156-acre former 3M campus, now called High Point, located on 2222 at River Place Boulevard. The 2222 CONA Board includes representatives from River Place, Glenlake, Shepherd Mountain, Courtyard, Jester, Long Canyon, The Preserve at Four Points, Canyon Creek, and Westminster Glen neighborhoods.

The Karlin team expressed wishes to build a trust-based relationship as they work toward renovating the property, finding a tenant, rezoning the property, and potentially providing benefits to our community during the process.

Thanks to the over 900 survey responses from the community last fall, we were able to thoughtfully discuss key issues that are important to our community.

Some of the topics discussed included:

  •  Traffic (commuter and school access)
  •  Environment (wildlife, plants, landscape, green space, dark skies lighting, solar energy and Bull Creek protections)
  • Community spaces (public park and recreation opportunities) 
  • Zoning and Infrastructure (our preference for campus style development and Hill Country specifications).

Although no decisions were made, we discussed potential avenues for building trust, collaboration, and concrete next steps.

Karlin indicated they will soon provide an update on the first phase of construction to their 1.1 million square feet of buildings. We will make sure it is communicated to all of you.

More information regarding opportunities for community involvement and future development activities will be shared soon. We encourage you to remain engaged and provide any additional feedback or suggestions by reaching out to me by replying to this email or any member of the 2222 CONA team.

Linda Bailey

President

Lake Austin Collective, Inc.