New development off NW Military near Camp Bullis? (Austin, Salado: real estate, city hall)

[gtoman67z]

Noticed a lot of earth-moving and grading machinery in use at the exhausted Beckman quarry directly across NW Military from Eisenhower Park that adjoins the Salado Greenway trail (behind the CPS transformer complex). Definitely did not appear to have any resemblance to a resumption of quarrying activity.

[ashbeeigh]

Isn’t that environmentally protected? Could it be an extension of the trail? It sounds like you might be talking about the area east of Eisenhower? Along the power lines on the trail? (I recall you know the trail well). This was sort of near where IKEA was going to be initially right? And the Golden cheeked warbler squashed it?

[yadigggski]

Haven't heard of anything about that quarry but I've always wondered when these quarries in prime real estate would go. Same thing with Camp Bullis. If they moved that further out I-10 to Kerr County or something and built some roads between Stone Oak and I-10, I'd have to imagine 1604 would be less of a disaster lol.

[gtoman67z]

Came home and did the google overhead tour of the site. There's two distinct quarries bisected by the high power line easement but the development seems to be on the larger, northern space instead of the one adjoining the Cornerstone school athletic fields and Shavano Ranch Road. With only a single access point, I find it hard to see the site as a La Cantera style shopping destination.
The city was in negotiations with the quarry owners a while back, that had delayed the formal opening of the trail segment even after the trail was finished.

[Remington Steel]

Originally Posted by yadigggski

Haven't heard of anything about that quarry but I've always wondered when these quarries in prime real estate would go. Same thing with Camp Bullis. If they moved that further out I-10 to Kerr County or something and built some roads between Stone Oak and I-10, I'd have to imagine 1604 would be less of a disaster lol.

I wish they would look into combining Camp Stanley and Camp Bullis. There is so much unused land on both of them. Or even moving all of Camp Bullis' operations to the Medina (Chapman Training) Annex over by Lackland. I used to work there and current operations probably only take up 20% of the entire land space. I know they probably have old contaminated WW II crap buried there though...lol

[txtea]

Originally Posted by Remington Steel

I wish they would look into combining Camp Stanley and Camp Bullis. There is so much unused land on both of them. Or even moving all of Camp Bullis' operations to the Medina (Chapman Training) Annex over by Lackland. I used to work there and current operations probably only take up 20% of the entire land space. I know they probably have old contaminated WW II crap buried there though...lol

Yeah, and then what would happen to all that "unused", undeveloped, naturally beautiful land where Camp Bullis has been sitting for the last 106 years?
You all know as well as I do, that it will become a 28,000-acre sea of rooftops, chain restaurants and asphalt, just like every other slice of land out this way.
Developers have been drooling over that land for decades, just waiting to pounce.

[ashbeeigh]

Originally Posted by txtea

Yeah, and then what would happen to all that "unused", undeveloped, naturally beautiful land where Camp Bullis has been sitting for the last 106 years?
You all know as well as I do, that it will become a 28,000-acre sea of rooftops, chain restaurants and asphalt, just like every other slice of land out this way.
Developers have been drooling over that land for decades, just waiting to pounce.

Probably not due to the reasons I cited with wildlife.

[txtea]

Originally Posted by ashbeeigh

Probably not due to the reasons I cited with wildlife.

The environmental concerns that you speak of didn't stop all these other developments, did it?
I grew up in this area. In my 60 years, I have witnessed every new housing and commercial development destroy every plot of land around here. Opposition was there constantly. Petitions, environmental lawsuits, public meetings, raising hell at city hall, etc. Always defeated in the end.
Money wins every time.

[Cuero]

Originally Posted by txtea

The environmental concerns that you speak of didn't stop all these other developments, did it?
I grew up in this area. In my 60 years, I have witnessed every new housing and commercial development destroy every plot of land around here. Opposition was there constantly. Petitions, environmental lawsuits, public meetings, raising hell at city hall, etc. Always defeated in the end.
Money wins every time.

That's right. There wasn't supposed to be development north of 1604 in the aquifer recharge zone either. But that only lasted about ten years before the developers got it neutered to the point where it doesn't matter anymore.

[ashbeeigh]

Originally Posted by txtea

The environmental concerns that you speak of didn't stop all these other developments, did it?
I grew up in this area. In my 60 years, I have witnessed every new housing and commercial development destroy every plot of land around here. Opposition was there constantly. Petitions, environmental lawsuits, public meetings, raising hell at city hall, etc. Always defeated in the end.
Money wins every time.

We have very similar experience and know the same areas of the city very well. I’m surprised you’re forgetting about the fight that has always been put up to save the golden cheek warblers. It’s almost as common as the fight against told roads and the blind salamander. I think this might be connected to what’s going on. But I could be wrong.

https://sanantonioreport.org/cibolo-...eeked-warbler/

Here is a much older article regarding the habitat which happened well before I moved to Austin., https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/lo...p#photo-930004

I’m not saying money may not eventually win out, but it’s complex and related to these birds.